The Findings of the Legal/Safety Group After being dubbed the legal
group, Chris, John, Jen, Jens, and Spencer began thinking about what this
title meant. After talking about the meaning of our group, both to each
other and to professor Sidebotham, it was concluded that the semantics
behind legal formed the following definition. Le' gal: Pertaining to safety,
i.e. anything that will keep Cooper Union out of legal trouble. We worked
from there, and researched Uniform Building Code literature, OSHA manuals,
and literature regarding the development of labs for chemical and
biological use, as well as literature on the disposal of created waste. The
following is an overview of precautions, safety measures, guidelines, and
precedent which will theoretically create the safest, and most professional
classroom and lab atmospheres. Information is presented on labs from the
most innocuous, to the most potentially threatening.

SECTION I THE CLASSROOM
As simple as a classroom may seem, much thought should go into its
design and construction. Seeing as how it will be the incubator of great
minRAB, the classroom incorporated into room 643 should meet all safety
regulations, while being a pleasant place to learn. Light, ventilation,
exits, access, and fire safety must all be considered when building a
classroom. The Uniform Building Code states that a classroom is a Group E
occupancy, and follows that statement with a series of legislation. The
legal aspects of a classroom begin with the basicsذlight and ventilation.
An enclosed area designated as a classroom has to have natural light from
windows which should have an area proportional to at least 1/10 the total
floor area. Ventilation from exterior openings should be proportional to
at least 1/20 the total area. Where this is not possible, artificial light
and mechanical must be implemented to accomplish the same effect, whereby
ventilation would be achieved at 5 ft3/min. of outside air, and 15 ft3/min.
per occupant. Entrances and exits must also follow guidelines dictated by
the Uniform Building Code. The exits of the proposed classroom cannot be
more than 75 feet from an exit corridor, enclosed stairway or the
building's exterior. An exit through an adjoining room is also possible if
the exit to exit distance does not exceed the specified 75 feet., and there
are no obvious obstructions. Passage through a storage facility or haz-mat
lab in the neigrabroadoring rooms would be unacceptable. The exit corridor
walls and ceilings must be at least 1-hour-fire resistive construction with
protected openings. The width of exit lanes must also be proportional to at
least the nuraber of occupants divided by 50. Also, since the classroom
requires only two exits, the distance separating them must be at least half
the length of the room's diagonal. As far as access to the room is
concerned, it must acc essible to the physically handicapped. This access
should come in the form of a ramp or elevator. The classroom atmosphere
must also follow fire safety guidelines. Walls floors, and partitions must
all be of a material consistent with construction requirements, and must be
more effective than smoke or draft stops. All of the door openings must be
fitted with fire asserablies, and be at least self or automatic closing,
tight fitting, and smoke/fire protective, with a rating of at least 20
minutes. The storage closets near the classroom must be of at least 1 hour
fire resistive construction. As a new structure within Cooper, the
classroom should also get up to code by having a sprinkler system, which is
necessary in ALL occupancies.

SECTION II THE LABS
One of the most important pieces of the lab building puzzle is the
installation of an acceptable skeleton. The infrastructure of any lab is a
key to its smooth and safe operation. Ventilation, plurabing, climate
control, accessibility, stor age, electricity, and fire control should all
be integral parts of a lab, not carelessly placed afterthoughts. The
following few paragraphs touch on the basics required for safe operation
considered "up to code." Entrances and exits, as well as everything else in
the lab, must be handicap accessible. Doors must have glass panels, and
push outward in the direction of exit. Each lab must have two exits, each
allowing for a different evacuation path. Air systems must be specifically
designed to properly accommodate lab work. Toxic fumes and contaminated air
must be driven from the lab through a series of ducts, which vent the air
via a powerful fan. Air intake ducts must also be carefully situated by a
distance of at least 30 feet from discharge vents so as not to re-circulate
contaminated air. Discharge vents must extend at least 10 feet from the
roof, and any structures and vents existing on it. All ducts must also be
carefully tested for leaks after installation. When dealing with high
toxicity, or contamination possibility, branched duct work must be stopped
at the lab, and it must have its own comfort ventilation, supply air
systems, and health and safety exhaust ventilation systems. Temperature and
humidity can be worker controlled, or situation dictated. Electrical
systems also face safety considerations. Emergency secondary power service
(in the form of a diesel generator) must be allocated in the instance of a
primary building power outage. Fire systems, emergency communication
systems, lighting, signs, fire pumps, refrigeration, exhaust fans, heating
and air supply systems, and smoke evacuation systems must all be connected
to the secondary power source. Plurabing safety measures also play an
important role in the creation of a good lab. Sinks must be constructed of
chemical resistant materials. Drains should have built in solid waste
strainers. Water pressure must be able to meet the neeRAB of the high
pressure safety systems at any time. Lastly, drinking wat er lines must be
separate from lab sink lines. Safety considerations heavily concentrate on
fire control. Fire walls must be erected along the perimeter of a lab.
Halon 1301 sprinkler systems and heat sensitive detection systems must be
installed. The primary electrical system of the lab and entire building
should have an automatic power-down switch in the event of an electrical
fire, or potentially threatening short circuit. Fuel gas must have the same
sort of shut off capability. As far as hazardous waste is concerned, it
includes anything other than paper, plastic, glass, and non-hazardous
refuse. It must be stored in its own room with explosion venting glass
windows, exhaust, and fire suppression systems. The room should have a
divider in the event of the necessity to store incompatible chemicals. This
is also where cadaver refrigeration should be located. The room must have
an eyewash, fire extinguisher, shower and fire blanket in, or right outside
of it. This is only a basic trea tment of hazardous waste, however. To go
into more depth, proper disposal techniques must be discussed. After waste
is stored in the ultra-safe storage room, what does one do with it? How is
it removed from the school? As an example of the particularity of proper
waste disposal, a case study of the procedures for disposing of infectious
waste (found in bio-med labs) through a contractor is presented. If
infectious biohazard waste was simply thrown out with the trash, and found
its way to a landfill, it would present a major health risk to all in the
immediate area. If the local vermin went swimming about in the trash and
found a sweet little infection, they would become carriers, and spread the
infection to pets or directly to us. This happens and is solely the result
of irresponsibility and careless business practices. Anytime lab work is
done with cells, blood, fluiRAB, carcasses, or microorganisms, there is a
strong possibility that some sort of infectious waste will be produced. L
ab officials are responsible for developing and implementing safety and
waste-management programs, but the one who is experimenting is responsible
for following the guidelines and immediate disposal. S/he must also know
who the contracted disposal company is, and be aware of all regulations
pertaining to the waste at hand. Some of the produced waste can be treated
on-site. Requirements for this include an autoclave and an incinerator. The
incinerator neeRAB pollution control permits to exist in the lab, or
anywhere else. The solid waste which is treated in the autoclave or
incinerator can be thrown out as trash after it is heated, and all bacteria
are killed. Objects that are too big for the autoclave can incinerated in a
proper incinerator-- not an open bonfire. Waste which cannot be treated in
either of the manners listed above should be packaged in sturdy bags.
LiquiRAB must be placed in leak-proof containers. Anatomical specimens must
be placed in rigid shipping containers. Typicall y, contracted disposal
companies will treat waste with liquiRAB, and or gases to decontaminate them.
Waste having more than one danger attached to it (radioactivity,
infectivity, toxicity, etc.) must be very specially treated by
professionals. Animal specimen cages must be cleaned regularly, and bedding
material can be incinerated. Cadavers and anatomical parts must be
refrigerated until disposed of. When packed for disposal, they should be
surrounded by absorbent material. "Sharps" are needles, glass, probes and
other objects capable of piercing tissue. They must be placed in their own
containers and packed in such a way hat will disallow puncture. In
conjunction with such procedures, designed to keep society at large safe,
there should be programs designed to assure those working in the lab that
they will be safe. A medical program is an oRABhoot of any good safety
program. The objective of the medical program is to prevent disease and
injury. It is recommended that the medical progr am do four important
things. It must educate lab technicians and workers about hazarRAB and
protective measures necessary to reduce the possibility of the hazarRAB. It
should also identify specific health problems in the particular environment.
Thirdly, it should encourage frequent medical checkups to ensure early
detection of diseases, or other changes in health. Lastly, the medical
program should encourage necessary immunizations. The program, however,
should not replace a regular physical examination. Biological monitoring is
a specific type of medical program intended to follow a group of workers
who are exposed to known hazarRAB. It should determine any health changes
caused by that hazard.
WorRAB: 1718