Faculty of Science
Safety Committee Meeting
September 27, 2016
10:30 AM
TASC2 9705
Meeting Minutes - Approved
Present:
Managers:
R. Appanah, K. MacFarlane (co-chair), M. Dearden, H. Tailor
Workers:
C. Leonard, J. Shoults, J. Rickers-Haunerland, K. Myrtle, M. Plotnikoff, R. Goyan,
T. Procyshyn, D. de Jong-Wong, Z. Ding
Resource:
M. Neudorf
Regrets:
R. Holland, A. Barlev, C. Gershome
Recording Secretary:
L. Lin
1. Approval of Agenda
a. R. Goyan / M. Dearden
2. ShakeOut BC Presentation (L. Barnette & D. Akerstrom)
 Will be happening Oct 20, 2016 at 10:20 am.
 There will be an estimated 1 million participating in BC.
 There will be venues set up at all three campuses; at Burnaby campus,
it will be at the Saywell Atrium.
 Special pricing for emergency supplies are currently being worked out
with vendors. D. Akerstrom to look into gluten-free and peanut-free
options that people can purchase for their kits.
 New feature of using the SFU Alert System is still pending approval.
3. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting
a. J. Rickers-Haunerland / T. Procyshyn
4. Comments from the Central University Health & Safety Committee
(CUHSC)
Issues discussed at the August 2016 meeting
 A CUHSC member asked why the student in incident INC-2016002042 (MBB) was not wearing eye protection and what was being
done to ensure people are trained to wear appropriate PPE. Lab
workers must complete Laboratory Safety Training.
5. Incident Reports
a. Chemistry
 Researcher was not using proper technique for putting the
bulb on the pipette. The researcher’s hand slipped and was
cut by the glass pipette.
 The bulb may have been misshapen, and the pipette may
have been damaged in shipping.
6. Inspection Reports
a. Animal Care
 The inspections of Animal Care were completed in September.
The University Animal Care Committee does a walkthrough
twice a year. Canadian Council on Animal Care visits SFU
every three years.
7. Continuing and New Issues
a. Lab Coats
 Cotton-polyester blend lab coats that are the most commonly
used at SFU are good for spills, but are not suitable for use
when working with flammable materials. 100% cotton coats
are somewhat more fire resistant, but Nomex coats are even
more fire resistant and should be used when working with
pyrophoric materials or larger volumes of flammable liquids.
 Workrite FR lab coats are available through Thermo Fisher
Scientific and SFU’s lab coat supplier Alsco. K. MacFarlane
will distribute information about the WorkriteFR labs coats.
The coats are both fire resistant and resistant to liquid
splashes (e.g., acids).
b. Diphoterine
 A solution that claims to have advantages over water for
rinsing eyes. It has a two-year shelf life.
 C. Peltier, H. Tailor, and C. Balicki plan to attend an
information session on Wed. Oct. 26.
c. SSB door signage and air balancing
 Many of the doors in SSB have several signs posted on it,
including posters and humourous postings. The emergency
contacts for some are also out of date. Please encourage the
occupants to clean up the doors and keep the door shut to
maintain air balance.
 There have been air quality issues in C. Lowenberger’s lab
SSB 6121. The exhaust fans in the building are undersized.


Facilities have initiated a project to replace the four exhaust
fans.
The fume hood in SSB 6121 provides the only exhaust. The
fume hood face velocity has been ramped up to the maximum
setting and the fume hood is being operated in 100% mode
24/7. Unfortunately, while the air is improved, it still feels
stagnant in the space. The fume hood exhaust for the spaces
directly above SSB 6121 are tied into the manifold on the end
of the far end of the manifold adjacent to the fume hood
exhaust duct serving SSB 6121. The space directly above on
the 7000 level has good air quality, while the exhaust is
provided by a single fume hood, the size of the lab is
considerably less than that of SSB 6121. The lab directly
above on the 8000 level SSB 8121 has better air quality
although occasional odours have been reported and there
have been a couple of recent occurrences of undergraduate
students fainting in the teaching labs SSB 8133 and SSB 8121.
The exhaust for SSB 8121 is provided by two fume hoods plus
two general exhausts.
The air quality can be improved by turning the fume hoods to
full mode (i.e., 100%). Please report any air quality issues,
especially if they occur within SSB.
d. Emergency Generators
 BISC – installations completed except possibly a couple in the
SSB.
 BPK – some installations have been completed, but
installations in a couple locations are still to be completed.
e. Natural Gas Incidents
 Cabinet locks in the five lecture theatres have been installed.
The cabinets can be opened via punch code (same code for
all theatres), which PHYS, BISC, and CHEM all have. The
Scheduling Department has also forwarded the code to those
instructors teaching in one of the lecture theatres, for which a
room was requested that is equipped with natural gas and
water supplies during class scheduling.
 Facilities and the plumbers have it. Unsure if Security was
given the code.
8. Roundtable
a. R. Goyan
 Asked what to do about cigarette odours in the courtyard
outside of office? Report it.
b. M. Plotnikoff

Is the online training module ready? Yes, it is on Canvas, and
is self-enrolling. It will be in the new employee orientation. It is
still the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure proper training.
c. H. Tailor
 The SSC Chemistry building occupants regularly smell diesel
fumes from the SUB construction site. In many instances,
occupants especially on the west 8000 level have had to
vacate their workspaces until the fumes have cleared. J.
Warren reported that there was smoke visible in the 8000 level
corridor of the Chemistry building today.
 There is also a separate project involving an electrical conduit
on the north end of the SUB construction site near the parkade.
This project, the SUB project, and trucks delivering to the AQ
west loading dock create exhaust fumes that are drawn into
the air supply system creating indoor air quality problems in
the Electronics Shop and adjacent areas.
 There is currently discussion between the Dean of Science
and the Emergency Planning offices regarding what
communication will be sent out if we should experience
another shut down of the water supply. The communication
will include that all reactions should be turned off and those
that rely on cooling water should be shut off only after putting
on additional PPE (e.g., full face shield, lab coat, gloves
perhaps an apron).
d. M. Neudorf
 Will circulate document outlines for inspection process to all
safety committees. The process will have to be more flexible
for some of the committees, as the members of each
committee will have different levels of experience with lab
settings. There will likely be no change for the Faculty of
Science Safety committee.
 iAuditor: EHRS developed a lab checklist for the iPad app. If
the trial run is successful, the Safety Committee will purchase
four iPads for use for inspections.
 Public Health Agency of Canada did inspections in two labs
where the PIs are generally the most diligent with
documentation. However, they were still able to find
deficiencies. The inspectors had very high expectations for
documenting all processes with SOPs. Standard SOP
templates will be developed, which researchers can then
modified to meet their specific circumstances. The Biosafety
committee is also working on a multi-year plan to get all labs
up to compliance. Training material will be released to educate
supervisors and what their responsibilities are.

Currently, bio hazardous waste is being treated twice. The
Biosafety Committee is reviewing this procedure. In the future,
direct pickup from the lab and treatment off site may be
possible. This would require that different bags be used.
9. Motion to Adjourn
a. M. Dearden / R. Goyan
Adjourned: 11:35 am