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Dear Peter Anderson,
Perhaps I misunderstood your original message.
<< Dear Sara,
Regulations change, but one thing that became clear to us back in
1988 when working on the Carnegie Science Center, is that it can be
better to look like a zoo, than a laboratory. There are countless
regulations
governing labs - some to protect the animals; even more to protect people
from animals that may be infected in the course of research or testing. >>
When you wrote "it can be better to look like a zoo, than a laboratory", it
sure sounded like a cosmetic, easy way out approach. It seemed to speak for
itself. Clearly I misunderstood.
Whether you are a zoo or a laboratory, since you have animals and you (all),
as you noted, are particularly safety conscious, I guess it's safe to assume
that most list readers have a copy of "Biosafety In The Laboratory: prudent
practices for handling and disposal of infectious materials," from the National
Research Council (now available from LSI). The chapter on zoonotic pathogens
details the hundreds of diseases that common animals have that can be
transmitted to people. Animal acquired infections have resulted in dozens of deaths in
the United States.
I would be the last one to suggest that you tangle yourself up unnecessarily.
I guess I just misunderstood "...it is better to look like a zoo than a
laboratory." There are enough necessary ones. ...
Take for example the OSHA regulation 29CFR1910.132 which applies to all
private sector employers in the USA. Among other things, it requires the employer
to do a workplace hazard determination, document the determination in writing,
select appropriate PPE, provide employee training, and document the training
in writing. The fine for serious, willful violation is $70,000.
Let's conduct a brief listserv reader survey (off-line). Please respond
directly to me and I'll post the results to the list. How many list readers were
totally unaware of this Federal requirement? How many readers cannot find the
file folder containing the documentation of your organization's compliance in
30 minutes (about the time the OSHA inspector might allow you to find it)?
Sincerely,
Jim Kaufman
In a message dated 2/22/2005 12:03:58 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> Dear James Kaufman,
>
> "Science center folks," as you call us, are very good at following all
> the ethically and legally required rules of conduct - especially when it
> comes to safety. You can see plenty of evidence of that on this listserv
> .
> I doubt that any other group does better. We don't "take the easy way
> out." Few if any science centers with live animals operate live animal
> laboratories, in general, so your phraseology is really inappropriate.
Any science cente> r that does operate a research laboratory will
> certainly want to comply with all the applicable regulations.
>
> Most science centers with live animals have them for young children
to pe> t, or to display as zoos do. Sometimes they call part of their
> operations
a lab," > but that is in the sense of a teaching lab, without any research
aspect a> nd there is no reason why they should under the regulatory regime
> of
> a research lab, any more than zoos or schools must..
>
> We have enough red tape in society without lab safety folks suggesting the
> at we tangle ourselves up unnecessarily, with more.
>
> Sincerely, Peter Anderson
************************
James A. Kaufman, Ph.D.
President/CEO
The Laboratory Safety Institute
Safety in Science and Science Education
192 Worcester Road, Natick, MA 01760
508-647-1900 Fax: 508-647-0062
Cell: 508-574-6264 Res: 781-237-1335
[log in to unmask] www.labsafety.org
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