This document describes the policies and practices that CAT/XSD will follow to reduce accidents and control adverse effects that may result from the use of hazardous substances in CAT/XSD’s facilities at the APS. This guideline applies to all chemicals used for CAT/XSD’s installation and maintenance activities and to all chemical reagents used for laboratory purposes. Experimental samples are included only to the extent specified below.

While this guideline does provide policies and general guidance, it may not include all precautions that are needed for the safe conduct of certain operations. CAT/XSD has developed other guidelines that define how hazard controls for individual operations will be determined and implemented. In general, the supervisor or Principal Investigator is responsible for obtaining the information and implementing the controls necessary for workers to perform work without endangering themselves, others, or the environment. CAT/XSD welcomes suggestions for alternatives to the proposed controls.

Users of Chemicals will:

• Become familiar with the hazards associated with the chemicals before using them, and
• Become familiar with the hazard controls for the intended application of the chemicals and verify the proper functioning of such controls before chemical usage begins.

Supervisory Personnel (Including Principal Investigators) will:

• Provide the CAT/XSD Safety Coordinator or Chemical Safety Coordinator with timely advanced notice of the need to use chemicals;
• Give the CAT/XSD Safety Coordinator appropriate safety information for each chemical;
• Become familiar with the hazards associated with the chemicals and ensure that the information is communicated to the persons working with the chemicals; and
• Become familiar with appropriate hazard controls and ensure that required controls are in place before workers begin using the chemicals.

The Chemical Safety Coordinator or Laboratory Safety Captains will:

• Maintain the chemical inventory using the ANL Chemical Ordering, Reporting, and Attributes Library (CORAL) according to the "APS CAT Guide to Using the ANL CORAL" available on the APS Safety and Training web page.
• Maintain an awareness of the chemical-related activities conducted in the spaces under their control;
• Periodically verify the proper functioning of the engineered controls and the proper maintenance of storage facilities; and
• Periodically verify the proper labeling of chemicals stored in their facilities.

The Safety Coordinator and Chemical Safety Coordinator will:

• Review the proposed introduction of new chemicals into CAT/XSD’s facilities to verify that sufficient controls are (or will be) in place to ensure that the chemicals can be used safely, and
• Review proposed new uses of chemicals that are currently in stock, to verify that sufficient controls are (or will be) in place to ensure that the chemicals can be used safely.

Pre-Purchase and Pre-Usage Reviews

CAT/XSD personnel wishing to bring new chemicals into the CAT/XSD facilities at the APS must obtain approval from the CAT/XSD Safety Coordinator or CAT/XSD Chemical Safety Coordinator. Obtaining approval requires, at a minimum, submitting Material Safety Data Sheets for the chemicals. CAT/XSD will also rely on information from its Experiment Safety Review procedure to alert it to the planned use of hazardous chemicals.

Review Criteria

CAT/XSD personnel reviewing the proposed new usage of a chemical in the CAT facilities will consider the following issues:

• Availability of suitable storage facilities;
• Adequacy of existing engineered controls;
• Adequacy of existing procedures;
• Waste handling capability and needs;
• User training.

Approval will not be given until the reviewer is satisfied that all concerns have been addressed, or can be addressed before the chemical is brought in (or used for a new purpose).

Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

No chemical will be allowed to enter the CAT/XSD facilities without the availability of a current SDS obtained from the manufacturer, the ANL CORAL, or via the web.  SDSs may be stored in a central location providing ready access to the hazard information.

Container Labels

All containers holding hazardous chemicals in the CAT’s facilities at the APS will be labeled in accordance with OSHA requirements (see REFERENCES). CAT/XSD will rely on the veracity, accuracy, and sufficiency of the manufacturer-affixed labels on the original containers. CAT/XSD personnel shall not remove manufacturer-affixed labels. If CAT/XSD personnel transfer hazardous chemicals to other containers, those containers shall be labeled, at a minimum, with:

• The name of the chemical that appears on the original container and the Safety Data Sheet; and
• Appropriate hazard warnings, including known health effects.

CAT/XSD permits the use of NFPA 704 labels providing they contain additional text describing health effects and other specific hazard warnings.

Training

CAT/XSD requires all personnel using its facilities to have all the training required by OSHA with regard to the chemicals being used in their work area. Supervisors and Principal Investigators are responsible for providing personnel working under their direction with this information, which includes the following:

• Methods and observations that may be used to detect the presence or release of a hazardous chemical in the work area;
• The physical and health hazards of the chemicals in the work area; and
• The measures that can be taken to protect oneself from these hazards, including specific procedures required by CAT/XSD, the use of personal protective equipment and engineered controls specified by CAT/XSD, and appropriate emergency procedures.

CAT/XSD and its personnel may, as is appropriate on a case-by-case basis, use the training capabilities of Argonne National Laboratory and the APS to satisfy chemical-specific training requirements.

List of Hazardous Chemicals

Upon the arrival of a chemical in the CAT/XSD facilities at the APS, responsible CAT personnel will enter the chemical in the ANL CORAL according to the instructions in the "APS CAT Guide to Using CORAL". 

When a chemical container is emptied, the responsible CAT personnel will delete the its record from the ANL CORAL.

CAT/XSD will perform an annual inventory of its chemical stock using the ANL CORAL.

Information on Hazardous Chemicals Used in Neighboring Sectors

CAT/XSD personnel may request information on chemicals used in neighboring CAT sectors through the XSD ES&H Coordinator or from an APS Floor Coordinator.

For more information on the management of hazardous chemicals, see the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, Title 29 CFR 1910.1200, or LMS-PROC-236.