July 2018 - Che-courtesy-list

Chemical spill and fire alarm activated on July 24
by Nagy, Gabriela 27 Jul '18

27 Jul '18

Good morning, everyone, As many of you are aware, we had a building evacuation on Tuesday, July 24, and I wanted to clarify the events that led to the fire alarm activation on that day. The fire alarm was activated not because of a fire in the building, but in response to a chemical spill in FRNY 3140 on the 3rd floor, new wing of FRNY. Please see below the details. Incident description: Around 1:15 pm on July 24, an undergraduate researcher was preparing a standard reaction inside a glovebox in a 100 ml 3 neck flask. The reaction mixture contained small quantities (mL range) of ethanedithiol and propylamine, along with other chemicals. After connecting the condenser and thermocouple port to the 3-neck flask, the researcher tried to remove the assembly from the glovebox through the antechamber. Along with this assembly the researcher put a gallon size trash bag and a 40 mL vial inside the antechamber, to remove everything at the same time from the glovebox. While transferring the assembly from the antechamber to the fume hood, the researcher accidentally pulled off the clip that secures the connection between the condenser and the flask. This flask dropped on the floor and broke. Although some of the chemicals in the reaction mixture are toxic at high concentrations, the vapor concentrations released during the spill were believed to be below the toxic limit by orders of magnitude. However, because of the thiol in the flask, the lab started to smell bad. As a note, thiols are very malodorous sulfur compounds detectable by the human nose at parts per billion concentration levels. Immediate action taken: The occupants of the lab evacuated the lab immediately, using the door next to the fume food. Some of the thiol vapors escaped in the hallway, and the entire 3rd floor hallway stated to smell. Two researchers reentered the lab, and wearing respirators and appropriate personal protective equipment they cleaned up the spill. After decontaminating the area, signs were put on the doors of FRNY 3140 to not enter the lab without respirator (the sign did not mention why the need of a respirator). Because of miscommunication about the toxicity of the chemicals involved in the spill, researchers from other labs on 3rd floor were concerned about the spill. After 2 hours of this incident, around 3:30 pm, the fire alarm was activated on the 3rd floor and the fire department responded and further investigated FRNY 3140 for any spill and chemical release. The fire department provided clearance to enter the building within the next 15 minutes. Actions taken to prevent future occurrences: The incident was discussed in a group meeting and an improved procedure to transfer assemblies to and from the glovebox was implemented; this includes the use of a mandatory secondary containment. Undergraduate researchers will have to have their reaction assembly checked by a graduate student before transferring it in or out of the glovebox. Lessons learned: 1. Lack of communication and miscommunication lead to rumors being spread in the building, distortion of information and panic. There is a need of better inter-lab and wider, fast communication within the School to communicate situations that are of concern to the occupants of the building, but not emergencies (e.g.: malodorous chemical spill or release that is not a health hazard, but is a discomfort to people and thus avoiding the area is recommended). 2. In case of a highly hazardous chemical spill calling 911 and pulling the fire alarm is the first step. If in doubt about how hazardous the chemical is, it is always good to initiate the evacuation. It is better to be safe than sorry. PUFD is trained to respond to different incidents, including chemical spills. There is nothing wrong with PUFD coming out and making sure everything is OK. 3. If you activate the fire alarm and have information about the incident, please stay close by the entrance to the building to provide information to the emergency responders. 4. In case of emergencies which do not require building evacuation, immediate communication about the incident is necessary. Please send your notification to multiple people in the building who can distribute information to the School, not only to me (e.g.: Jeff Valley, etc.). The first available person who receives the notification can then communicate the emergency situation to the school, and make recommendations (e.g.: avoid the area). I hope sharing the details of this incident will help prevent similar situations from happening in the future. Thank you, Gabriela On behalf of the ChE Safety Committee __________________ Gabriela Nagy, PhD Industrial Education Director Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Room FRNY G041D Purdue University Tel: (765)-496-1710 E-mail: nagyg(a)purdue.edu<mailto:nagyg@purdue.edu>

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Thesis Dissertation Announcement for Mariana Moreno
by Vigar, Jill K 27 Jul '18

27 Jul '18

This email is to announce that Mariana Moreno will be defending her thesis: Robust Process Monitoring for Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Thursday, August 2, 2018 at 2:30 PM in FRNY G124. The dissertation is directed by Dr. Reklaitis and Dr. Nagy. The abstract is attached, and all are welcome to attend. Regards, Jill Jill K. Vigar Graduate Office Secretary Forney Hall, Rm 2037 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907 P. 765-496-0309 E. jvigar(a)purdue.edu<mailto:jvigar@purdue.edu> [ENG-David-Colle-H-BG-RGB]

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Old Side Elevator
by Valley, Jeffrey L 26 Jul '18

26 Jul '18

BE ADVISED - The elevator on the old side of the building is back in normal operation as of this morning. There are a few minor items to be finished up but it has been tested and certified by the State Office and is up and running. Thanks. Jeff Valley

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PhD Orientation
by Vigar, Jill K 24 Jul '18

24 Jul '18

All, Please see the attached for this year's PhD Orientation schedule. Sincerely, Jill Jill K. Vigar Graduate Office Secretary Forney Hall, Rm 2037 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907 P. 765-496-0309 E. jvigar(a)purdue.edu<mailto:jvigar@purdue.edu> [ENG-David-Colle-H-BG-RGB]

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Reminder: Safety awareness training session - today
by Nagy, Gabriela 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

Hello everyone, This is a reminder that the next safety awareness training session is today, July 9 from 1:30-2:20 pm in FRNY G060A. All new employees and researchers need to have initial training; if you have any new people who joined your group recently, please ask them to attend this training. Thank you, Gabriela __________________ Gabriela Nagy, PhD Industrial Education Director Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Room FRNY G041D Purdue University Tel: (765)-496-1710 E-mail: nagyg(a)purdue.edu<mailto:nagyg@purdue.edu> From: Che-staff-list <che-staff-list-bounces(a)ecn.purdue.edu> On Behalf Of Nagy, Gabriela Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 4:39 PM To: chme(a)ecn.purdue.edu; chmegrad(a)ecn.purdue.edu Subject: [Che-staff-list] Next safety awareness training session Hello Everyone, The next safety awareness training sessions is scheduled for Monday, July 9, 2018 from 1:30 - 2:30 pm am in FRNY G060A. All new employees and researchers need to have initial safety training. If you have new people joining your groups for research, they will need safety training before they start working (e.g. visitors, exchange students, post-docs, etc.). Please ask them to attend this session. Most of our undergraduate students already have the initial training, and would need to take the online refresher. Students from other departments, doing research in our labs, will need this initial training. Thank you, Gabriela __________________ Gabriela Nagy, PhD Industrial Education Director Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Room FRNY G041D Purdue University Tel: (765)-496-1710 E-mail: nagyg(a)purdue.edu<mailto:nagyg@purdue.edu>

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Outside window cleaning
by Valley, Jeffrey L 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

BE ADVISED - The East entry of the building is temporarily blocked off due to a lift being used to clean the outside of the building windows. Please be aware and use caution as they will be continuing around the building and will be above different entries until finished. Thanks. Jeff Valley

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Thesis Announcement for Paulami Majumdar
by Johnson, Beverly J 06 Jul '18

06 Jul '18

This email is to announce that Paulami Majumdar will be defending her thesis: "Density Functional Theory Investigations of Metal/Oxide Interfaces and Transition Metal Catalysts" Friday, July 13, 2018 at 10:00 AM in FRNY 3062B. The dissertation is directed by Dr. Greeley. The abstract is attached, and all are welcome to attend. Bev Johnson Graduate Program Administrator Chemical Engineering Forney Hall 2037D Purdue University 765-494-4057 [P bling]

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My health status - July 5, 2018
by Varma, Arvind 05 Jul '18

05 Jul '18

Dear Colleagues, I hope that you had a great July 4th celebration yesterday! I am writing to give you a brief update of my health status. My last chemo program ended near April end. Since side effects increase with cycle number, the last cycle was tough and kept me in bed for several days. We returned to West Lafayette in mid-May and the oncologists' plan was that I'd go on an oral chemo drug, similar to the one I was on from July 1, 2016 to the end of October, 2017. Insurance declined this plan, however, for two reasons - cost (~$16K/month!) and the fact that it was an experimental plan, I'd have been the first person with pancreatic cancer to try this drug. Soon thereafter, I had a tough time for one month from mid-May to mid-June; in retrospect I had "chemo brain" - see Google for details. It was scary, I couldn't think at all, lost all analytical ability. I became seriously anxious/depressed. On meds, all is back to normal now - thank God! Because the cancer marker was going up with no chemo drug, Karen & I returned to Scottsdale, AZ on June 9 for plan B, yet another chemo program. I had the first chemo shot on June 14; the first cycle involves tests after 2 weeks - they were fine. The next chemo shot will be on July 12, when the next cancer marker will be taken. After giving a few days for side effects (if any), we'll return to West Lafayette on July 17.<x-apple-data-detectors://0> We'll return to AZ after about 3 weeks, for the 2-month CT scans and tests, take chemo #3 here, then return to West Lafayette once again for start of the Fall semester. Since June 20, all traces of "chemo brain" have gone away. I've been working well, having the usual Skype meetings with the research group, and have sent out 2 manuscripts for publication - always a sign of normalcy for us! I thank you for your continued prayers and messages of good wishes - they mean a lot and keep my spirits up. With best wishes, Arvind Arvind Varma R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor Charles D. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Purdue University Editor, Cambridge Series in Chemical Engineering Tel: 765-494-8484; Fax: 765-494-0805; Email: avarma(a)purdue.edu<mailto:avarma@purdue.edu> https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/People/ptProfile?id=11068

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