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Lessons learned: safety incident in FRNY
by Nagy, Gabriela 01 Sep '17

01 Sep '17

Good afternoon, everyone, I wanted to share with you a safety incident that happened in our School last week, on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. The incident took place in one of the labs on second floor, old wing of FRNY, around 5:30 pm. Please see below the details and lessons learned: Incident description: A metal heating chamber was used in an experiment performed at elevated temperature (200 °C ). Inside the chamber there was a piece of cardboard placed there in the past (few years ago), by a former member of the group. The purpose of this cardboard was unknown by current group members, but it presumably provided some amount of insulation by covering some gaps in the chamber's interior walls. The chamber was heated to 200 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. At around 5:30 pm, the chamber was opened to view the sample, allowing air to enter the chamber. This caused the cardboard to combust, creating a fire. There was only one researcher in the lab at that time. Immediate action taken: The researcher switched off the heating to the chamber, and attempted to extinguish the fire by using the fire extinguisher inside the lab (type B/C). This attempt was unsuccessful; the fire extinguisher was emptied without the fire being put off. Another researcher came to the scene to help, and two additional fire extinguishers were emptied in an unsuccessful attempt to extinguish the fire. Finally, the fire was extinguished using a small amount of water. The water evaporated as steam, preventing any significant water damage to nearby electronics. Actions taken to prevent future occurrences: · All combustible materials will be removed from the chamber prior to using the setup at elevated temperatures. · The role of the initial piece of cardboard in the chamber is being investigated, to determine whether it is necessary. If deemed important, this will be replaced with a similar piece, made of a different material, suitable for use at elevated temperatures. · Group members will be educated on fire safety, including types of fire extinguishers and their limitation on extinguishing fires. · The safety officer will develop SOP for the use of the setup, to include a check list before the start of the experiment. Lessons learned: Should a fire develop in the lab, the best course of action is always to pull the fire alarm and evacuate the building. Purdue has a Fire Department an campus and once the fire alarm in the building is activated, they are here within 5 minutes to respond to the incident. Each lab is equipped with a fire extinguisher; most of them are class B/C, suitable to extinguish fires from flammable and combustible liquids and from electrical equipment. Therefore, these extinguishers are not suitable to extinguish fires from paper, wood and plastic (require extinguisher type A). Fire extinguishers should only be used by emergency personnel, or by trained people. In this particular case, closing the chamber and thus eliminating the access of oxygen to the inside of the chamber, would have extinguished the fire. It is important to know the dynamics of the fire: fire needs 3 elements to exist and by eliminating one element you put the fire off. This is known as the "Fire Triangle", see the picture below. [cid:image003.png@01D32352.4518CCE0] I hope that sharing this incident with you will prevent similar situations from happening in our School. Thank you for your commitment to safety! Sincerely, 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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Bi-weekly timecard deadline- Pay period ending 9/3/17
by Wilson, Christina D 28 Aug '17

28 Aug '17

Good morning, Since we have a holiday on Monday , September 4th, we ask that time cards for this pay period be turned in by 4pm this Friday , September 1st. Thank you! Christina Wilson Payroll Account Clerk Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Forney Hall *Room 1057 Tel. 765-494-4072 wilso917(a)purdue.edu [purdue]

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FW: Donation of Eclipse Glasses
by Johnson, Beverly J 24 Aug '17

24 Aug '17

Hello Everyone, Now that we have had the chance to experience a solar eclipse first hand we have the ability to help those who may not have access to the resources we have here at Purdue. The organization Astronomers Without Borders<http://astronomerswithoutborders.org> will be collecting eclipse glasses to send to children in South America and Southeast Asia who will have the chance to see a solar eclipse of their own in 2019. If you still have your eclipse glasses and no longer need them please consider donating them to this organization. GSO has set up a box in FRNY 1025 to collect any glasses, please drop off any glasses you would like to donate in this box in the coming weeks. Thank you, Claire Nimlos cnimlos(a)purdue.edu<mailto:cnimlos@purdue.edu> Graduate Student Graduate Student Outreach Chair Chemical Engineering Department at Purdue University [1474383190122_Outreach]

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GSO Symposium 2017
by Johnson, Beverly J 23 Aug '17

23 Aug '17

Please join me in congratulating all of the winners from the symposium. We had a great turnout, and everyone did an awesome job! Posters: Best overall -Ishant Khurana Energy and Catalysis - Abhijit D. Talpade Materials and Nanotechnolgy - Swapnil Deshmukh Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology - Andrew Radcliffe Computational Engineering - Paulami Majumdar Presentations: Best overall - Shankali Pradhan Energy and Catalysis - Ravi Joshi Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology - Claire Kilmer Computational Engineering - Parul Verma Bev Johnson Graduate Program Administrator Chemical Engineering Forney Hall 2043A Purdue University 765-494-4057 [P bling]

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Teaching Schedule - Fall 2017
by Hendryx, Sandra K 22 Aug '17

22 Aug '17

I have attached a copy of the current teaching schedule. Thanks. Sandy Sandra Hendryx, Secretary Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Office Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering, Room G041 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907 Phone: 765-494-5650 Fax: 765-494-0805 [P bling]

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ISP Recertification of our School
by Nagy, Gabriela 21 Aug '17

21 Aug '17

Hello Everyone, I am pleased to let you know that following the Integrated Safety Plan (ISP) recertification meeting with REM representatives on Tuesday, August 15, 2017, followed by safety inspection of selected labs in FRNY, our School was ISP recertified for another year. The official recertification document was signed on August 15, 2017, and made available to me over the weekend. Thank you for your efforts in making this possible and for your sustained commitment to safety! Sincerely, Gabriela on behalf of 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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OSHA inspections
by Valley, Jeffrey L 21 Aug '17

21 Aug '17

BE ADVISED - OSHA will be conducting their annual inspection of the building starting tomorrow, Tuesday 8-22-17. Please check your areas to make sure everything is in proper order. Thank you. Jeff Valley

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Sirens activated
by Nagy, Gabriela 17 Aug '17

17 Aug '17

Hello everyone, This was just a test of the sirens, as part of Boiler Gold Rush activities. The sirens will be activated at the same time tomorrow. http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017/Q3/purdue-to-activate-the-all-… 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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CHE Academic Communications Specialist
by Corti, David S 16 Aug '17

16 Aug '17

Dear all, I am pleased to welcome back Dr. Katie Fields to our School, who has accepted the position of our new Academic Communications Specialist for CHE. This position will support the efforts of our School to evaluate and continuously improve the oral and written learning objectives of our UG curriculum. Her first day was this past Monday (Aug. 14), and she will be located in FRNY 1029. She will be working with faculty on assessing technical writing and oral communication in the Senior Lab, and in the Fundamentals Lab. Among other duties, she will also be assisting with instructional communication in our undergraduate Professional Development seminars. She received a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, and received a minor in Biology. So we are very pleased that someone with her unique skill set will be working with us. Regards, David S. Corti Professor and Executive Officer Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Purdue University Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907-2100 Phone: (765) 496-6064 Fax: (765) 494-0805

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ChE Committee Assignments 2017-2018
by Guerrero, Betty Lou 16 Aug '17

16 Aug '17

Please find attachment sent on behalf of Profs. Kim and Corti. Thank you, Betty

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