Santo Manicone is President of Facility Support Services LLC, a national environmental and safety engineering consulting firm with offices in Connecticut and Illinois. He has worked and assisted higher education facilities for over 16 years achieving federal and local compliance. He can be reached at support@snet.net or by calling 203-288-1281.
According to statistics, there has been a steady growth in the renovation of laboratories and research development facilities throughout the United States and Canada. As higher education facilities grow in enrollment and the pressure to keep up with the ever-changing technical needs mounts, it is the facilities next step to expand and adapt their existing structures. In a few cases, these large-scale renovations may involve an entire laboratory or a number of buildings. As we are all well aware of unpleasant encounters, these types of projects seem to carry a number of hidden costs such as transporting chemicals, asbestos abatement, lead abatement, decontaminating equipment, storage areas for chemicals, and chemical disposal.
This article was in response to a number of facilities that are currently experiencing the "over the budget whammy" on their laboratory renovation and expansion. In this article, I will provide an overview of the variety of problems that may be incurred, as well as present a series of procedures that can be used to manage the activities associated with a move or renovation of a laboratory. These procedures may vary depending on the type of laboratories that are involved and whether it is during an active semester. Over the years with laboratory renovation, I found it very useful to look at these activities in stages such as:
The Planning Stage
Moving a lab requires careful planning to account for the safety and health of those involved in the project such as laboratory occupants, moving personnel, contractors, and the adjoining occupants of surrounding areas. If your facility has a Health and Safety personnel or relevant personnel it will also be important to incorporate these individuals in the program. Appointing a project or move coordinator to obtain all the required facts related to the move or renovation and coordinate various activities would be beneficial. For large projects, a committee that includes representatives of all involved parties and chaired by the move coordinator can assist in some of the hassles. In many cases, it is still important to have this committee established for any size project.
As you get started, the laboratory personnel seem to have invaluable information that can identify current and past practices that may reveal most of your potential problems. For example, the location of hazardous chemical spills that were not properly remediated may result in toxic fumes from floor drilling. Broken thermometers that contained mercury and which remain in plumbing systems or under floors or cabinets can pose a major concern. Hidden containers of radioactive materials in the storage cabinets may result in exposure to radioactive contamination.
Try to put the pressure on these laboratory occupants to also identify what equipment and chemicals are to be moved and advise them of appropriate handling procedures. Make them responsible for decontaminating equipment and surfaces prior to renovation activities. Your Health and Safety professionals should ensure that all the right questions are asked, and they are required to maintain all appropriate state and federal regulated paper work for disposal and compliance. They should also provide advice and assistance in assessing potentially hazardous conditions and specifying appropriate decontamination procedures.
If you are planning group meetings, invite the contractor to describe their work and the estimated schedule of demolition and renovation. The contractors should explain the type of equipment being used such as a water-cooled floor drill, dust control fans, and flame torches. Meetings like these will open a line of communication allowing the laboratory personnel to voice their opinions for chemical management in these areas.
One last thing in the planning stage is to anticipate finding unknown and unlabeled materials. Any move or relocation should be viewed as an opportunity to review equipment and material needs and discard items that are not needed. Try not to store old chemicals that are improperly stored or are showing deteriorated containers, this will just pose a catastrophic accident to happen. This is the time for major house cleaning of equipment and chemicals.
The Decontamination
In a number of cases, contracted moving personnel will require all equipment, apparatus, and fixed structures to be decontaminated prior to the move. Most of the preparation can be done two weeks before the move, thus minimizing disruption of the laboratory work. Many laboratory materials are regulated and will fall onto some form of regulated requirement. All biological materials must be packaged before the move. Proper packaging consists of a primary sealed container placed within a secondary, sealed, unbreakable container, with enough absorbent material in between to contain and absorb any spill. Once decontamination is done, the project coordinator will require that no work that can re-contaminate the equipment be performed. A labeling system should be incorporated so that no confusion between clean and unclean equipment can happen.
It will be important to set aside additional storage equipment such as drums, absorbents, spill kits, labels, and personnel protection clothing. Decontamination or moving should take place only when appropriate safety personnel are readily available, thus coordination between the movers and safety personnel is essential. If the support of laboratory personnel is available, it is advisable to let them move or direct the individuals. Moving personnel should not handle equipment that is not decontaminated. Place some form of marking on the equipment so that the movers know which equipment has gone through the decontamination process and the proper location.
Decontamination Tips
Construction and Renovation
This is probably the most disruptive and "dirty" portion of the process besides the asbestos abatement project. The potential hazards are primarily to the demolition or construction workers, but in some cases, the personnel in surrounding areas can be affected if a catastrophic event occurs or regulations are violated. During this phase, it is important to provide general awareness training to construction personnel, particularly if they have not done other lab work. As many facility managers know, it is up to the contractor to maintain a safe working environment for their workers and building occupants. If the planning stage and decontamination stage was a success, there should be little impact to the contractors or occupants. As the project moves on in this stage there will be some additional preparation which may involve removing asbestos from pipes or lead paint from unknown areas. These activities are common and should be taken as a on call needed basis. It is recommended that an asbestos contractor be informed or on call in case of a quick removal.
It is important to have several meetings with laboratory personnel and safety officers concerning new emergency or safety equipment installed. In some cases, the wrong location, equipment selection, and equipment operation can create a problem after the project is completed. These individuals could offer insight on the proper regulations that are applicable for these devices and streamline the ordering process. I found out that architects and designers have limited understanding of safety procedures and equipment.
Moving In
For this final phase, the move-preparation phase is done in reverse. Try to incorporate a construction closure meeting with all appropriate personnel and vendors. It is important to understand that the same issues of packing must be considered in unpacking. Plans for handling "broken" or "spilled" materials must be made in advance. The moving company should be working with laboratory personnel on handling and transportation. It is likely that some construction-related activities will continue after the move, and potential problems must be anticipated. Make sure that all of the safety systems are operable, particularly fire detectors, alarms, emergency eye wash and showers, emergency exits and lighting. Be sure that staff have received appropriate training and orientation that covers any changes in the new space or equipment before operation.
The renovation or decommission of any type of laboratory can pose hazardous conditions to a facility. It is important to properly plan and anticipate all types of scenarios that could effect the project. I have found out through experience, that communication of all involved parties and groups can solved a large majority of unknown concerns. The laboratory personnel are packed with hidden information that serves as a great resource for all. Try to sit down with these faculty members or even some janitorial staff to fully understand these hidden surprises. As far as asbestos concerns, just remember that a properly performed inspection will reveal the large scale abatement concerns and probably not identify the hidden ones. So always keep some extra for the glovebag abatement projects during the renovation.
If proper planning is done, the rest of the steps will proceed smoothly with a minimum loss of work time. If the stages that I have outlined are carried out correctly, the actual move should be relatively trouble free.