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Re: Safety notes
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> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Safety notes
> Date: Thursday, February 10, 2000 1:43 AM
>
> Original Poster: "Dr. Resonance" <Dr.Resonance-at-next-wave-dot-net>
>
>
>
> to: Terry
>
> Thank you for the interesting data. OSHA did drop by our shop about 10
> years ago, and I chased them out. I told them I was a "research
laboratory"
> and we do not manufacture equipment for sale to the public. I "lied" a
bit,
> but thank heaven, they brought the story and have never returned. I told
> them if they were going to pester me they would have to start right in
their
> home base at Madison, Wisconsin, in the research labs at Univ. of
> Wisconsin --- most of which are safety nightmares with dangling wires, HV
> all over, magnetic fields, etc. OSHA applies mostly to manufacturing
> procedures and doesn't seem to have must jurisdiction over research labs
> unless they are doing commercial testing.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dr. Resonance
Well.... OSHA DOES have jurisdiction over research labs (They and their ilk
certainly have a distinct presence at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) or any
other "occupational" place. (perhaps because the grad students are slave
labor, they aren't occupied?) They also have the practical problem of
enforcement being somewhat difficult in a research lab, since it is not
like there is some manufacturing process that they can review. In any
case, at JPL our labs (and offices) get safety inspected twice a year, and
we get dinged for such things as book cases above (sitting) head height
without chains or doors to keep the books in the shelf in case of an
earthquake, cords laying across the floor, blocked exits, unsecured
equipment in racks, lack of oxygen detectors in rooms supplied with
nitrogen lines, etc. I will say that they've never been unreasonable.
But, I think Terry's post was more to show some typical clearance distances
for various voltages that are recommended by at least one source (OSHA
pretty much follows IEEE and ANSI recommendations here). And, it is of
some interest to read the backup information behind the rules (why did they
choose a particular distance, for instance) which is often in the opinion
letters and such. The longer distance than one would expect is because they
wanted to allow for reaching over a barricade at the specified distance,
and so the distance is moved out 3-4 feet.
For an interesting read, check out the opinions and rulings on "live line
work", and attempts to make sensible rules for guys that work on energized
700 kV power lines.