annual report · ehs.utexas.edu 304 e. 24th st. suite 202 austin, tx 78712 512.471.3511 annual...

ehs.utexas.edu

304 E. 24th St. Suite 202

Austin, TX 78712512.471.3511

ANNUAL REPORT2016 Addressing Environmental Health and Safety Needs of the UT Austin Campus Community

Cover photo of “Tower Girl,” the Peregrine falcon that resides on the UT tower. EHS continues

its involvement with the efforts to encourage successful breeding

of this threatened species on campus.

Photo credit: Neil Crump. Used with permission.

Staff photo credit: Joseph Bussey

Reporters speak with EHS Director, John Salsman outside the Service Building.

TABLE OFCONTENTSOVERVIEW 4

LEADERSHIP 5

STATEMENTS 6

ORGANIZATION 7

MANAGEMENT 8

WHAT WE DO 9

HOW WE WORK 10

YEAR IN REVIEW 11

PROGRAM AREAS 12

SUPPORT SERVICES 20

Reporters speak with EHS Director, John Salsman outside the Service Building.

OVERVIEWABOUT US

Environmental Health and Safety, or EHS, is a campus department with a mission to promote healthy and safe operations on campus, to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to ensure protection of the environment. EHS works closely with campus departments such as Facilities Services, the UT Police Department, Fire Prevention Services and Emergency Preparedness in order to provide the best environment we can to our customers. EHS has both primary program areas and support services and each has several areas of emphasis. Our program areas include Environmental Programs, Campus and Occupational Safety, Biological and Laboratory Safety, and Radiation and Laser Safety. Our Support Services include Animal Make Safe, On-Call Response, Food and Drinking Water Safety, Project Planning and Design Review, and Training and Outreach. Much of our focus is mandated from city, state and federal regulations that are designed to protect human health and the environment. By focusing our attention on complying with these regulations, we ensure a safe learning, working and visiting environment for everyone at the University of Texas at Austin.

Environmental Health and Safety works to protect the health and safety of the faculty, staff, students, and visitors at UT in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.

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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

4

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome to the 2016 Annual Report for Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). Please understand that this is a condensed snapshot of the various programs within EHS. We have not attempted to describe everything we do because it would likely be rather long and boring. Instead, we provided facts and information that will provoke some thought about campus safety and hopefully help represent the contributions of the entire staff.EHS has many programs to help provide a safe and environmentally responsible campus, but we cannot do it alone. We hope you find this information to be both interesting and useful.

We need your continuous involvement, addressing safety in your daily work, to provide a world-class environment for learning and research.

SAFETY IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY MEMBER OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY, STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF AND VISITORS.

JOHN SALSMANDIRECTOR, EHSJohn

LEADERSHIP

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STATEMENTSVISION, MISSION & VALUES

It is our vision to become a recognized national leader and innovator in campus environmental health and safety.

The mission of Environmental Health and Safety is to promote healthy and safe operations on campus, to protect students, faculty, staff, and visitors and to ensure protection of the environment.

VISION

MISSION

VISION

MISSION

VALUES VALUESExcellence: We encourage excellence and strive to go beyond compliance, promoting the best EHS practices.

Competency: We work diligently to maintain and continue to improve our skills, abilities, and knowledge.

Customer Orientation: We are committed to providing efficient and customer-friendly services to the university community.

Collaboration: We promote valued internal and external relationships wih our community and encourage an open exchange of ideas and information.

Continuous Improvement: We recognize that improvement is a continuous process, and we strive to be at the forefront of changes in our field.

Ethics: We are committed to acting with integrity and honesty in all our endeavors.

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Environmental Health and Safety is under the Campus Safety and Security office within the Financial and Administrative Services portfolio. Units under this portfolio continually strive to improve service to the campus and the broader community while meeting compliance and reporting standards.

FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICESDARRELL BAZZELL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

CAMPUS SAFETY AND SECURITY BOB HARKINS, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY JOHN SALSMAN , DIRECTOR SCOTT PENNINGTON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR NENA ANDERSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ANDREA MCNAIR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DENNIS NOLAN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WHO WE ARE

MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL STAFF SUPPORT STAFF5 24 2

Total 32 employees

ORGANIZATION

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MANAGEMENTTHE TEAM

SCOTT PENNINGTONASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, RSO, LSO

NENA ANDERSONASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

DENNIS NOLANASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BIOLOGICAL AND LABORATORY SAFETY

ANDREA MCNAIRASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CAMPUS AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

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• Regulatory Compliance• Hazardous Waste Management• Water Quality (Stormwater and Wastewater)• Pollution and Spill Prevention

• Fall Protection• Asbestos• Hearing Protection• Lift Safety• Machine Shop Safety• Respiratory Protection

• Chemical Safety• Biosafety• Lab Evaluations• Hazardous Materials Shipping

PROGRAM AREAS

CAMPUS AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

BIOLOGICAL AND LABORATORY SAFETY

WHAT WE DOOUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

• Radioactive Materials Permitting an Licensing , X-ray and Laser Registration

• Lab Evaluations

RADIATION AND LASER SAFETY

• On-call Program• 24/7 Emergency Response

• Food Safety Inspections• Food Disribution Approval• Drinking Water Testing

SERVICES

ON-CALL RESPONSE

FOOD AND DRINKING WATER SAFETY

• New and Existing Consruction Review• Design and Construction Standards

PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN REVIEW

• Wildlife Incidents• Animals on Campus

• Training Management• Campus Outreach

TRAINING AND OUTREACH

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS ANIMAL MAKE SAFE

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HOW WE WORKWORKING TOGETHER

EHS works closely with other campus departments such as Facilities Services, the University of Texas Police Department, Fire Prevention Services, Emergency Preparedness, Project Management and Construction Services, and the University’s Colleges and Schools.

EHS serves as a liaison with regulatory and compliance agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Transportation, City of Austin, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Texas Department of State Health Services. EHS is charged with certain health and safety inspections and compliance for all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and other EHS requirements intended to protect safety, health and the environment.

In 201 6 th e Faci liti es servi ce center ro uted

249 cam pus tro u b le calls to EHS.

EHS serves the campus community. Our customers include faculty, staff, students, campus visitors, and volunteers.

RESPONSIBILITY

CUSTOMERS

WE ALL SHARE THE BENEFITS OF A

HEALTHY AND SAFE WORKPLACE

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YEAR IN REVIEWHIGHLIGHTS

263

3

ehs.utexas.edu

Added a Sr. Environmental Specialist, Food Safety Specialist, and EHS project coordinator (PMCS)

EHS launched a new, improved and updated website

ADMINISTRATIVE


2Water Quality Awards

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

MTCBuilding expansion

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

Incident reponses

ON-CALL

4Newly constructed labs outfitted with laser signsRADIATION AND

LASER SAFETY

11Building roofs retrofitted with fall protection in phase 2

CAMPUS AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Assisted with evaluating laboratories for implementing the University’s Concealed Carry signage policy

BIOLOGICAL AND LABORATORY SAFETY

Lab Evaluations

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PROGRAM AREASCAMPUS AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Campus and Occupational Safety focuses on preventing incidents to ensure the safety of UT Austin employees, students, and visitors. This group’s programs include: Maker Space Safety, Occupational Safety Committee, Respirator Protection, Fall Protection, Shop Safety, Technical Review Team, Aerial Lifts, Indoor Air Quality, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Accomplishments• Completed risk assessments on 295 chemical safety data sheets for academic, construction and

facilities groups.• Developed Fall Protection Program and associated training.• Supported the Art Department in achieving national accreditation with the National Association of

Schools of Art and Design through collaboration, an EHS audit and written report.

Future• Confined space campus inventory.• Control of Hazardous Energy Program

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Data on construction projects

includes main campus, JJ

Pickle, Marine Science Institute

and McDonald Observatory.

EHS contributions include

pre-construction meetings,

contruction phase reviews,

site visits, pre-construction/

contruction phase/post-

construction inspections and

training. EHS support includes

both new construction and all

renovation projects with OFPC

and PMCS.

15

260

Occupational Safety Design Reviews of Construction Projects

OFPC PMCS

15 projects with a total value of $1.3 billion

260 projects with a total value of $26 million

0

1

2

3

4

5

23,500,000

24,000,000

24,500,000

25,000,000

25,500,000

26,000,000

26,500,000

27,000,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Daysft²

Calendar year

UT Austin Square Footage vs. Asbestos Service Center Response Time

Square footage (ft²) Response time (days)

23,500,000

24,000,000

24,500,000

25,000,000

25,500,000

26,000,000

26,500,000

27,000,000

012345678

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

ft²

Num

ber o

f CO

S Em

ploy

ees

Calendar year

Number of COS Employees vs. UT Austin Square Footage

Number of COS employees Square footage (ft²)

Significant work in 2014 was

driven by building demolition

projects. Based on regulatory

requirements, asbestos survey

requests will continue to increase

as we ensure asbestos is not

unknowingly disturbed for needed

renovations.

As the campus expands in size,

demands on COS will continue

to expand. New technology

and challenging new spaces

will require COS to change and

adapt.

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PROGRAM AREASENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

Environmental Programs is tasked with ensuring compliance with City, State, and Federal permits and regulations related to water quality (stormwater and sanitary sewer), water recycling, flood control and erosion control. This program is also responsible for the proper disposal of chemical and biological waste for the university.

Accomplishments• Second year received awards for both Main Campus and JJ Pickle Research campus from the City

of Austin for Excellence in Pretreatment for Protecting Austin’s Wastewater Treatment & Collection Systems.

• Completed successful Waller Creek Cleanups, fall and summer.• Updated the training and forms for the management of pretreatment devices.

Future• Increased support to include waste management for the Dell Medical School.• Continued updating of the on-call procedures.• Updating Design and Construction Standards.• Updating the university’s procedure for inter-departmental cooperation in handling water quality

related emergencies.• Renewed MS4 and Wastewater permits.• Converting entirely to the EMS software for waste using the web-based client.• Plan updating: Slug Control Plan, SPCC, SWMP.

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The Environmental Programs

area conducts a number

of environmental initiatives

every year from responding

to environmental incidents to

construction site inspections.

97

31

25

34

13

Construction Site Inspections

Approved Discharges to stormwater

Approved Discharges to wastewater

Environmental Sampling

Environmental Incidents

Environmental Initiatives

91,956

$20,217

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Wei

ght

lb

Biological Waste

Weight (lb) Cost

369,958

$604,009

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Wei

ght

lb

Chemical Waste

Weight (lb) Cost

2016 saw an increase in biological

waste with an increase in cost of

disposal.

The increase in 2015 was due to

the Engineering, Education, and

Research Building construction.

EHS managed waste from a

temporary facility.

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PROGRAM AREASBIOLOGICAL AND LABORATORY SAFETY

Lab Safety conducts laboratory evaluations of research and teaching laboratories at UT Austin and satellite facilities. Lab Safety also provides training and guidance on a number of laboratory topics including bloodborne pathogens, hazardous materials, shipping, chemical safety, biological safety, select agents and toxins, and controlled substances. Lab Safety also investigates laboratory incidents including fire, spills, laboratory injuries, and any chemical or biological exposure.

Accomplishments• Developed two new training modules, Cryogen and Compressed Gas Safety.• Developed two new policies: Personal Protective Equipment and Controlled

Substances in Research.• Assisted with evaluating laboratories for implementing the University’s Concealed

Carry signage policy.

Future• Create Autoclave Safety training module.• Implement the University Controlled Substance policy.• Evaluate an inspection software system to replace the problematic lab safety inspection software

system.

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The purpose of the evaluation

program is to ensure compliance

with university policy and any

applicable regulations. All labs are

evaluated at least annually; higher

risk labs are evaluated on a semi-

annual basis.

17291833

1902 1961 1941221225

230 233 239

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Lab Evaluations

General Lab Evals Biosafety Lab Evals

There has been a continual

increase in the number of labs

added as the university continues

to grow. UT Austin saw an

increase of 255 labs from 2012-

2016. The average yearly increase

during this time is 64 new labs.

15251602

16941757 1780

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Labs

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PROGRAM AREASRADIATION AND LASER SAFETY

Radiation and Laser Safety provides safety and compliance support and training for the use of radioactive materials, x-ray machines, and lasers. Training provided includes Basic Radiological Health, Laser Safety, and refresher training. EHS holds the registrations and license for university lasers and radioactive materials and issues permits to users. Accomplishments• Inspection of Radioactive Material (RAM) license by Texas Department of State Health Services

(TDSHS) with no violations or items of concern.• Main campus x-ray inspection by TDSHS; no violations.• Four newly constructed labs outfitted with laser signs.• New laser database that would allow access for PIs developed with two sets of student teams.• One laser injury investigation completed.

Future• Continue promotion of new laser warning signs for current and new labs.• Continue to build the relationship with the McCombs School of Business to further develop the laser

database.

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In 2016, the possession of the

radioactive materials license

contributed to research awards

exceeding twenty-one million

dollars from sponsored projects.

76 72

0

20

40

60

80

100

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Authorized Users of Radioactive Materials

140

205

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Laser Labs

The number of researchers using

lasers in their research continues

to increase as the potential uses

of lasers are realized.

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SUPPORT SERVICESSUMMARY

ANIMAL MAKE SAFE

ON-CALL RESPONSE

FOOD AND DRINKING WATER SAFETY


The Animal Make Safe (AMS) program works to minimize negative human/wildlife interactions by safely and humanely responding to live animal incidents on campus. Techniques include capture and removal, live trapping, and exclusion. AMS also reviews and approves requests to include animals as part of special events.

Environmental Programs oversees the coordination and training for the EHS on-call program to ensure incident response 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Incidents that EHS responds to include hazardous material spills, fires, odors, animals, and lab incidents.

EHS staff is responsible for conducting food safety inspections of the permitted food vendors and kitchen facilities on campus, approving distribution of food on campus by staff, students, or vendors, and ensuring quality drinking water.

The primary function of Project Planning and Design Review is to ensure that facilities are designed and constructed to meet established safety and environmental regulations and best practices. EHS works closely with a Project Specialist in Project Management and Construction Services to coordinate projects needing EHS input.

EHS offers a variety of training opportunities to the campus community. Classes include Hazard Communication, Bloodborne Pathogens, Dry Ice Shipping, and Respiratory Protection. EHS produces a number of informational brochures, posters, signs, and other outreach materials to keep UT Austin staff, faculty, students and visitors informed and safe. EHS also participates in a number of campus events to raise awareness about our department and general safety.

PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN REVIEW

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SUPPORT SERVICESANIMAL MAKE SAFE

Accomplishments• Answered 149 animal incident calls routed

through the Facilities Service Center, UTPD, and EHS front desk or direct calls to Animal Make Safe during business hours.

• Processed 30 Live Animal Requests to bring animals onto campus.

• Investigated 3 potential rabies exposures and one animal injury incident.

Future• Redo guidelines for animal response and exclusion

decisions.• Hire part-time AMS dedicated employee.

Bat

Bird

Cat

Dog

Opossum

Other

Raccoon

Snake

Squirrel

Skunk

149 animal incidents in 2016

1

30

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Live Animal Requests

Live Animal Requests

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SUPPORT SERVICESON-CALL RESPONSE

Accomplishments• EHS on-call staff responded to 14 after hours

incidents in 2016 and 249 incidents during business hours.

Future• Continue to improve the on-call program

through procedure review, communication, and training.

EHS responds to a variety of emergency

situations and incidents. These can include

anything from “near-miss” situations, where a major accident was

luckily avoided, to major fires and explosions.

The graph at left shows the types of incidents EHS responded to in

2016.

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SUPPORT SERVICESFOOD AND DRINKING WATER SAFETY

Accomplishments• Performed 172 semi-annual food establishment inspections.• Hired a new Food Safety Specialist.• Reviewed construction and renovation plans for several food establishments.• Developed guidelines for food trucks operating on campus.

Future• Permitting of two new food establishments in EER and HTB.• Develope web-based inspections for the food safety program.

2,271

2,008

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Food Distribution Forms Reviewed

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SUPPORT SERVICESTRAINING AND OUTREACH

Accomplishments• Updated EHS website.• Completed 3 new training modules: Briscoe Center

Safe Lifting, Compressed Gases, Project Manager Asbestos. Two new training modules in production: Snake General Awareness, Snake Safety.

• Participated in the UTLearn Steering Committee.• Conducted outreach activities and events

included Waller Creek Cleanups, “Lavatory Safety”, and numerous EHS documents, posters, and signs.

Future• Create social media accounts to promote EHS

activities and accomplishments.• Hire employee/student worker to assist with

training, outreach, and social media.• Continue to update existing classes and develop

new online training.• Migrate all existing EHS classes to UTLearn.

8,606 people took EHS training in 2016

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SUPPORT SERVICESPROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN REVIEW

Accomplishments• Project Review for OFPC projects including Speedway Mall, Welch 78 Wing, Whitaker Fields, Dell

Medical School (HTB, HLB), EERC, GHS , Tennis Center, Austin (Ellsworth Kelly), and PMCS renovations.• EHS particpated in the completion of the following Divisions and Sections for the UT Design and

Construction Standards: Division 21 Fire Suppression: Basic Fire Protection Requirements, Fire Suppression System Design Division 22 Plumbing: Basic Plumbing Requirements, Natural Gas Piping and Appurtenances, Facility Water Distribution, Plumbing Equipment, Plumbing Fixtures, Domestic Water Systems Design Guideline, Natural Gas Systems Design Guideline, Water Recovery Systems Design Guideline Division 27 Communications: Technical Specifications Division 28 Electronic Safety and Security: Fire Alarm and Signaling, Fire Alarm Design Guideline

Future• Continue development and revisions of Design and Construction Standards. • Continue project review for new construction and renovations.

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annual report · ehs.utexas.edu 304 e. 24th st. suite 202 austin, tx 78712 512.471.3511 annual...

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