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Spring 2016

In This Issue

512-471-3511 ehs.utexas.edu

EHS spotlight ADD R ESSI NG EN VIR ON M E NT AL H EALT H AND SAF ET Y N EED S

OF T H E C AM PU S CO M MU NIT Y

CHEMICAL WASTE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM .... ..2

NEW TRAINING ........... ..3

NEW WEBSITE

…………………………..2

Saving Campus Bees

Spring and fall are busy times for UT bees. Environmental Health and Safety receives many calls during these

times of the year for bee issues, including swarms, active hives, and bees visiting food trucks and concession

stands. EHS works with a local beekeeper to do live bee removals whenever possible. This spring EHS requested a

beekeeper’s assistance to remove an established hive from property that UT had recently acquired on the east

side of I35 near the baseball stadium. The hive had likely been present for 5 years or more and contained 15,000-

22,500 bees! The honey and comb had to be discarded due to the presence of rat droppings and an unknown

history of pesticide use on the hive (a can of wasp spray was found nearby). The bees, however, were taken to an

apiary where they were given comb and brood from another colony along with fresh sugar syrup to help them

transition. The bees quickly established themselves, creating new comb and the queen began laying again. A

fresh start like this allows bees to rid themselves of any contaminants and some diseases that may have been

present in the old location. Once healthy, the bees were donated back to UT as a hive for BEEVO, the university’s

beekeeping club.

Star Party at McDonald Observatory

MCDONALD LASER

RANGING STATION.......... ..4

DO YOUR PART.......... ..4

CAMPUS CATS ........... ..4

Can you spot the queen bee in the picture above? Answer on the last page.

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The Environmental Program has purchased

new software, EMS, to assist in the

management of the University’s chemical

waste.

It is extremely important for the

University to maintain compliance with all

state and federal regulations while

removing waste from the generator in a

timely manner.

The University generates an average of

400,000 pounds of chemical waste

annually. You may have heard the term

“from cradle to grave”. All waste must be

tracked from the time generated through

its final disposal. We currently track all of

the waste generated by UT; however, EMS

will help us do this easier and faster.

The EMS software will allow our customers to complete and submit a request for disposal and order needed

supplies electronically. EMS will not only let us do a better job of tracking, it will also help reduce the burden on

the chemical waste generators by streamlining the process. Customers will be able to keep their history and

make new requests faster thereby reducing errors and saving time.

Currently we are in the installation phase and will begin the customer phase this summer. Look for more

information later this summer or fall!

EHS Launches New Website: ehs.utexas.edu

Changes to the Chemical Waste Management System

You may have noticed some major changes if you have

accessed the EHS website in the last few weeks! The EHS

website has been updated, modernized for hand-held devices,

and better organized to allow our customers a quicker and

easier way to find the information they need.

In addition to information about our programs, services, and

training, the home page also has quick links to emergency

information, frequently used forms and resources, and access

to EHS Assistant.

We welcome your feedback as we continue to improve the

information provided on the new site. Check it out here:

ehs.utexas.edu

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To have your name added to or removed from our mailing list please send a message to

Health.Safety@austin.utexas.edu with “Subscribe” or “Remove” in the subject line.

New Training!

EHS has purchased access to Sigma’s pyrophoric safety training course.

Contact EHS for more details.

RESPIRATORY PROTECTION

Respiratory Protection (OH 507) applies to all employees and students whose studies or

work activities require them to wear respiratory protection. In addition there are 5

respirator-specific training modules if an employee or student is required to wear a spe-

cific respirator: (Dust Mask (OH 508), Full Face (OH 509), Half Face (OH 510), N95 (OH

511), PAPR (OH 512)).

COMPRESSED GASES

Compressed Gases (OH 204) is for personnel that handle compressed gases.

CRYOGEN SAFETY

Cryogen Safety (OH 241) is for personnel that work with cryogens.

TRAINING NOTE: EHS Classes were not part of Phase I of UTLearn implementation. EHS classes will migrate from TXClass to UTLearn later this year.

If you ship using dry ice, make sure to take our Dry Ice Shipping class (OH 601).

COUNTERWEIGHT FLY SYSTEMS

This training ensures the continued safe operation

of the University’s counterweight fly systems.

Counterweight fly systems are a way for the

theatrical arts and productions to move scenery

quickly, safely, and effectively. The main

components are batten (what the curtain or

scenery or lighting fixture are attached to), the

counter weight arbor (the device that holds the

weight to counter balance the load on the pipe),

and the cables and pulleys that connect/

support the batten to the arbor. The arbors have

weights that are added or removed to counter balance the load. When the arbor is moved by way of pulling on

a rope the scenery or light attached to the batten will move up or down. EHS in conjunction with the Technical

Director of the PAC, and a theatrical rigging company created an online video filmed in Bass Concert Hall. The

online training shows students and new staff how to perform the annual inspection of the system. In addition,

there is a University Counterweight Fly System Inspection form that will be completed annually. To ensure that

the theaters that have these systems are in top shape, an independent company will inspect our systems every

five years.

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Environmental Health and Safety has organized the

Waller Creek Cleanup for several years. We partner

with various student organizations, such as the Texas

Sweethearts, Forever Texas, The Geophysical Society,

Undergraduate Geological Society, Helping Hornz, and

DFA-Texas (Design for America), among others.

Do your part to help keep our Campus clean:

Never pour anything into storm drains

Never throw trash on the ground. Longhorns don’t

litter!

Take used motor oil, chemicals, and household

hazardous waste to be disposed of properly

Call EHS at 512-471-3511 if you see anything being

dumped in a storm drain or Waller Creek

Keeping UT beautiful by collecting trash and

recyclables from along Waller Creek and Campus

benefits all of us!

Spring is in full swing, and so is kitten season. As the

temperatures rise, so do the chances of finding a litter

of kittens. The UT Cat Coalition, a group of employees

dedicated to the welfare of the feral or stray cats on

campus, wants you to know what to do should you

stumble upon a litter.

If you find kittens, do not assume their mother has

abandoned them. She may be looking for food. If just

one or two kittens are left, the mother could be

moving them to a safer location. Use your judgment,

but if the kittens appear to be safe for the moment,

wait and observe

the kittens from a

distance for a few

hours. If the mother

does not return or

the situation is

dangerous, please

contact the Cat

Coalition.

Help Keep Campus Beautiful

Campus Cat Coalition

McDonald Laser Ranging Station

Did You Find the Queen?

The honey bee queen is the largest

of the bees in a colony, measuring

about twice the length of a worker

bee. Pictured at left is the hive in

the wall of an abandoned house on

UT property.

Last summer, EHS Laser

Safety Manager DeWayne

Holcomb spent many hours

working to appease NASA

in order to keep the

McDonald Laser Ranging

Station (MLRS) open. NASA

found EHS’ safety analysis

acceptable and will allow the MLRS to remain

operational. MLRS, funded by NASA, is a dedicated

laser ranging station used for research. MLRS is

capable of measuring round trip light travel times to

a constellation of artificial earth satellites. Data from

this station is used for a variety of scientific pursuits

including study of the earth's gravitational field, plate

tectonics, earth's orientation in space, high precision

time transfer, relativity, lunar and solar system

dynamics. The MLRS also provides high precision

orbits for GPS and ocean top mapping missions.