[labnetwork] eyewash & safety shower horns & strobes

[Kyle Keenan]

Hi Danny,

Thanks for your response. This is some great food for thought.

Best,
Kyle

On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 11:52 PM Danny Pestal <pestal at eecs.berkeley.edu>
wrote:

> A few years ago a UC Berkeley NanoLab researcher was loading a cassette of
> wafers into a HF bath when the handle popped off, dropping the cassette
> into the bath and creating a splash. The lab member was sure they felt a
> splash on their body and immediately went to the closest emergency shower,
> disrobed and got in the shower. It was in the middle of the day, in a lab
> full of researchers and staff and no one knew the lab member was in the
> shower and possibly needed help. (Ultimately the lab member had no actual
> exposure to HF.)
>
> This experience led us to make a few changes to our showers:
>
> 1) We added easily deployable shower curtains since a few of our showers
> are located near windows and we wanted to reduce any amount of hesitation
> one might have to remove contaminated clothing.
>
> 2) We added large yellow buttons to each shower that when pressed make an
> announcement over our lab/office paging system alerting everyone that
> assistance is needed at that shower location.
>
> While both changes increase the safety of the lab, the "e-button" addition
> feels invaluable, especially since our lab covers two floors and is open
> 24/7.
>
> -Danny Pestal
>
> Equipment & Facilities Manager
> UC Berkeley NanoLab
> 510-809-8600
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 1:20 PM Kyle Keenan <kckeenan at seas.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> I'm curious to know whether or not your facilities have eyewash & safety
>> shower stations that utilize horns and/or strobes at the local level. We
>> have both at QNF, and there is a school of thought that the horns are so
>> loud they could startle the very people who are trying to use these
>> stations, which would not be ideal in a situation where every second counts.
>>
>> I would be interested in knowing about your setups, and the
>> thought process behind having/not having these features.
>>
>> Best,
>> --
>> Kyle Keenan
>>
>> Senior Manager - Laboratory Operations
>> Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility
>> University of Pennsylvania
>> P: 215-898-7560
>> F: 215-573-4925
>>
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>>
>

-- 
Kyle Keenan

Senior Manager - Laboratory Operations
Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility
University of Pennsylvania
P: 215-898-7560
F: 215-573-4925
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