All,

We will be having a meeting of the ISEA (International Safety Equipment 
Association) group on emergency eyewashes and showers next week in the 
DC area.  Some of these temperature issues will likely come up.  What 
advice to the DCHAS members have for me as member of this focus group?

This draft ANSI standard will refer not to industrial fixed-facility 
eyewashes/quick-drench showers but rather to those used either 
in/outside a hospital or in a HAZMAT/Toxic Terrorism scenario in the 
field.

I can use any and all input.

There are supposed to be further meetings about eyewashes/showers in the 
industrial settings.  I can use any and all input into this as well.

Alan H. Hall, M.D.
TCMTS, Inc.
ahalltoxic**At_Symbol_Here**msn.com
cell phone:  ahalltoxic**At_Symbol_Here**msn.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Barbara Mowery 
  To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 1:22 PM
  Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Temperatures of Emergency Shower and Eyewash 
Water

  Ben,

  We have mixing valves on our most recently installed drench hoses and 
  eyewashes; I have not checked the actual temp, but it feels pleasant.  
 
  However, I have run into a problem with  the mixing valves-on my 
  monthly checks I found some with low flow rates which I reported to 
  maintenance. The person who fixed that said the mixing valves are 
prone 
  to clogging, partly from lack of use, and need to be checked weekly, 
  allowing them to run for several minutes.  Of course, that is still 
  preferable to having an injured person refuse to rinse as long as 
  necessary because of the ice cold water.

  I'm not sure about safety showers and will check ASAP.

  Barbara Mowery
  Laboratory Coordinator
  Department of Physical Sciences
  York College of PA
  Country Club Road
  York PA 17405
  717-815-6480

  Quoting "Greene, Ben" 
>:

  > Colleagues - With previous discussions regarding "tepid" water 
temperatures
  > required by ANSI Z358.1-2004 in mind, I was curious what other 
facilities
  > have measured the temperatures of their delivered water and what the 
results
  > were.  With the low end of "tepid" being 60 F (Appendix B), it might 
seem
  > cold for a dip but not for a, uh, soft drink.  We recently measured 
the
  > temperatures of water from more than a dozen units (both eyewash and
  > emergency showers, indoor and outdoor), and found a mean temperature 
of 72 F
  > at an ambient outdoor temperature of 75 F; safely above the 60 F  
"limit".
  > Of course, we expect seasonal variation and plan to measure the 
temperatures
  > periodically in the future to determine if mixing units are 
required.
  >
  > We are in southern New Mexico which has a nominally mild climate 
(though it
  > does cool down in the winter) and I wondered what the delivered 
water
  > temperatures at facilities in other parts of the country are.
  >
  > Ben
  >
  > Ben Greene, Ph.D.
  > Jacobs
  > Las Cruces, NM
  >

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