Field Trip

To EH&S

On Tuesday April 10th, 2001 my Che 102 classmates and I took a field trip to visit the Environmental Health and Safety department right here on the UNR campus. Although a very short trip once we arrived we were greeted by Mr. Woody Wright, the departments hazardous materials program officer. Mr. Wright began the tour by informing us of all the great services that the department provides the campus. For example EH&S is responsible for the disposal and characterization of all the universities hazardous waste. They also provide laboratory safety consultation, hazard assessment, and risk analysis of all research done on campus. It should also be mentioned that they do all of this free of charge. Next Mr. Wright mentioned a little about the courses, seminars, and workshops that they offer. One training course that interested me in particular was the Radiation Safety course. This course is mandatory for anyone that is planning to work with or handle radioactive materials. After this we were able to go inside to see where the magic happens. First he showed us the fume hood. This is where they put anything that gives off poisonous gases. The fume hood takes the fumes and shoots them high into the atmosphere out of harms way. Next we were shown where they keep all of the hazardous materials and chemicals before they are transported and be destroyed. Finally we got to the part of the tour that we were waiting. The Cerox machine. The Cerox machine is a machine that uses a chemical process to convert hazardous chemicals into something that can be dealt with. The Cerox machine incorporates pretty much everything that Chemical Engineer does. It is especially impressive because it was worked on by a UNR graduate and is the only one of its kind in the country. Overall the tour was a great learning opportunity. Not only were we able to find out a lot about the Environmental Health and Safety department but we were allowed to see Chemical Engineering at its best. Helping make everybody’s lives a little better.

Submitted By,

Francisco Vega