Missing required safeguards on a piece of lab machinery led to the death of a Yale University student. Michelle Dufault, a physics and astronomy major from Massachusetts, who was close to graduating, was working alone in the lab when her hair was snared into a fast-spinning lathe. Police report they got a call at 2:30 a.m. local time, though the time of the accident was not evident.
The accident exposed problems regarding the school safety policies, federal safety investigators stated in a letter to the school. The lathe, built nearly 50 years ago, lacked an emergency stop button that could shut off power and was missing physical guards to protect the operator, OSHA stated in the letter.
According to information from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),the agency did not fine Yale, claiming it lacked jurisdiction due to the fact there was no employer-employee relationship. But in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, OSHA informed school officials that it found a number of problems in the machine shop where Michele Dufault died on April 12. (WCxKit).
The OSHA letter claims rules for using the equipment, including warnings, were not posted. Yale also should ensure students don’t work alone, establish specific hours of operation and provide a formal training program; the letter went on to state. Yale challenged the letter, claiming the machinery did meet national safety standards.
Surveys of personal protective equipment were not completed and documented, and safety inspections did not address machine safeguarding, according to the letter. (WCxKit)
According to Yale officials, the school provided extensive machine tool training and personal protective equipment, and students were repeatedly reminded not to use machinery without someone else in the room. Yale says staff inspected and maintained machines on a regular basis. Yale added that Dufault had undergone a safety course that included instructions to tie back long hair.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: [email protected].
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