Engineering Controls
Enclosures
When you cannot remove a hazard and cannot replace it with a less hazardous alternative, the next best control in the laboratory is enclosure.
This glove box station protects by completely enclosing the hazard.
Properly enclosing a hazard means that there is no hazard exposure to workers during normal operations. If there is potential exposure to workers during maintenance operations or if the enclosure system breaks down, additional controls such as safe work practices or personal protective equipment (PPE) may be necessary to control exposure.
Some examples of enclosure designs are:
- Complete enclosure of moving parts of machinery;
- Complete containment of toxic liquids or gases from the beginning to end of a process;
- Glove box operations to enclose work with dangerous microorganisms, radioisotopes, or toxic substances; and
- Complete containment of noise, heat, or pressure producing processes with materials especially designed for those purposes.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-4. When you cannot remove a hazard or replace it with a less hazardous alternative, the next best control in the laboratory is _____.
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