Present: M. Moore, J. Sylvestre, A. Diochon, T. Moore, C. Hubbard, G. Oba, C. Surette, F. Appoh, T. King, M. Sorokopud, T. Ojo., J. Joncas

TIME Commenced: 10:02 AM by zoom

1. Agenda :  Accepted without changes

2. Minutes: Accepted without changes (JS, JJ)

3. Incidents/Accidents

1. ATRC - Glass pipette to bulb injury causing cuts to hand.  Required First Aid, and was recommended to go to clinic/emerg. Unknown whether the worker sought medical help. T. Moore to follow up.

4. Inspections

1. Spreadsheet to sign up on Google Drive.  Members will sign up to inspect various departments.  Members cannot be the inspector for their own department/unit. Planned inspection date and time to be recorded so that the Health and Safety Keys at Security can be available.  Two inspections cannot take place at the same time.  Pairs are fine, but a worker rep must be present.  Target date of August 20th to complete all inspections.

5. Other Business

1. Return to campus 

- 14 day isolation after domestic travel removed

- Vaccination only required for students staying in residence

- Phased in approach for return to campus; workers still need supervisor approval during Phase/Step 2 and probably Phase/Step 3.

- Air exchanges in classroom will be increased where possible

- MERV 13 filters installed on building supply air where possible, or wall mount HEPA exchangers in some classrooms where air exchanges/filtered air cannot be supplied.

- Labs with fumehoods will not have their air flow/filters changed as they already have recommended 6 air exchanges per hour.  Additionally, changing air supply may affect fume hood draw/function.

2. Q&A for F2F teaching 

- Distancing?  Current limit from the province to public indoor gatherings is the smaller of 50, or 50% of capacity.  No guidance from the Provincial government on whether post-secondary classrooms count as public gatherings, or publicly accessible spaces.

- Does 50% include labs? Unclear at this time.

- Will reduced capacity mean more lab sections will need to be offered, or labs repeated?  This is being decided at the department/instructor level.

- Will we need to clean/disinfect between groups? Probably, but expecting more guidance

- Are the paper towel dispensers installed for teaching labs?  Four department representatives reported no.  T. Moore will inquire with Physical Plant.

- Will we need to ask screening questions for students entering labs?  Unclear at this time.

6. Adjournment:  10:30 AM

7. NEXT MEETING: TBA

Present: M. Moore, K. Bhatia, J. Sylvestre, A. Diochon, T. Moore, C. Hubbard, G. Oba, S. Girvin, C. Surette

1. Agenda :  Accepted without changes (JS/AD)

2. Minutes: Accepted without changes (JS/AD)

3. Incidents/Accidents

1. Chem Eng  - Hotplate/stirrer transferred and used with  a plastic bucket.  Worker did not notice that the hotplate function was on when plugged in, and had left equipment to work elsewhere in the lab.  Lab manager noticed a burning smell and unplugged the equipment.   Recommendation to ensure all settings are correct for the procedure before turning on or leaving equipment. No further action recommended by the committee.

2. Civil Eng - Tank overfilled and flooded room.  Tank issue resolved, but room was found to be cluttered and impeded cleanup properly.  

4. Inspections

1. Perchloric Acid - New entry found in inventory.  Lab had purchased through Datatel/Purchasing office. Prohibited purchase missed at time of order.  Lab group appropriately entered the item into inventory as required, and used approximately 5mL in a standard chemical fumehood.  The perchloric acid is currently in storage, and no use is allowed outside of the CASES perchloric acid rated fumehood. The committee recommended reminder of prohibited chemicals/items list be redistributed to faculty, and that list of dangerous/prohibited chemicals be sent to receiving for review when waybills reconciled.

2. Biology - Multiple occupants of a large lab were wearing appropriate PPE upon random inspection, but when  inspectors re-entered the lab, the workers were found scrambling to don masks.  Contact tracing protocol explanation given was also vague.  Recommendation to supervisor that the COVID protocols discussed and clarified with all lab workers with approved access.  T. Moore confirmed that this discussion has occurred.

5. Other Business

1. Laser - Laser installation ongoing.  Warning sign at door to be installed.   Laser safety program now on D2L.

2. Freezers in CASES - issues with frost buildup and concern of animal carcass if freezer power is off.

6. Adjournment:  10:49 AM

7. NEXT MEETING: TBA

Present

• Elaine Doiron (COPE)
• Cindy Haggerty (COPE)
• Lindsay Hedlund (Guest)
• Ursula MacDonald (Ex-Officio member)
• Leslie Malcolm (Schedule II)
• Juan Pernia (LUFA)
• Sue Viitala (Schedule II)

1. Approval of Agenda – Approved.

2. Acceptance of Minutes (November 16, 2020) – Moved: Leslie Seconded: Sue Approved

3. Outstanding Business – Update on recertification from Ursula.

4. Inspections – Inspections only done in labs and studios where people are working. No inspections for offices and classrooms made due to lockdown and COVID-19 cases: this will continue until the lockdown is finished. No classrooms and offices are being used. Inspections will be needed in the summer.

5. Injury and Accident Reports – One case of repetitive movement injury that led to surgery from employee working from home: TA assisted with typing for instructor. A COPE member pulled a muscle while managing 150 archived files on campus and is receiving physiotherapy Ergonomic Assessments – None.

6. New Business/Open Discussion –

6.1. Physical plant met school of nursing regarding abatement: Lead paint is being removed in the 1st floor bathroom and 2nd floor nursing classroom. During the spring and summer, work will be done on another building: Ursula is waiting for confirmation.

6.2. In fall, Ursula would like to eliminate assessment areas and move to other areas.

6.3. An annual 2021 Air Sampling is taking place in 26 locations on campus in the CB, UC, and RB. Ursula is suggesting that the location of those 26 places should be reviewed in the fall. Perhaps we should be changing some of the locations where the samples are taking place.

6.4. Action: In June’s JHSC meeting (offices and classrooms), the 2021-2022 member list will be updated. Maps will be shared to see what was already done and what is left to do with inspections.

6.5. Someone else is going to take over the wellness committee: Adam’s last day is May 7th.

6.6. Mobile Safety app is for anyone who is going on campus. It is to be completed before coming on campus. A badge is generated and Security can randomly approach anyone to inspect their app badge. Failed results on the app get sent to HR. Employees must notify their supervisor ahead of time and use a sign in sheet (supervisor approval required). Concerns were discussed regarding visitors who may not use app and not wearing masks: the COVID transition committee should be made aware.

6.7. Return for the fall depends on the District Health unit and provincial directive. LU is upgrading technology to offer in person and online simultaneously.

7. Next meeting – June 2021

Present: J. Joncas, M. Moore, M. Sorokopud, K. Bhatia, A. Diochon, C. Surette, S. Girvin, J. Sylvestre, T. Moore, U. MacDonald, G. Oba, S. Girvin, K. MacMillan, D. Micheli-Pedwysocki, S. Marcinowsky, B. Stolar, A. Klymenko, H. Chesterman, P. Tallon, T. King, TC Tai, B. Womeck, S. Scott, S. Kurissery, J. Sieker

1.0               Agenda :  Accepted without changes

2.0               Survey of Concerns:

2.1               J. Joncas – keeping students/non-lab members from entering the lab, lack of space.

2.2               J. Sieker – cleaning schedule, when will labs be occupied

2.3               K. Bhatia – how to run mandatory lab sessions, thinking about using live video demonstration, to have students not have to attend labs face to face

2.4               T. King – already implemented one researcher at a time in the facility, concerned about PPE availability

2.5               M. Moore – teaching concerns, in particular the greenhouse space.  Many office spaces are shared and not 2 m wide

2.6               S. Scott – same concerns as J. Sieker and S. Kurissery

2.7               M. Sorokopud – same concerns as F. Appoh

2.8               P. Tallon – have a staggered use plan, PPE availability, screening of people entering the buildings

2.9               U. MacDonald – Social distancing will be in place for some time, will have to make creative solutions to achieve it

2.10           S. Girvin – labs have been dormant, which is a hazard in itself

2.11           S. Kurissery – fieldwork distancing concerns, Orillia labs are small and multi-use, should have one point person managing re-occupation, coordinating PPE and cleaning

2.12           S. Marcinowsky – currently cleaning high touch surfaces twice daily, as more people access buildings these areas will increase and will be difficult to track where people are accessing

2.13           B. Womeck – number of people using the station will increase and there are some concerns about maintaining 2m distance

2.14           C. Surette – have space to separate grad students etc. who need to access lab facilities

2.15           Amanda – transportation to field work and how to accommodate physical distancing measures, potential for personal vehicles to be used or conducting fieldwork alone, planning to not access field work in/near vulnerable communities, how to manage if someone becomes ill and needs to isolate in the field, and how undergrad summer research assistants will fit into the mix

2.16           A. Klymenko – ensure that people who are coming back are comfortable with measures in place, hand sanitizer available, labs that are too small for physical distancing will have to plan other ways to achieve, need for an institutional SOP and distribute to faculty/staff, consequences for not observing the requirements

2.17           B. Stolar – how classes with laboratory component will operate, physical distancing visual reminders

2.18           D. Micheli-Pedwysocki – Plant will need to know where occupied and when

2.19           F. Appoh – access to building (swipe didn’t work), Paleo DNA internship this summer with 4-5 students at once with other measures employed, instrumentation is well suited unless a whole class needs to use one piece of equipment at once.

2.20           G. Oba – teaching labs scheduled for the end of August and they are full, how to manage

2.21           H. Chesterman – controlled access in place at this time for those without key access to buildings

2.22           J. Sylvestre – labs are generally scheduled 8:30-5:30 in the same space, how tech will sanitize between groups, what to clean and with what supplies?

3.0               Guidance Resources Requested/Required:

3.1               SOP is needed to guide physical distancing measures and to be distributed to faculty/staff and students.  Template SOP, with standard sections/measures and an annex for lab specific measures.

3.2                Physical reminders to keep distance would be very helpful

3.3               Checklist to re-open lab safely

3.4               Guidance on homemade/cloth PPE

3.5               Senior Management Team stressing that minimum amount of time on campus in early stages of re-opening would be beneficial

4.0               Adjournment: 12:07 PM

5.0               NEXT MEETING: TBA

Present

Elaine Doiron (COPE)

Cindy Haggerty (COPE)

Ursula MacDonald (Ex-Officio member) 

Leslie Malcolm (Schedule II mgmt.)

Juan Pernia (LUFA)

Sue Viitala (Schedule II)

1. Approval of Agenda – Approved. 

2. Approval of Minutes (May 15, 2020) – Approved as corrected.

3. Outstanding Business –

1. Transition Working Group: This new group was created to represent COPE and faculty. Labs and Safety Group was also created. Adam is our connection to the Transition Committee.

Action: Leslie will send the email copy of the response received regarding the logistics inquiry for the re-opening of the campuses for fall course delivery.  

2. Online training opportunities for CPR: CPR training is running through St. John’s.

3. Cindy who is our Certified –JHSC member has been registered for a one-day recertification-training course in November 2020.

4. Sick leave discussion: Friendly reminder to stay home if your are not feeling well.

5. Fieldhouse: Outside construction is complete. October or November is the estimated time of completion for the inside construction. 

6. Wellness Advisory Committee:  It is moving to senior administration. 

4. Inspections –Tiffany and Ursula have been inspecting washrooms, the Centennial Building and the University Center building.  List of classes being used unavailable at this time. 

Action: Ursula will follow up with the list.

5. Injury and Accident Reports & Ergonomic Assessments – NONE

6. New Business/Open Discussion –

1. Asbestos Abatement and Lead Paint:  All asbestos has been removed for the calendar year. Audit is completed. School of Nursing lead paint removal in hallway is finished.  There are other School of Nursing lead paint sections that are pending removal: bathrooms and second floor. Mr. Bhatia’s (Mechanical Engineering lab) flooring has been replaced. The old floor was stained from years of use and the tiles contained asbestos.  This was a big project which required moving many heavy machinery in order to get to the floor.

2. A new list of projects for next year will be provided once the audit is reviewed and recommendations for removal are made.  Ursula will update the Committee when she is made aware of the projects list.

Next meeting: To be determined.

Adjourned 11:25 am