INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / AUGUST 21, 1990

WHMIS alerts workers to dangers, teaches rules for safety

 

continued from page 1

Hand-soaps, anti-static sprays
for computer screens and library
film cleaners are all potentially
hazardous products that require
special handling.

But while most people are
familiar with warning symbols
that appear on household
products such as insecticides, very
few people are familiar with
WHMIS regulations and symbols,
says Allan.

"A floral designer who teaches
a Community Programs & Ser-
vices course brought 24 WHMIS-
controlled substances with him to
the College and said, ‘What's
WHMIS?”

The program has several key
requirements. WHMIS legislation
refers to hazardous materials as
“controlled products," and requires
special labelling to alert workers to
the dangers of the products and to
basic safety precautions should an
accident occur.

 

lected at the exit."

vey this way," he adds.

New survey at registration

Just who is the Douglas College student anyway? That’s what
the Institutional Research Department hopes to find out by im-
plementing a new student survey during registration.

"The survey will cover demographic information, students’ im-
pressions of the College, the registration process and multicul-
turalism," says Mark Walsh, Research Assistant. "It will give us a
better idea of who the Douglas College student is."

Walsh says that knowing who attends the College is important
for planning new services and adapting old ones to accommodate
the ever-changing student population.

"By studying this data the College is capable of modifying ser-
vices to meet the needs of the students," says Walsh.

Care has been taken in planning the administration of the survey
so that students don’t feel burdened by yet another form to fill out
and staff won’t have to chase them down to collect the paper.

"The survey will be administered at the end of the registration
process," explains Walsh. "Students won’t be rushed. They’l! be
given the survey at the entrance to data processing and it will be col-

"We think it will be easier for registration staff to collect the sur-

Walsh hopes that students and registration staff will understand
that the survey is meant to improve the quality of services at
Douglas College, making it a better place to work and study.
"Ultimately, these surveys are for the benefit of the whole College.

 

 

 

 

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Eight commonly used
WHMIS symbols are designed to
cover many materials which are
not used at home, including plas-
tics, or diagnostic specimens con-
taining bacteria or viruses, or
compressed gases.

As well, Material Safety Data
Sheets (MSDS) must be completed
for each substance. These are tech-
nical bulletins providing users
with detailed hazard and precau-
tionary information.

Another irnportant require-
ment of the program, says Allan,
is worker education and training.

The main purpose of the
WHMIS program is to reduce the
likelihood of disease or injury in
the workplace by ensuring that
people know about the products
they are using, says Allan.

"If you're handling hazardous
materials every day, or if you have
a sudden emergency, the WHMIS
label should tell you what to do,"
she says. "But WHMIS is more
than putting labels on bottles. It’s

_ being aware, and informing

people, because they have a right
to know what substances they are
in contact with." @

Dip You Know...?

e @ @ eDuring the College's
first year of operation in 1970,
there were 95 faculty, 1600 stu-
dents, 20 locations and a $1.69
million operating budget. Tui-
tion cost $100 per semester and
minimum wage was $1.25.

Do you know any interesting
facts about Douglas College?
Please send your suggestions
via campus mail to the Inside. @