Cal-OSHA Reporter September 15, 1997                                                                                                        HEADLINE:  OSHA NAILS COLLEGE FOR  DIMETHYL MERCURY  DEATH

    Dartmouth College has been cited for violations of safety laws
following the death of chemistry professor Karen Wetterhahn, who had been
working with dimethyl mercury when she spilled a couple of drops on her
latex glove during an experiment in 1996. OSHA investigators determined
that the chemical, which attacks the central nervous system, penetrates
latex gloves almost instantly. 

   David May, OSHA's director for New Hampshire, said the college faced
proposed penalties of $13,500. OSHA alleges that Dartmouth didn't provide
enough training on the limitations of safety gloves, did not provide
appropriate gloves for handling toxic chemicals and had a deficient
chemical hygiene plan for its lab. 


                   Copyright 1997 Crain Communications Inc.  
                              Rubber and Plastics

                               September 08, 1997

SECTION: News; Pg. 6

LENGTH: 556 words

HEADLINE: OSHA CITES DARTMOUTH COLLEGE IN GLOVE DEATH  

BYLINE: John Campanelli  Rubber & Plastics News Staff  

   HANOVER, N.H.--The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
cited Dartmouth College for failing to warn its lab researchers about the
limitations of latex gloves and for other safety violations stemming from
the death of a professor. 

   Professor Karen Wetterhahn, a world leader in research chemistry, died
June 8--about 10 months after spilling dimethyl mercury on her latex
gloves while transferring the rare compound in the lab. A few drops of the
chemical seeped through the gloves and were absorbed into Wetterhahn's
system. 

   Dartmouth uses latex gloves from several different manufacturers, so
the brand of the gloves she was wearing may never be known, college
officials said. 

   Wetterhahn began feeling the effects of the exposure in January, when
she began slurring her speech, losing her balance, and suffering vision
and hearing loss. Tests revealed more than 80 times the lethal dose of
mercury in her system. Shortly afterward, she fell into a coma and never
regained consciousness. 

   On Aug. 18, OSHA proposed a $13,500 fine, ruling that Dartmouth did not
adequately train Wetterhahn and other researchers about the potential
limits of latex gloves and failed to select appropriate hand protection
for lab workers. 

   ''This was a tragic occurrence which saddens all of us who were
involved in the investigation,'' said David May, OSHA's area director for
New Hampshire. ''It also illustrates just how dangerous some substances
can be.''

   Disposable latex gloves offer no protection from certain rare--and
deadly--mercury compounds which can almost instantaneously permeate the
gloves, according to OSHA. 

  Dartmouth officials are discussing whether to contest the fine, said
Michael B. Blayney, Dartmouth's director of environmental health and
safety. 

   ''We have worked openly with and cooperated with OSHA,'' Blayney said.
''We're going to do the right thing and the appropriate thing. 

   ''What I don't want is for this to become an us vs. them,'' he said.
''There's no adversarial relationship with OSHA. ... We want to look at
the big picture. ... We want to use this in a way that so other tragedies
don't occur.''

   As a result of Wetterhahn's death, the college has:

   placed brightly colored warning stickers on boxes of latex and polyvinyl
chloride gloves, cautioning users that the products are not intended for use
with hazardous chemicals;

   warned other colleges and research laboratories about the dangers of
 dimethyl mercury  and other hazardous materials;

   instituted workshops to educate its faculty and staff on proper glove
selection and the limitations of certain products; and informed the only
two suppliers of dimethyl mercury about Wetterhahn's death and urged them
to warn all of their customers about the compound's danger. 

   Because so few researchers use dimethyl mercury, the compound's dangers
were relatively unknown before Wetterhahn's death. Only one other known
death from exposure to the chemical has been recorded this century,
according to the college. In the early 1970s, a Czech researcher died
while processing the chemical. 

   Professor Wetterhahn probably felt the gloves she was wearing were
protecting her, according to Blayney. 

   ''In her mind she felt that she had dealt with it,'' Blayney said. ''We
now know--at a very high price--that she hadn't.''


                               September 08, 1997

SECTION: News; Pg. 6

LENGTH: 500 words

HEADLINE: LABELS WARN OF LATEX GOODS' LIMITATIONS  

BYLINE: John Campanelli  Rubber & Plastics News Staff  

   HANOVER, N.H.--Latex gloves don't contain carbon monoxide, impair
driving, raise birth defect risks or cause cancer in laboratory rats. But
go to Dartmouth College and you'll find a stern, brightly colored warning
label on each box of latex gloves. 

   The warning is not from the surgeon general or the glove makers. It's
from the college, the result of a chemistry professor's death earlier this
summer. Karen Wetterhahn died in June, about 10 months after a few drops
of a rare compound spilled on her latex gloves. The lethal chemical,
dimethyl mercury, instantaneously seeped through the gloves and was
absorbed into her skin. 

   By the time Wetterhahn began feeling the symptoms of mercury poisoning
months after the August 1996 spill, her central nervous system was
irreversibly damaged. 

   Dartmouth officials have speculated Wetterhahn was under the
misconception her latex gloves provided protection from dimethyl mercury. 
Now, the college wants to make sure no one else makes the same mistake and
is warning all latex glove users. 

   The new labels tell Dartmouth College researchers latex and polyvinyl
chloride gloves ''are not intended for use with hazardous chemicals.'' The
warnings are part of a new safety program on campus that educates
researchers about the limitations of latex gloves and proper glove
selection. 

   The death of Wetterhahn, a world-renowned researcher and pioneer for
women in science, was a ''terrible loss'' for Dartmouth, the scientific
community and for her friends and family, said Michael B. Blayney,
Dartmouth director of environmental health and safety. He is leading a
push for glove makers to voluntarily put warnings on their products. 

   Blayney admits the vast majority of latex glove users are in the
medical industry, where the gloves are an excellent protective barrier
against many substances. 

   But there's also a niche in the latex glove market serving researchers
who at times work with hazardous materials. 

   U.S. latex glove manufacturer Safeskin Corp. already includes a warning
on its package about ''harsh chemicals,'' said Jeff Martin, Safeskin vice
president of marketing. 

   ''I think the customers want to see this information,'' he said. ''We're
responding to customers' needs.''

   Safeskin's warning says, ''Although good quality latex gloves provide
an excellent biological barrier, they are not intended for applications
involving prolonged, direct exposure to harsh chemicals, where heavy duty
or industrial gloves are required.''

  Safeskin's labels also warn users about latex allergies and the proper
storage of gloves. The firm also provides chemical resistance and barrier
guides for their gloves. 

   Although warning labels aren't universal in the industry, increased
concerns about safety and latex allergies are pushing more makers to
include them on their packages, Martin said. 

   Dartmouth's Blayney said he hopes all glove makers will add the
warnings so no other researchers end up in potentially fatal situations.