General Laboratory Regulations and Procedures

GENERAL LABORATORY REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES

Accelerator Operators:

We are required by State Authorities to have "on premises" a list of persons who are qualified to operate our accelerators. This list is maintained by the TUNL RSM. It is updated only when a staff member qualifies a new person and requests that their name be added to the list. New personnel are required to have familiarized themselves with the contents of the TUNL emergency procedures and operations manual, to have read and understood the radiation safety procedures, the University Chemical Hygiene guidelines, and have learned the correct operating procedures for the FN tandem and/or KN accelerators. In addition, new personnel who will be working in the laboratory are required to take and pass a radiation safety examination. ONLY approved operators are permitted to operate the accelerators without supervision. Persons with provisional approval may operate the running accelerator unaccompanied as long as they are in direct telephone contact with a qualified operator at all times. The accelerators must never be left operating unless a qualified operator is in the laboratory - and on the laboratory (100) level. This also applies to the High Resolution Laboratory and the Low EnergyLaboratory for Low Energy Nuclear Astrophysics Laboratory (LENA).

In addition to the above training requirements, new (1998) University Regulations require annual training updates for all University employees and others working in radiation areas. This requirement can be satisfied by attending the TUNL Summer Safety Seminars, or one of the update training sessions held by the OESO, or via an online update training module (www.safety.duke.edu/OnlineTraining/Default.asp). With the exception of Fire Safety, updates for most subjects are only required once every three years. TUNL researchers are required to complete the following training suite: TUNL Radiation Safety, Laboratory Safety, Fire Safety, Lock Out/Tag Out, Ergonomics, and optionally – Laser Safety.

4.1 Building Security:

The State of North Carolina requires that access to all radiological areas be restricted to those trained and authorized to handle radioactive materials. For this reason, all radiological areas are secured from public access. The TUNL laboratory has electronic access controls installed in the elevator, and at the stairwell entrance to the control room and also at the rear entrance door at the engineering lot. Access is restricted by a PIN number which will be issued by the TUNL RSM. Because of the potentially dangerous equipment used in the laboratory, it is the policy of the laboratory not to allow visitors into the accelerator bay or the target areas without an escort by laboratory personnel (see section 5.10). For this reason and for the safety of the operators, the outside doors to the laboratory are locked each day at 5 PM and on weekends. This prevents unauthorized persons from entering the laboratory when there may only be one or two people in the building. Any visitor found unaccompanied on the experimental level should be immediately escorted out of that area. Visitors in the office structure should be offered assistance in locating the person that they are looking for. Unfamiliar persons discovered alone in private offices should be confronted to determine whether or not they should be there. Duke University Police Department should be called (9+)(911) if it is suspected that the building has been broken into or that there is a burglary in progress.

The exterior doors are electronically monitored and if not closed after hours, Duke Police will be dispatched to investigate and secure the building. If a door is found not to be locked or is propped open, they will enter the building and determine whether any unauthorized people are present. To avoid the embarrassment of having to produce identification and explain why the door was not locked - never unlock or prop the doors open after working hours or on weekends. If you are expecting a visitor or delivery - use the intercom at the tandem console to listen for arrivals at the front door. There is also a buzzer which people arriving at the front door can use to signal people in the control room that they wish to be let in. Video cameras monitor the front door, the loading dock and the rear entrance to the laboratory. These cameras may be viewed at the monitor located on top of the tandem control console. The front door can be unlocked remotely from the tandem console intercom by pushing the unlock button.

To lock/unlock the main entrance to the lobby requires the use of a 5/32" Allen wrench - normally kept on the top-left side of the fire alarm cabinet. Hold the bar on the door down and insert the Allen wrench in the hole on the inside of the bar end fixtures and turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise to unlock or lock the door. Note that there are two such lock screws - one each end of the bar - one or both may need to be turned. The padlocks on the gate on the loading dock are keyed with secure keys. This gate is normally open for deliveries weekdays between 8 & 5 and padlocked after hours and on weekends. A key for the padlock is kept in the tandem lock box.

Occasionally an experiment will be concluded after normal working hours. If the experimenters should decide to shut down the machine and go home - there are a number of things that must be done:

1. The accelerator must be shut down as detailed in chapter 6. This includes the securing of the control power and charging system keys.

2. The ion source must be shut down as detailed in Chapter 3, sections VIII and IX, or the instructions appropriate to the source being used.

3. The analyzing magnet current and associated lens currents should be run down to zero either individually or by using the master reference control - if is being used. Turn off the analyzing magnet controls in the control room (DC OFF, POWER OFF), and the various other magnet power supplies in the power supply racks out in the bay.

4. Close the low energy, high energy, input 90˚-90˚, and input 70˚-70˚ beam line gate valves. The first two must be closed from the low energy and high energy pumping stations respectively. The latter two are closed from the control room Giesler panel - below the main vacuum metering station in the extreme right hand console cabinet. This isolates the accelerator and other vacuum sections - reducing the potential for damage should there be a vacuum system failure during the night.

5. Turn off most of the accelerator bay lighting but leave enough lights on for people to move about safely - i.e. leave every fourth light on. This is accomplished by flipping the circuit breakers in the panel just outside the control room to accelerator bay door.

6. Make sure that the back door (in the mechanical room) is closed and locked.

7. Shut off the control room lights - except for the row nearest the stairway. The circuit breakers are located in the service closet near the stairway.

8. Make sure that the front door is locked and latched on your way out.

4.3 2 Keys

Keys to the TUNL building and the Nuclear Physics rooms in the Physics building are available to TUNL PERSONNEL ONLY through the TUNL secretary - Mrs. West - in room 414 TUNL. She will authorize the keys and they will be issued through the Physics key control officer in room 139A Physics. All keys must be surrendered at the time a person terminates employment at TUNL. Loss of any keys is a very serious matter as it makes us vulnerable to vandalism or theft - ALL of the TUNL property as well as personal property in both the TUNL building and the Nuclear Physics rooms of the Physics building. Loss of any keys should be immediately reported to both the TUNL secretary and the Physics secretary. They may notify the Duke University Police Department to place an increased watch on the building and rooms affectedd.

4.3 Maintenance

Maintenance for the TUNL building is divided into three categories: Building, Accelerator, and Electronics. The University provides maintenance for the basic services: heating and cooling, lighting, plumbing, doors and locks. Burned out lights, leaky faucets, and other problems in these categories should be reported to Mrs. West in room 414 TUNL, Richard O’Quinn or Chris Westerfeldt. These people are able to submit online work requests for either the TUNL or Physics buildings. After hours, call the University Maintenance mechanic on duty at 684-2122. If after hours and an emergency – call the Duke Police at 911 or 684-2444 and they will page the appropriate people to respond.

Repairs needed for accelerator related equipment should be brought to the attention of Mr. Richard O'Quinn or Mr. John Dunham. A notice should also be put on the chalkboard adjacent to the elevator on the lab level of TUNL. PLEASE DATE AND INITIAL ALL ENTRIES. Alternatively, electronic mail can be sent (two copies) to "Dunham" and "Oquinn".

Electronics problems associated with the computer, data acquisition electronics and electronics constructed by the electronics shop should be brought to the attention electronics shop. A notice should also be put on the chalkboard near the elevator. A shelf in the control room has been designated for defective electronics. All small electronics modules requiring repairs should be placed on this shelf with a tag indicating the problem, the date, and the name of the person requesting repairs.

4.4 Maintenance

Electronics problems associated with the computer, data acquisition electronics and electronics constructed by the electronics shop should be brought to the attention electronics shop.s. A notice should also be put on the chalkboard near the elevator. A shelf in the control room has been designated for defective electronics. All small electronics modules requiring repairs should be placed on this shelf with a tag indicating the problem, the date, and the name of the person requesting repairs.

A key is available in Mrs West office in 414 in the black cabinet

4.5 Shift Responsibilities

Students on research assistantships are required to perform some routine duties in the laboratory on a rotating basis. Students who have completed the experimental portion of their thesis project and are engaged in writing their dissertations, are exempt from shift duties.

If a shift person has a conflict with his or her assigned shift day, it is his/her responsibility to arrange for someone else to accept the shift duties on that day. If unforeseen circumstances arise which prevent you from doing shift on your assigned day, at the very least, call the experimenters and let them know that you will not be able to do the shift.

Filling Liquid Nitrogen Dewars and Traps

The shift person is required to take any empty or near empty dewars up to the liquid nitrogen filling station (outside of the Physics building) to be filled. These dewars must NOT be left outside after 5 PM, which is when the TUNL doors are locked. The dewars should be brought back inside whether or not they were refilled. No one is permitted to ride the elevator with a filled LN dewar for safety reasons. A key is available in the TUNL computer room A key is available in Mrs. West’s office in 414to permit TUNL personnel to fill LN containers after hours or on weekends if the need arises. Do not attempt to fill a liquid container unless you have been instructed in the safe operation of the filling station! The storeroom clerk must be informed of the purchase. Send Email to stating when the LN was obtained and how much (size of container).

Logging the Accelerator and Ion Source

The PIC (person in charge - of the experiment) is responsible for filling in the daily log sheets. The log book is kept at the tandem console and is a daily record of the machine parameters. It is imperative that the radiation levels be recorded on a daily basis when the accelerator is in operation - this is a State of North Carolina regulation! Do this even if all levels are zero. Failure to complete these logs can result in revocation of your operator privileges.

Assisting the Technical Staff and Experimenters

The shift person is considered to be on call between 9 AM and 5 PM of the day of his/her shift. During this time either the technical staff or the experimenters may call on the shift person to assist them. For example, during a machine opening there are times when extra people are needed to work inside the machine. The experimenters may request the shift person to "sit" with the accelerator i.e. during a lunch break or seminar - provided that person is an approved operator. The shift person cannot be required to perform tasks related to the experiment - i.e. moving detectors, debugging electronics etc. He/she is merely there to guard against catastrophes associated with the accelerator.

4.6 4 Working on Equipment

While most repairs or modifications to laboratory equipment should be done by the technical support staff, there are always some jobs which are left up to the experimenter - i.e. replacing faulty detectors or power supplies. Laboratory policy is that the experimenter is allowed to undertake such minor repairs only if he/she is not alone in the laboratory. This is especially true at night when there may not be more than two people around. Experimenters are encouraged to work in pairs so that if an accident should happen, the second person will be immediately available to get help. If a problem arises which requires that some repairs be made, an experimenter alone in the laboratory should call another of his/her collaborators for advice and help.