[NHCOLL-L:2407] Re: Collection Volunteer Rules.

[Kathryn Makos]

Dear Mark,

Please don't forget to include basic safety and health hazard awareness in your guidelines or orientation packets (similar to your employee safety training info) for all the "others" working around/with collections: volunteers, docents, short-term academic appointees and even research day-visitors.  Research visitors could get an abbreviated orientation, but if they will be allowed to wander on their own, they will need to be advised of emergency egress, fire escape routes, and any other safety procedures specific to their work on site.  If collections hazards (such as residual pesticides) are a risk while browsing through collections, they need to be apprised of the hazard and any available ppe, such as gloves.  This type of information can easily be summarized in whatever handout or orientation you have for visiting curators, etc.  Volunteers and even student interns are considered "workers" under most state Worker Compensation laws and as such must be provided with the same training, ppe, etc that you provide to paid employees (it's the ethical thing to do, regardless of the law).  The trick, of course, is to identify all the secret "gateways" that folks enter your domain...if colleagues on staff are allowed to sign in their own visitors (or "hire" their own volunteers or interns) rather than go through the department office, then some agreements need to be made.  


Kathryn A. Makos, MPH, CIH
Industrial Hygienist
Office of Safety and Environmental Management 
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
Victor Building, Room 9100, MRC 932
Washington, DC 20013-7012
(202) 275-0705
(202) 275-0746-fax