The TALSO [Triangle Area Laser Safety Officers] group met Thursday, March 11, 2004 at Duke University's Radiation Safety Division Office.  This meeting followed a great tour of Duke's Free Electron Laser Laboratory [FELL]; a big THANK YOU to Dr. Pat Wallace of DFELL for graciously showing us around.

I. Welcome & Introduce new folks

II. Reviewed notes from November 13 Meeting
- only action item was for BE to investigate arranging a tour of DFELL; DONE

III. Case Study & Round Table Discussion: A Wholly Unsatisfying Hazard Evaluation of an Open-Beam Laser Cell Sorter System

- B. Edwards presented a review of Duke Laser Safety staff's hazard evaluation on a relatively simple laser cell sorter system.  Our frustration stemmed from our inability to convince the user of the need to enclose the beam path, which he now leaves open (removed the manufacturer's provided enclosure panels) so he can more easily adjust the optical system.  The user's ambivalence is somewhat justified in that this laser system contains Class 3b lasers, not Class 4, so it's only an eye hazard, not a skin hazard or ignition source.  Nonetheless, we felt the eye hazard was not adequately controlled.  

- Jyl Burgener noted that these cell sorter systems sometime exhaust aerosols into the room; potential issue if the cells being sorted constitute a biohazard.

IV. Any other business

- Duke's Class 4 Laser Laboratory Design Standard (inspired by the NCSU Guide presented by Ken Kretchman & Will Rowland at our January 30, 2003 TALSO meeting) was recently approved by the Duke Research Use Laser Safety Committee.  The idea was for this guide to provide a high-level, conceptual overview of class 4 lab safety components.  Now that we've resolved the requirements on this conceptual level, we can proceed to develop a more detailed "toolbox" of specific options, begin identifying potential suppliers, and assign approximate costs to various elements for planning and budgeting purposes.  Interested parties can view this very concise guidance at:
http://www.safety.duke.edu/RadSafety/laser_lab_design.asp

- Laser Safety Listserves: anyone monitoring?  B. Edwards stated he recalled some discussion of a laser safety listserve being started last year and asked of any TALSO members were monitoring it.  No one present had heard of such a listserve. W. Crocker requested that the WORD document laser warning sign template mentioned by B. Edwards be posted on the TALSO web site [www.nchps.org/TALSO.htm].
ACTION: B. Edwards post ANSI-spec laser warning sign template on TALSO web site [DONE 15-Mar-04]

- CLSO Exams March 26, June 18, Aug. 27, etc; see www.lasersafety.org; anyone interested in taking this exam? Two people present indicated they were planning to take this exam; one TALSO member will be taking it March 26.

V. Schedule next meeting

Resolved: We'll meet again at 2:30 PM on Thursday, 29-Jul-04 at GlaxoSmithKline in RTP; thanks to Dan Sullivan for offering to host this meeting.

List of potential discussion topics for upcoming meetings:

- Medical Surveillance (why, whom & how much?)
- Tracking high power diode lasers
- Appropriate fire-proof materials
- Handling multiple wavelength lasers (e.g. Ti:Sapphire)
- Release of class 3b & 4 lasers into surplus & unrestricted use
- List of low-cost solutions to laser safety challenges & "low hanging fruit" that get the most impact for the least resource expended in laser safety programs
- Emerging issue: high power LEDs
- Harmonization of international LS standards
- LS for ultra-short pulsed laser systems
- Knowing the unknowable: how to assess US laser accident rates when no one reports laser accidents
- Electrical Safety revisited
- Studying for the CLSO Exam: ideas and strategies
- Bring in a laser and demonstrate doing an alignment

Thank you again for your interest.  See you July 29!

Ben Edwards, MS, CLSO
Health Physicist
Duke University/Medical Center
668-3157