Edgewood Chemical Biological Center division recognized for establishing new risk management approaches

The Chemical Biological Test Division of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Engineering Directorate earned the Director of Army Safety Risk Management Award for establishing new approaches to laboratory safety practices.

Brig. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the Combat Readiness Center and director of Army Safety, presented the award on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at a safety briefing at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) North in front of 100 ABG safety officials.

“The work this team does is exponentially dangerous, and it is directly applicable to what we’re going to face in the future,” Francis said. “This team took the initiative and showed the leadership to take their own time and find ways to make their work safer. Their work is commendable and will improve both safety and readiness in the future.”

A committee comprised of division staff members from each of the division’s three branches developed the new rules after assessing the directorate’s 15 safety initiatives.

“One way we could make these safety initiatives more meaningful is to start in the lab with the staff that are in the lab and look at safety at that level,” Matt Shue, chief of the Chemical Biological Test Division, said. “Our goal was to take a look at the safety initiatives and what they were intended to do. More than that, we wanted to take a look around the labs at our operations and find things that are specific examples of what we can improve – tangible changes.”

The new safety practices include a “sterile cockpit” rule, which is designed to focus crew members on the task at hand, instead of non-essential duties or activities, during critical times of flight. Other outcomes include changing the vessels for storing, transferring and delivering chemical agents, preparing chemical agent fact sheets and installing lockboxes with medical countermeasures.

The division plans to hold more “deep dive” reviews of standard operating procedures to strengthen knowledge and promote cross-training in different areas.