Overview

Georgetown University was building and populating Regents Hall, a 154,000 square-foot, state of the art research and teaching facility for biology, chemistry, and physics. The facility houses 3-classrooms, 12 teaching labs, 3+ floors of research labs, 4 conference rooms, 6 student lounges, and a café. Loureiro was responsible for verifying that the facility met the specific requirements established by the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) and administered by the District of Columbia Department of the Environment (DOE) for the accumulation and storage of Hazardous Waste. Loureiro provided a full spectrum of services to ensure compliance and support a culture of safety at Georgetown University.

Approach

As part of its program for waste management at Regents Hall, Georgetown University was going to be setting up 3 less-than-90-day hazardous waste storage areas for the accumulation of hazardous waste for the whole facility, one less than 90-day hazardous waste storage area per floor for accumulating laboratory waste, and dozens of point-of-generation accumulation areas (satellite accumulation areas) as part of the project.

The Director of Risk Management and the Safety Department also reached out to Loureiro, via word of mouth, for support on several safety initiatives. During a capital renovation project at the campus library, a contractor experienced a fatal electrocution accident, which prompted the Risk Management Office to require 3rd Party construction safety oversight for the multiple (7) capital construction projects that were occurring on campus. Loureiro provided design of the electrical installations and wiring to meet NFPA code for the storage and transfer of flammable liquids. Loureiro also provided guidance on how to prevent static discharge through bonding and grounding. This project was completed over a two-and-a-half-year timeframe. Loureiro also completed a Contractor Safety Handbook, to be followed by all contractors doing work for Georgetown. The Safety Department also didn’t have Fire and Life Safety Plans for most of the buildings on campus. Loureiro developed these policies, as well as an elevator evacuation/safety program.

Loureiro continues to be a trusted resource for services such as accident investigation, EH&S guidance, explosives detection, and process safety guidance, as well as training for the Facility Engineers.

Results

Before Loureiro came on board the Safety Department was overwhelmed with a tremendous workload and did not have the resources to complete day-to-day work, let alone provide oversite for the numerous projects taking place. The presence of Loureiro on campus drastically altered the safety culture that was nearly non-existent. Georgetown realized huge savings on insurance policies which would have been significantly more expensive, if policies and procedures had not been put in place by Loureiro. All together, these actions allowed the University to add 2 new dorms, a large athletic center, infrastructure, and a new nuclear medicine wing to the hospital, all done consecutively. This type of development supports growth on campus, which means more tuition, and a growing endowment.