Lisa Krause
Photo credit: Mark Stehle
WHO SHE IS: Industrial Hygienist, Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety
TIME AT PENN: 6 years
WHAT SHE DOES: Anticipates, recognizes, evaluates and controls workplace hazards in order to protect Penn employees. “[Industrial hygienists] are dedicated to protecting the workers, so we know what to look for as far as environmental stressors,” she says. “That could be anything from hazards in the research laboratories here, such as chemical or biological hazards. That could also mean physical hazards.” She is also the University’s respirator program administrator and handles the special health and safety needs of the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square.
LAB WORK: Krause spends a large portion of her time auditing research and chemistry labs. “We like to meet with people in the labs and let them know what hazards they can look for, whether that be how they store their chemicals [or] how they work out on the bench top,” she says.
SAFETY FIRST: The most important piece of safety advice Krause has for Penn lab employees is “wear your lab coat and safety glasses at all times.” Those wearing prescription glasses need to wear safety glasses, too. Penn actually has a prescription safety glass program where employees can get their prescriptions put into safety glasses for a discounted price. “We want you to protect your eyes that bad,” she says.
