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Safety Procedures in Experimental Work Areas and Hutches:

Key locks are used to control the beam stops and the various hutch doors. A set of beam stops and/or shutters control the entrance of the X-ray Beam into each experiment hutch.

While running your experiment at CHESS, you will be able to control entry of the X-ray beam into your work hutch at will. In order to ensure your safety and that of all CHESS Users and personnel, there are fail-safe procedures you must follow in order to secure your experimental hutch and open the shutters to allow the beam to pass into the hutch.

     

 

1. First, you must search the hutch to make sure it is unoccupied. This means looking around corners and behind large equipment, and verbally announcing your intent to search and secure the hutch.

2. When you are satisfied that no one is in the hutch, press the Search Circuit button. You will hear a solenoid buzzing-- this allows you a limited amount of time to exit the hutch and lock the door.

3. Close and secure the hutch door, and turn and remove the key mounted on the outside of the door.

4. The hutch door key(s) are then inserted into the Station Control Panel and turned, which activates the "Open Shutter" buttons. All stations have two keys which must be inserted into the control panel to open the shutters-- one from the hutch door, and one that is generally left in the control panel. (The exception to this is the A1 hutch, which has two doors. In this case, both doors must be locked and both keys removed and inserted into the control panel.)

Panel locks for hutch door keys on Station Control Panel

5.  If all of the red LED lights on the Station Control Panel are lit, the shutters will open when both "Open Shutter" buttons are pressed.

Station Control Panel

If for any reason some part of this safety protocol was performed incorrectly, or there is a problem in any part of the safety interlock system, the "Open Shutter" buttons will not be enabled. See your CHESS Operator if you encounter difficulties.

Every Hutch is equipped with a Dump Button

**In the unlikely event that you are trapped inside a hutch during the Search and Secure process, hit a CHESS DUMP button to activate the alarms and disable (turn off) the X-ray shutters and line beam stops.**

Special Note: Users are permitted to work alone and to leave experiments unattended only if the CHESS Operator has been notified.

 

 

 

 

2012 X-ray Runs

Feb. 22nd - March 26th
May 30th - July 2nd

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