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CHESAPEAKE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY | SOLOMONS, MDJULY 2022ISSUE 71Lab Lines1IN THIS ISSUE:DIRECTOR’S VIEW24At a recent Academic Council meeting I shared with the community a number of recent disturbing events that had been reported around our campus. Here I wanted to provide further updates.1) One volunteer working in the Visitor’s Center was subject to a racially-based rant during the time they volunteered. This is unacceptable. In response, we have made several changes to protocols in our volunteer program as we prepare for docents to take over next month. We will plan to have two volunteers in the Visitor’s Center working together to provide support and protect to each other. We have also started a formal log of all reported incidents to begin compiling data on the number and nature of such incidents. 2) Based on information I received, I reported to the Academic Council that one of our community members had been propositioned. Subsequent discussions revealed nothing like this occured. Much of the information being shared proved to be wholly inaccurate. 3) There have been several occasions where young researchers have been challenged when on or at the entrance to the pier. In discussions over responses to this, I have oered to have sunsafe shirts printed for all researchers, so it is apparent to all who are a part of this community. However, this only works if we all agree to wear such clothing, and has possible negative side eects if people choose not to wear this clothing. We are continuing to have these discussions.Should any of you nd yourself in a situation in which you do not feel safe, please feel free to reach out to the emergency services. In every instance we have called them, we have found them to be responsive, helpful and eective.I am committed to making summaries of the general information on negative interactions with members of the public, whether racially motivated or not, available to the entire CBL community as a part of my town hall meetings. If you experience such interactions, please report it to your supervisor, to Stacy or me directly. We want to work to ensure CBL is a welcoming community where all feel like they belong. These negative interactions may make us question the nature of the community in which we live. You should know that while there may be some who have yet to recognize or support the change we are trying to achieve as an academic institution, there are some who embrace, welcome and value these changes. I hope to have very exciting news about a transformative gift to share soon.OUTREACHIN CASE YOU MISSED IT/ PUBLICATIONS3SAFETY CORNER

In Case You Missed ItKirsten Silva and Lauren Rodriguez attended the “Calvert Library’s Summer Splash” event on June 25, 2022 at AnnMa-rie Garden. The event was a kick o celebration for summer reading. Kirsten and Lauren educated ~1,400 attendees on Chesapeake DolphinWatch and promoted the recent anniversary book. DolphinWatch was also featured in The Bay Journal and in one of their recently hosted webinars. Kohma Arai was awarded the Reid Evans Menzer Memorial Graduate Award (2022-2023).Ryan Woodland’s PhD student, Matt Stefanak, was one of two students to receive a 2022 Maryland Sea Grant Com-petitive Graduate Research Fellowship Competition for his proposal titled, “Elucidating dietary source and structure of three important juvenile shery species across the Chesapeake Bay mouth plume using bulk stable isotope analyses”. The fellowship comes with one year of full support. A recent Sea grant article in the Chesapeake Quarterly focused on the issue of shrink wrapping boats, used data and information from a recent student group project that focussed on the same issue as their Issue Study Group project in the Fall 2021 MEES Plastics pollution class led by Drs Helen Bailey and Carys Mitchelmore. The students, Marshall Grossman, Yang Yu, Andrea Pfa and Daniella Hanacek investigated how much plastic was potentially disposed of each year from shrink wrapping boats building o the Maryland DNR educational campaign ’Think Before You Shrink’ that has been run by Donna Morrow since 2021. The article can be found here and the whole issue here. Kohma Arai, Vyacheslav Lyubchich, and David H. Secor presented (see presentation information below) at the 4th ICES/PICES Early Career Scientist Conference. Arai K, Castonguay M, Lyubchich V, Secor DH. “Application of Otolith Isoscape to Evaluate Multi-decadal Trends in Contingent Mixing of a Key Transboundary Fishery.”PublicationsSolange Filoso was a co-author in a recently published paper: Taniwaki, R.H., Cunha, D.G.F., Bento, C.B., Martinelli, L.A., Stanley, E.H., Filoso, S., Ferreira, M.S., Franca, M.V., Junior, J.W.R., Schiesari, L.C., do Carmo, J. (2022). Methane Concentrations and uxes in agricultural and preserved tropical headwater streams. Science of The Total Environment, 844. [UMCES Contribution No. 6191] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157238

Filtration SafetyHere are some safety tips to follow when ltering samples in the laboratory:1. Inspect the glassware before using it. Make sure it is free from cracks, aws and scratches.2. If you are using a vacuum pump, please inspect it to be sure it is in working order.3. Only use vessels designed for vacuum. If it is possible, only use asks that have a volume of 1 liter or less. These are less likely to explode. Thin walled or round bottom asks should never be used.4. If the glassware is not safety coated, it should be covered with tape or plastic mesh to restrain any fragments in case it breaks.5. Know the chemical(s) you are working with. Read the Safety Data Sheet(s) to know the hazards of the chemical, rst aid measures, and what PPE you should be wearing. There is a risk of poisoning resulting from cuts from broken glass.6. When tting the tubing to the glassware, you can use a lubricant on the glass piece or immerse the tubing in hot water to make it easier to connect to the glass. Do NOT force the tubing, the glass piece could snap resulting in injury.7. Wear PPE – safety glasses (or goggles) and face shields to protect your head, neck and chest from ying glass shards.8. Use a trap. Do not allow water, solvents or gases to be drawn into the vacuum system.https://www.labmanager.com/lab-health-and-safety/10-tips-to-reduce-vacuum-ask-hazards-19030https://www.safety.duke.edu/laboratory-safety/work-practices-ppe/working-safely-vacuumhttps://wiki.bath.ac.uk/display/chemistrysafety/Use+of+glasswarehttps://ehs.princeton.edu/laboratory-research/laboratory-safety/laboratory-equipment-and-engineering/pressure-and-vacuum-systemsFiltering Accidents (these are excerpts from the Dept. of Energy and Univ. of Delaware websites. Links have been included)In one Department of Energy laboratory, a chemist received supercial chemical burns to the face when an implosion oc-curred during the routine preparation of an acrylic acid compound. At the time of the incident, the chemist was removing oxygen from a glass ask in which he had been collecting a ltered solution of water and sodium hydroxide. Shortly after the chemist began the evacuation process, the bottle imploded, projecting its contents onto his face and clothing. Fortu-nately, the chemist was wearing safety glasses and protective clothing, and his burns were only supercial. During their in-vestigation into the incident, investigators found that when collecting the water/sodium hydroxide solution, the chemist substituted a 4-liter Erlenmeyer ask for the 1-liter, vacuum-lter ask called for in the laboratory’s procedures. However, the ask the chemist substituted was structurally incapable of withstanding the pressure of a vacuum. http://www.hyvac.com/Other_items/Safety/implosion.htmVacuum Flask IncidentA researcher at the University of Delaware was performing tissue culture work. They had a vacuum ask set up to aspirate the cell culture media o the samples. This consisted of a 4-liter ask with tubing and a pump for the suction. The ask and pump were sitting on the oor below the biosafety cabinet. The ask contained a small quantity of cell culture waste and sodium hydroxide pellets had just been added to inhibit bacterial growth. Cotton from a pipette became lodged in the vacuum tubing. The researcher was advised to aspirate liquid through the system to dislodge the cotton. Water was aspi-rated in hopes of clearing the clog. Instead, the ask exploded sending shards of glass and liquid throughout the room. No one was cut by the ying glass, but the researcher was splashed with the concentrated sodium hydroxide. The re-searcher had been wearing a lab coat and safety glasses as required, but received a splash to the forehead just above the glasses. The researcher immediately removed the contaminated safety equipment and ushed their face in the eyewash. Public Safety and Environmental Health & Safety were notied by a second researcher in the room at the time. Upon investigation, it was determined that the water reacted with the sodium hydroxide causing an exothermic, or heat-producing, reaction. The ask being used was a standard ask; it was not designed to be used as a vacuum ask.https://www1.udel.edu/ehs/research/chemical/vacuum-ask.html

CBL Visitor Center - Volunteers NeededThe Chesapeake Biological Laboratory Visitor Center is open! While some volunteers will be returning to the docent team, others have moved out of the area or retiring from the program. Additionally, we are moving towards a system where two volunteers will be assigned to each shift. The training of returning docents and the recruitment and onboarding of new volunteers will take time.We are seeking volunteer support from members of the CBL community. Volunteer shifts are available on: • Fridays from 1:00-4:30• Saturdays from 10:00-1:00 and from 1:00-4:30• Sundays from 10:00-1:00 and from 1:00-4:30If you are willing to volunteer for one or more of these volunteer shifts, please sign up using the following calendar tool: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2Vs9hynUnMxtrQrUXLXI41kUvP5mgnjBCCTXxrWO_nymhrUevpGOtNi5mi8nXZm12ZiUZXQr8yWhen you sign up for day and time, it will automatically be taken o the list of available shifts. If you have any questions about volunteering please contact Sarah Brzezinski at brzezins@umces.edu.CBL Visitor Center Volunteer Recruitment The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory is recruiting volunteers from the Southern Maryland community to serve as docents in our Visitor Center! If you know a community member who would like to join the docent team after July, or if you would like to continue to volunteer, please contact Sarah Brzezinski at brzezins@umces.edu.CBL Visitor Center - Exhibit DevelopmentNew exhibits and interpretive materials are coming to the CBL Visitor Center! Upcoming exhibits include a watershed model and aquarium sh ID signs. Additionally, a wall mural about plastic marine debris is being designed.Bay Grasses Campus SignEstimates for the fabrication of a new campus sign were requested from six local companies. The new sign will highlight information and photographs related to the historic decline of bay grasses around Solomons Island.www.umces.edu/cbl | 410-326-4281P.O. Box 38 | 146 Williams Street | Solomons, MD 20688-0038Outreach