Michael Blayney has a wide range of responsibilities, from protecting faculty members from hazardous laboratory chemicals to designing comfortable chairs.
Blayney is director of Dartmouth's Environmental Health and Safety Group. His responsibilities include making sure that Dartmouth is in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws regarding workers' safety and monitoring Dartmouth's compliance with various environmental laws.
He must make sure that hazardous waste produced by Dartmouth's laboratories is disposed of safely. He is also responsible for keeping records related to any air and water pollution Dartmouth's facilities create.
Blayney keeps especially close tabs on any radioactive materials Dart-mouth's laboratories use.
Blayney also deals with more mundane tasks, like finding ergonomically appropriate chairs for Dartmouth employees and making sure that employees sit in comfortable positions in front of their computers.
EHS's biggest client is the medical school, closely followed by the science departments, Blayney said. His group also occasionally performs environmental consulting services related to environmental issues.
The "greatest and most serious tragedy" that Blayney has faced on the job came with the 1997 death of chemistry professor Karen Wetterhahn. Wetterhahn died after spilling a drop of the toxic chemical dimethyl mercury.
Blayney spent much of the next year dealing with the investigation into and ramifications of Wetterhahn's death, he said.
Blayney came to Dartmouth from the National Institute of Health in 1995, where he was trained in occupational health and safety procedures.
He studied molecular biology as an undergraduate before obtaining a doctorate in occupational health and safety.
Blayney has particularly enjoyed working with such a range of people in his current job. "I enjoy knowing everybody from custodians to students to the President of the College," he said.
He stressed that one of the most enjoyable parts of his job has been the opportunity to work with students, even though EHS's work is not what he termed a "bread and butter issue" for most students.
"I think very highly of Dartmouth undergrads. The students involved with our projects have been very bright and very interested," he said.
