Credit For Lab Energy Use At Cornell University

Mar 13, 2025

As I have been watching the news from the perspective of a 30+ year environmental health and safety professional, I keep thinking about all of the strides that have been made at colleges and universities and other research-based organizations in terms of environmental protection and sustainability.

With the recent news of major changes occurring within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the news caused me to reflect a moment on the implications of work that has been done around laboratory energy use. Here is the EPA article that caused me to write this article.

The article touched on points related to topics that will impact lab energy use and sustainability efforts, as well as many other areas within my profession. I am not going to spend time discussing the various points with this recent announcement, however, this recent news reminded me to document some history related to lab energy use at Cornell University. Specifically, I wanted to make sure that Thomas (Tom) Shelley received credit as one of the groundbreaking forces when it came to energy use in labs and specifically around laboratory ventilation with implications within the U.S. and internationally.

I knew Tom Shelley as the Chemical Hygiene Officer from Cornell University through his posts on the various listservs. I first met Tom Shelley in person at a winter conference I attended at Binghamton University back in 1997 when I started there as the Hazardous Waste Manager. As a side note, this is the same conference where I met Dr. James Kaufmann from The Laboratory Safety Institute.

I started working at the Cornell University Department of Environmental Health and Safety in May 2002 as the Laboratory Safety Manager with Tom Shelley being one of my staff members. Shortly after I started working at Cornell University, Tom had already started working with various stakeholders on campus and a team was put together to look at lab energy use on campus.

This team was called the “Lab Building Energy Use Task Team”. The earliest minutes I can find on my computer are dated July 29, 2003 with the following people as part of the team: Mike Boggs, Steve Clark, Lou Damiani, Chuck Eckert, Jim Gibbs, Jerry Gordon, Jim Grieger, Allen Hebert, Tom Jordan, Lanny Joyce, Jim Kazda, Rod Keister, Randy Lacey, Ken Potter, Chris Robbian, Dave Roman, and Tom Shelley.

As work progressed with this team, we started developing a new lab design standard to incorporate lessons learned. In addition to realizing substantial energy savings, multiple other benefits were received from these efforts for stakeholders across campus. The original lab design standard was officially called “Cornell University Design and Construction Standards - 15020 Laboratories”. The revised version is called “Cornell University Design and Construction Standards - 230540 Laboratory Ventilation”.

A few really big points came out of the development of that design standard:

An attempt to standardize lab ventilation equipment and constructions standards was made.
The of various technology was explored in order to optimize health and safety, while realizing energy savings from a reduction in airflow when laboratories were unoccupied…and a way to measure this.
An air exchange rate of 8 air changes per hour (ach) in an occupied setting and 4 ach in an unoccupied setting. For low chemical use labs, an air exchange rate of 4 ach in an occupied setting and 2 ach in an unoccupied setting.
- Note: the revised Cornell Lab Design Standard uses 8 ach in an occupied setting and 4 ach in an unoccupied setting. For low chemical use labs, an air exchange rate of 6 ach in an occupied and 3 ach in an unoccupied setting.
A method was developed by the Utilities group to measure cost savings associated with reduction in laboratory ventilation rates as per the design standard.

As work continued forward and the project started seeing more energy savings and cost savings, the general consensus was that a full-time position was needed for oversight of this program. A special arrangement was made with Physical Facilities to fund the salary for a position, while the position would remain within the Department of Environmental Health and Safety - in part due to funding issues and to avoid any conflict of interests. Then in 2011, I hired Ralph Stuart to be the Laboratory Ventilation Specialist. As expected, Ralph ran with the program as he had previously been working with Tom Shelley and others on the topic. Ralph helped further refine the documentation and came up with a unique method using carbon dioxide fire extinguishers and monitors to measure decay rates when making changes to reductions in laboratory ventilation rates.

For me personally, a key piece of the work Ralph expanded up with the work that Tom Shelley had already started was to validate the original ventilation rates the team agreed upon. The rates were based on extensive research at other institutions, in addition to the team’s own studies. At the time from the EH&S perspective, the original intent was to develop a standard and protocols for lab ventilation rates, develop a way to validate, and then try to automate the process to the extent possible using Cornell University’s Hazard Assessment Signage Program (HASP), which was later rebranded as “Research Area Space Registration Using HASP”.

The idea behind this was to use this “space registration” in combination with existing laboratory inspections to provide the information for lab ventilation rates and then followed up as part of an annual review. For areas that either saw a large increase or decrease in their chemical usage, the space was reevaluated for verification purposes of the appropriate exchange rate. This process was also coupled with EH&S working more closely with Physical Facilities in terms of scheduling fume hood preventative maintenance as well. Tom Shelley also deserves credit for having put together a very comprehensive fume hood testing program, including incorporation of the “dry ice test” for visual observation of fume hood and other ventilation devices as well as room pressurization.

With the news of the recent changes in the approach the EPA will be taken, it is likely that many of these programs related to environmental protection and sustainability may not have as much incentive for business leaders to continue to pursue - which I would disagree with that line of thinking. However, at the very least, as an environmental health and safety professional, I am comfortable with the work the Cornell University Lab Energy Building Task Team, Tom Shelley, Ralph Stuart, and others have done around laboratory ventilation.

I believe in general, the lab ventilation rate for chemical use labs of 8 ach in an occupied setting and 4 ach in an unoccupied setting, and for low chemical use labs, an air exchange rate of 6 ach in an occupied and 3 ach in an unoccupied setting, are valid numbers to use as a starting point. There will obviously be exceptions to the rule based on chemicals used (which includes gases), regulatory requirements, and accreditation organizations, however, as an environmental health and safety professional who was part of those original meetings, I believe the ventilation rates and the process developed are still valid today…more than 20 years later.

Thomas Shelley deserves credit for being a key player for not only lab energy use at Cornell University, but he also deserves credit for setting the wheels into motion an awareness of green labs, green chemistry, sustainability, and environmental protection. Tom and the other on that team had the foresight to recognize that there can be a balance between health and safety, environmental protection, and cost savings associated with energy use. Thank you Tom Shelley for being a true pioneer in this field…this article is dedicated to you in order to give credit where credit is due.

Here are additional resources related to laboratory ventilation and lab energy use: