Lab Safety Awareness Week 2025

Help raise awareness of safe lab practices at the UW!

Lab Safety Awareness Week is sponsored by CSHEMA and held at academic institutions nationwide February 10-14, 2025. This event is dedicated to recognizing the successes of laboratory safety programs and offering ideas on how to keep our faculty, staff and students safe.

Be a Safety Champion in your lab and receive a prize!

 

New focus sheet explains SDSs vs. SOPs

Why should labs have a standard operating procedure (SOP) for a chemical when the manufacturer safety data sheet (SDS) is available? Both documents are required in the lab and offer different types of important information about a chemical.

Use the SOPs versus SDSs Focus Sheet to understand the types of information provided by each document and how to effectively use them as part of your laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan.

Standard Operating Procedures versus Safety Data Sheets

Safety data sheets (SDSs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are both required elements of a laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan but each captures different types of information. Use the Standard Operating Procedures versus Safety Data Sheets Focus Sheet to understand what types of information can be provided by or included in each type of document and how to effectively use these documents as part of your laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan.