Notice of Cleaning and Decontamination Form
Updated 8/10/21
The Notice of Cleaning and/or Decontamination Form (Word) must be completed by a UW employee knowledgeable of the hazardous materials used in, on and/or around a space, equipment, appliance or furniture when either of the following occur:
1. The dirty or contaminated equipment, appliance or furniture is being repaired or removed (for disposal, reuse or surplus).
2. The space is being vacated.
Hydrofluoric Acid Focus Sheet
The Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Focus Sheet covers the health hazards of HF exposure, safe use, storage, emergency procedures, incident reporting, spills, and disposal.
General Autoclave Safety
Use the General Autoclave Safety document to familiarize yourself with the hazards involved with operating an autoclave. Learn how to protect yourself before operating an autoclave. These general autoclave safety guidelines need to be reviewed by any person that operates an autoclave for any reason.
Exposure Response Poster
Use the Exposure Response Poster as a guide for responding to a biological, chemical or radiological exposure.
Post in your lab alongside the Spill Response Poster.
Compressed Gases and Cryogens
Updated September 27, 2024
Compressed and liquefied gases are routinely used in laboratories, shops and various other operations at the University. Compressed gas is a generic term used for describing compressed gases, liquefied compressed gases, refrigerated liquefied gases (cryogenic fluids) and dissolved gases.
Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)
Updated January 22, 2025
Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are documents that describe the physical and health hazards of chemicals or chemical-containing products and must be readily accessible to employees during all work shifts when these products are present in the work environment.
EH&S maintains a centralized library of SDSs in the online MyChem database for your use. SDSs are added to the central collection as employees inventory their chemicals in MyChem.
Sharps and Lab Glass Waste
Sharps waste is regulated by state law and requires special handling. Sharps are instruments used to puncture or cut body parts. In a waste container, sharps can cause cuts, punctures and potential exposure to waste handlers.
Laboratory glass and plastic waste are not technically sharps but can puncture regular waste bags and injure waste handlers. The rules for packaging and disposal of laboratory glass and plastic waste differ depending on whether or not the items are contaminated.
Respirator Request Form
University supervisors submit a Respirator Request Form to EH&S, when respiratory hazards are first identified, when processes change that may impact respiratory hazards, and annually thereafter.
Biological Toxin Safe Work Practices
Review and implement these guidelines in your laboratory if you work with biotoxins.
Use the Biological Toxin Checklist to ensure compliance and safe work practices for research involving biotoxins. EH&S is available to assist you.