The University’s new Administrative Policy Statement 12.7 supporting laboratory safety is now published. The policy establishes University requirements for oversight of chemical and physical safety in research and academic environments, including the establishment of the Institutional Chemical and Physical Safety Committee (ICAPS), and an escalation process for addressing laboratory safety findings.
Vacuum pumps are used to remove air and other vapors from a vessel or manifold. Weak points in containers or systems under vacuum can create implosion or explosion hazards, and cause injury by violently spraying glass and hazardous materials. An example of this is an incident that recently occurred at the University of Pennsylvania resulting in an explosion and fire.
New rules went into effect on October 31, 2020, for the management of dangerous waste pharmaceuticals, which set new requirements for Washington state health care facilities that generate pharmaceutical waste.
Your workspace should always be ready for an inspection. The most important thing you can do to be prepared for an inspection is to keep your lab, shop, clinic, or other workspace clean, organized, and up to University of Washington standards.
The hazards: Nitric acid is a highly corrosive mineral acid and strong oxidizer used primarily for nitration of organic molecules and washing glassware or metal equipment. Nitric acid reacts violently with alcohols, alkalis, reducing agents, combustible materials, organic materials, metals, acids, cyanides, terpenes, charcoal, and acetone. It produces exothermic reactions, as well as toxic, corrosive, and flammable vapors.
To reduce the risk of injury related to telework activities consider the following ergonomic tips when setting up your workstation:
The Asbestos General Awareness-Online training course that is required for all UW employees was replaced with a newly refreshed video, thanks to a collaboration between EH&S and UWTV. The video contains awareness-level training regarding asbestos-containing building materials in UW facilities and potential hazards for building occupants.
EH&S has released four new online courses to support the basic safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment when using or operating tools and equipment.
Chemical waste generators at the University have two ways to submit waste collection requests:
Directly from your MyChem inventory
From the Chemical Waste Disposal page on the EH&S website
On February 26, EH&S will be offering a webinar on lab safety and compliance for department staff who support researchers and principal investigators at the UW.
This training is designed for administrators, but it is open to all UW staff who do not work in a laboratory setting. The course provides background material on regulatory, policy and permit requirements, and addresses hazards and risk assessment in the laboratory to ensure lab safety and compliance.
