Following the announcement of the Seattle Police Department’s preventable fire alarm initiative (that will result in fines for false alarms starting January 1, 2020), EH&S has fielded concerns about whether a fire alarm should be trigged when a fire is not present.
On December 9, 2019, EH&S hosted the Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovation Event to share new practices developed to enhance the culture of safety in UW research and teaching labs. Executive Director of Health Sciences Administration, Dave Anderson gave the opening speech, and Katia Harb, Senior Director of EH&S, gave the closing remarks. Research leaders presented innovations instated in their labs and departments to improve safety practices and safety training completion.
The University has over 950 active biosafety cabinets (BSCs), and about 150 have become obsolete due to safer design standards and the challenge of obtaining replacement parts. EH&S recommends replacing obsolete cabinets before they fail to minimize disruptions to research projects.
The following resources are available to assist with the purchase and replacement of BSCs:
The University is implementing the Provost’s Task Force on Laboratory Safety’s recommendations to develop a more robust laboratory safety oversight and management program, particularly regarding chemical and physical hazards in research and teaching.
EH&S launched a new version of the Lab Safety Dashboard that offers a Self-Inspection Tool that allows PIs and CHOs to conduct and record an audit of their laboratory spaces using the lab survey checklist.
October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety practices and policies. For 2019, EH&S is focusing on biosafety beyond the lab. We are encouraging you to reflect and seek opportunities to strengthen your practices related to biohazards outside of the lab.
1. Transport biohazards safely
Many safety measures and the use of PPE can prevent spills and exposures to hazardous materials. However, if you do experience an exposure, your safety, and the safety of others, depends on your response to the incident.
A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) can help prevent work-related injuries or illnesses by eliminating or controlling hazards. A JHA is a method for identifying and evaluating hazards associated with tasks (steps) for a specific job or activity and eliminating or controlling them before doing the activity. EH&S has created a JHA webpage to help departments and employees conduct and implement JHAs for their work activities.
On July 8, 2019, EH&S launched a new version of the Lab Safety Dashboard, a tool vital to our campus’ safety management in research and teaching laboratories. The dashboard has portals for scientific department principal investigators, chairs, deans and UW executives that allow them (or their designee) to review safety performance data and inspection reports for their units.
After June 21, 2019, users with temporary visitor accounts (accounts with a “wireXXXXX” format) will no longer be able to access online safety training courses provided by the Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S).
