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Nitric acid is a highly-corrosive mineral acid and strong oxidizer used primarily for nitration of organic molecules. Nitric acid reacts violently with alcohols, alkalis, reducing agents, combustible materials, organic materials, metals, acids, cyanides, terpenes, charcoal, and acetone. Not only does it produce exothermic reactions but also toxic, corrosive, and flammable vapors. The violent, reactive nature of nitric acid has led to major incidents at research universities such as Tufts, Texas Tech, and, recently, here at the University of Washington.

Is your group planning a party, departmental graduation ceremony or other event at UW? Your outdoor event may require a permit from the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) if any of the following apply:

Part of keeping your laboratory safe is ensuring it is prepared for an earthquake or other natural disaster. Here are some best practices for protecting yourself and others in this potential scenario.

Protect Your Exit Way
Tall or heavy equipment near your laboratory exit could tip over and block it during an earthquake, so take action now to prevent this:

Health & Safety Committees provide valuable contributions to the UW’s total workplace safety program. Ten committees represent all UW employees, and the new two-year term for these committees began January 1, 2016.

Representatives from these committees make up the University-Wide (U-Wide) Health and Safety Committee, which also began its new two-year term at the start of the year. The U-Wide committee has two representatives from each of the ten organizational committees, a representative from the Faculty Senate, union representation, and other ex-officio members.

Lithium batteries are in many items, from electronic cigarettes to motor vehicles. Most of the devices are perfectly safe. However, there have been a few issues arising from items containing these batteries. The UW Bothell campus recently had a hover board fire, and there was a fire on the Seattle campus because of a battery-powered vacuum cleaner.

EH&S collaborated with the Materials Science & Engineering Department to develop a short video about the UW’s chemical waste management process.

Watch the video to get your common waste management questions answered and learn more about properly labeling, storing, and managing hazardous chemical waste. 

The UW is a major research and teaching institution, and safety in our laboratories is very important to all of us. If you work in a lab, you can protect yourself and others from exposure to hazardous materials through the use of chemical fume hoods; safe work practices and training; and appropriate laboratory attire and personal protective equipment (PPE).