The University of Idaho is committed to providing a safe laboratory environment for its faculty, staff, students and visitors. The goal of the University Laboratory Safety Program is to minimize the risk of injury or illness to laboratory workers by ensuring that they have the training, information, and support needed to work safely in the laboratory. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) promulgated rules titled Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (29 CFR Part 1910.1450). The regulation specifies that a written Laboratory Safety Plan must be developed and implemented. The Laboratory Safety Plan must include work practices, procedures, and policies to ensure that employees are protected from all potentially hazardous materials in use in their work area. The University of Idaho Laboratory Safety Plan applies to all laboratories that handle hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials, biological agents, or operate certain types of equipment that could cause physical harm.

 

Cleaning and waste disposal services in a laboratory requires strict adherence to applicable policies and procedures. It is a joint effort between laboratory personnel, Building Services personnel, and Environmental Health and Safety personnel. Our goal is to provide cleaning and waste disposal services for laboratories, develop procedures that everyone understands and will follow, and through this process, avoid the hazards to personnel conducting these services.

For more complete information, download "Cleaning and Waste Disposal Services for Laboratories."

Laboratory Safety Plan Template

The Laboratory Safety Plan Template is provided to help laboratory personnel put together a laboratory safety plan for their laboratories. The template is set up in sections that cover such areas as inventory, MSDS sheets, standard operating procedures, etc. Each section has text written in black that provides an introductory sentence or statement about each area, followed by text written in red that instructs the laboratory supervisor, who is responsible for the laboratory safety plan, to provide information that is specific to that lab. Note that in the section pertaining to personal protective equipment (PPE), the text written in black describes the minimum PPE that must be worn in order to enter the laboratory.

Laboratory Hazard Analysis Form

The Laboratory Hazard Analysis form is designed to help laboratory personnel identify hazards related to a specific laboratory task or procedure and determine the best way to perform the task to eliminate or reduce those hazards. One of the best ways to prevent laboratory accidents and injuries is to complete the hazard analyses to establish and document safe procedures. These then can be used as a primary reference when compiling standard operating procedures and training personnel how to accomplish a specific task safely. Laboratory Hazard Analysis is basically the same as Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). Instructions for how to complete a JHA can be found at the following website: http://www.uidaho.edu/safety/JHA/JHAHome.htm. Examples of Laboratory Hazard Analyses will be added to the laboratory safety website to help laboratories in completing their own.

Laboratory Safety Inspection Checklist

The University of Idaho Laboratory Safety Inspection Checklist is provided to help laboratory supervisors perform a self audit of their laboratory. Some of the items listed in the checklist may not apply to an individual's lab and therefore can be checked as N/A or not applicable.

Laboratory Decommissioning Checklist

The University of Idaho Decommissioning Checklist is provided to help Principal Investigators and their departments ensure that hazardous materials have been safely removed from the laboratory and that the area is free of contamination. Events that would require laboratory decommissioning include the termination of a researcher's affiliation with the university, relocation to another laboratory space, major laboratory renovation, and retirement from research activities. Some of the items listed in the checklist may not apply to an individual's lab and therefore can be checked as N/A or not applicable.

Walk-in Cold Room and Freezer Checklist

This checklist is designed to assist laboratory personnel in performing routine inspections of the temperature controlled storage units they utilize. These units are extremely important for the storage and protection of temperature sensitive research materials. Steps need to be taken as soon as possible to correct items on the checklist that are identified to be problematic.

Safety shower and eyewash instructions

Use eyewash fountains and safety showers in the event of chemical exposure to eyes or skin. Environmental Health and Safety may inspect eyewash fountains and safety showers annually using procedures recommended by the American National Standards Institute. It is important, however, to test and flush this equipment more frequently; tests will reveal plumbing problems, reduce buildup of sediment in the lines, flush out microorganisms that can cause infection, and make users more familiar and confident with the operation of the equipment. Eyewash fountains should be tested weekly and safety showers should be tested monthly by potential users of the equipment.

For Material Safety Data Sheet information, please consult the Univeristy of Idaho
Administrative Procedures Manual.

The following is a list of links to useful MSDS websites:

From the company:

• Acros Organics
• Alfa Aesar
• Dow
  
• EM Science
  
• Fisher Scientific
  
• JT Baker
  
• Kodak
  
• Sigma-Aldrich
  

Internet searches:

• ILPI's "Where to Find MSDSs Online"
  
• MSDS-SEARCH
  
• SIRI MSDS Index