Research & Lab

The December 2022 version of the UW Laboratory Safety Manual (LSM) is now available for download or printing. It's time to review, bookmark, or print a copy of the updated LSM and make it available for all staff and students in your lab. Keeping your safety documents up to date and easily accessible are key for staying safe.

Does your laboratory have volatile organic chemicals that produce strong, pungent odors even when the cap and bottle are intact? Controlling these smells, often found in chemical storage areas, will help reduce your risk of exposure.

Volatile organic chemicals can escape their containers, which presents an exposure risk to everyone in the lab. Restricting the ability for the chemical to disperse into the air can lower that risk.

During National Biosafety Month in October, EH&S is encouraging labs working with biohazards to identify hazards that could be substituted with a safer alternative to reduce the potential for harm while performing the same function.

Examples of safer alternatives include: 

Incoming graduate students working in laboratories or other research spaces with hazards at any UW campus location are invited to attend the 2022 Graduate Student Safety Seminar. This seminar will orient the new researchers to the University’s safety requirements, procedures, and expectations.

EH&S’s Laboratory Safety Program now offers an interactive Chemical Hygiene Officer (CHO) Hands-On Training course for all CHOs at the UW.

Does your research work include operations out in the field? If so, check out the latest version of the UW Field Operations Safety Manual, which provides updated information on state regulations, UW policies, safe work practices, and document templates.

If your research involves the use of centrifuges, ovens/furnaces, vacuum pumps, or other laboratory equipment, the new Laboratory Equipment Maintenance webpage provides resources that can help you mitigate the hazards associated with commonly used lab equipment.