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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.

At the conference of the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association on July 15-19, Sheryl Schwartz, EH&S’s assistant director for Campus Preventive Health, presented a paper on the 2017 UW mumps outbreak. The paper and presentation described how the University controlled the mumps outbreak through:

The Environmental, Health & Safety Department (EH&S) investigates concerns about odors, mold and particulates in UW owned and occupied buildings.

If you smell smoke, gas, or a strong chemical odor, call 9-1-1.

If there is no emergency, contact EH&S to investigate any of the following issues:

Has your lab created a tool, resource, or practice to enhance safety in your workspace?

Submit it to EH&S for a chance to be recognized at the 2019 Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovations Event.

To enter, email a description of your innovation to labcheck@uw.edu (with ”Innovation” as the subject header). Selected innovations will be shared at the event on December 9 through presentations and posters.

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 survey reports for their units.

A video introduction to health and safety at the University of Washington

The University of Washington’s Accident Prevention Plan is revised annually by the University's health and safety committee; the updated Plan is now available for download. Units that replaced or supplemented their Departmental Health and Safety Plan with the Accident Prevention Plan should use the updated Plan.

It’s time again for the biannual Health and Safety Committee (HSC) elections. HSC members are an important component of the University’s total safety program. Nominations will open in August for the next two-year committee term, which will begin on January 1, 2020. Don’t miss your chance to nominate a coworker or become a committee member yourself!

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).

In January, Governor Inslee declared a state of emergency related to a measles outbreak.

Summer in Seattle means hiking, biking, kayaking and ... lab work! Yes, many of us spend gorgeous summer days working in the lab. While it's fine to wear shorts, skirts, sandals or flip flops outside, wearing these items in the lab can expose you to hazards. We recommend keeping an appropriate change of clothes and shoes in the lab. Proper lab attire ensures your skin is covered and protected. Even if you aren't working with hazardous materials that day, your coworker might be, so always dress to protect yourself.