The December 2024 version of the UW Laboratory Safety Manual (LSM) is now available for download or printing. It's time for principal investigators to review, bookmark, or print a copy of the updated LSM and make it available for all personnel and students in your lab.
Most Environmental Health & Safety teams relocated to the new Gateway building above the Sound Transit Link light rail station on Brooklyn Avenue NE between NE 45th and 43rd Streets.
Programs and services that moved include:
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. Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) recommends replacing obsolete cabinets before they fail to minimize disruptions to research projects.
The following resources are available to assist you with the purchase and replacement of BSCs:
Have you reviewed your full chemical inventory in MyChem this year?
Even if you have been adding to and deleting items from your inventory, you will still need to attest to a full review of the inventory by clicking the Review Inventory button at the top of the list.
Do-it-yourself repairs or projects that disturb walls, floor tiles, ceilings, fixtures and other building materials can expose you to substances that pose serious health risks.
University policy prohibits any “do-it-yourself” construction, renovation or modification of University buildings. Even simple projects, such as hammering a nail into a wall, can expose you to hazardous chemicals and result in regulatory fines.
Slips, trips and falls are more frequent in rainy or icy weather, in darkness, when walking on uneven surfaces, and when we're in a hurry.
Visit the UW Alert Blog and Snow Removal Progress Map (as appropriate) to check conditions before arriving on the Seattle campus.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new rule for methylene chloride (also known as dichloromethane) for worker safety and public and environmental protection. The required actions and timelines to comply with the new rule are described below. The new EPA rule is in addition to existing Washington State Department of Labor & Industries rules for workplace safety.
Human source materials, including human cell lines, blood, tissues and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) are commonly used biohazards in UW research labs. Potentially infectious human materials can contain bloodborne pathogens (BBP) such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis B and C viruses.
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) has noticed an increase in regulatory inspections and audits related to permits for biological samples. EH&S Biological Safety is available to support your lab in preparation for and during regulatory inspections and permit applications with external (non-UW) agencies to help ensure readiness and compliance. Please inform your laboratory personnel about the following so that they can notify EH&S of inspections and provide the appropriate UW contact information for permits.
