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We often encounter cardboard when we visit biological labs. Unless you are using cardboard as part of your experiment, it doesn’t belong in a biological lab.

Cardboard and other porous materials cannot be decontaminated with a surface spray in the event of a splash, spatter or spill of biohazardous material. In the event of contamination, these items must be autoclaved.

Spring is the perfect time to organize, clean, and remove unnecessary and potentially hazardous clutter, such as cardboard.  

EH&S is implementing a new Lab Safety Award program to acknowledge labs scoring 85% or higher in their safety surveys. 

The Laboratory Safety and Compliance training course is now “required initial training” for all Principal Investigators, lab managers, lab chemical hygiene officers, and people working in a supervisory role in research and teaching laboratories. The class provides essential information on regulatory, policy, and permit requirements, and addresses hazards and risk assessment to ensure lab safety and compliance.

EH&S has developed a new online Hydrofluoric Acid Safety Training course to help those who work with or may be exposed to hydrofluoric acid (HF) in the workplace. HF exposures can lead to some serious injuries or fatalities.

Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent hearing impairment resulting from prolonged exposure to high levels of noise. While noise is a well-understood source of occupational illness, new studies are focusing on chemical-induced hearing loss (ototoxicity). This research seeks to determine if chemical substances alone, or noise and chemical co-exposure, contribute to occupational hearing loss. Given that many different types of workers are exposed to noise and chemicals at the UW, supervisors should keep this possible association in mind as part of their hazard communication to employees.

Why should labs have a standard operating procedure (SOP) for a chemical when the manufacturer safety data sheet (SDS) is available?

Both documents are “required” in the lab but offer different types of important information about a chemical. SDSs can be a good source of information when assessing risks associated with the storage, use, and transport of a chemical or product, whereas an SOP gives the researcher detailed lab-specific information for handling of a chemical at every stage of its presence in the lab.

The 2016 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 300A summaries of work-related injuries and illnesses are now posted on the EH&S website, along with summaries for previous years.

Effective January 18, 2017, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a ban on powdered patient examination gloves, powdered surgical gloves, and also on powder for lubricating a surgeon’s gloves. The FDA ban also applies to veterinary use such as veterinary clinical care and animal surgery centers.