UW personnel commonly order liquid nitrogen (LN2) from suppliers such as Airgas Inc. and Praxair (aka Linde Welding Gas and Equipment Center) for cryogenic storage used to preserve biological samples.
Airgas recently notified the University that as of January 1, 2022, Airgas staff will no longer perform the following services:
You are invited to attend EH&S’s biannual 2021 Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovations Event to celebrate the work being done to enhance the culture of safety on UW’s campuses. This virtual event will take place online on December 15 at 1 p.m.
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.
The Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) developed a new online training course called Five Whys Root Cause Analysis. This training is recommended for University supervisors and other personnel responsible for incident investigations and documenting root cause(s) and corrective actions.
The 2021 UW Biosafety Manual is now available online. All laboratories or facilities using biohazards must have an electronic link or paper copy of the current manual available to all personnel working in the lab or facility. Bookmark this link to the manual: www.ehs.washington.edu/system/files/resources/uw-biosafety-manual.pdf.
A new Notice of Cleaning and/or Decontamination Form was published in August 2021 to replace the prior decontamination form. The new form contains expanded information to include cleaning as well as decontamination procedures for lab instruments, equipment, appliances, and furniture.
EH&S published an updated UW Confined Space Program Manual that reflects revisions to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries confined space regulations (2018 update) and aligns with standards established by federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety policies and procedures. For 2021, EH&S would like labs to focus on the importance of wearing lab coats. Lab coats are an important barrier between your skin or clothes and any hazards that you work with in the lab. Not only do lab coats protect you from exposure, they also help prevent you from transporting laboratory contamination home to your family, friends and pets.
EH&S is hosting its biannual Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovations Event on December 15, 2021. Submit your safety innovation or nominate someone to receive an award.
Has your lab created a tool, resource, or practice to enhance safety in your workspace?
Now is a good time for research and teaching labs that are reopening or seeing an increase in occupancy to conduct a self-inspection to check that all safety resources are in place and current.
