Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) issued a Hazard Alert to inform businesses about the dangers and safety precautions associated with the use, transport, and storage of dry ice and liquid nitrogen. University units involved with COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts and research groups should take all necessary precautions when working with dry ice and liquid nitrogen.
Vacuum pumps are used to remove air and other vapors from a vessel or manifold. Weak points in containers or systems under vacuum can create implosion or explosion hazards, and cause injury by violently spraying glass and hazardous materials. An example of this is an incident that recently occurred at the University of Pennsylvania resulting in an explosion and fire.
New rules went into effect on October 31, 2020, for the management of dangerous waste pharmaceuticals, which set new requirements for Washington state health care facilities that generate pharmaceutical waste.
October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety policies and procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected biological research labs in many ways, from potential difficulties obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) and disinfectants to limiting how many people can work at a given time in a space. For 2020's National Biosafety Month, EH&S would like labs to focus on creating or updating biosafety standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staying aware of how to work safely during COVID-19.
Petzl®, a manufacturer of fall protection ropes, issued a request for inspection of Petzl® low-stretch kermantle ropes due to the discovery of critical defects.
University units using Petz® kernmantle ropes with fall protection equipment should immediately inspect the following ropes with serial numbers between 18 C 0000000 000 and 20 H 0000000 000:
Your workspace should always be ready for an inspection. The most important thing you can do to be prepared for an inspection is to keep your lab, shop, clinic, or other workspace clean, organized, and up to University of Washington standards.
The hazards: Nitric acid is a highly corrosive mineral acid and strong oxidizer used primarily for nitration of organic molecules and washing glassware or metal equipment. Nitric acid reacts violently with alcohols, alkalis, reducing agents, combustible materials, organic materials, metals, acids, cyanides, terpenes, charcoal, and acetone. It produces exothermic reactions, as well as toxic, corrosive, and flammable vapors.
To reduce the risk of injury related to telework activities consider the following ergonomic tips when setting up your workstation:
The Asbestos General Awareness-Online training course that is required for all UW employees was replaced with a newly refreshed video, thanks to a collaboration between EH&S and UWTV. The video contains awareness-level training regarding asbestos-containing building materials in UW facilities and potential hazards for building occupants.
EH&S has released four new online courses to support the basic safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment when using or operating tools and equipment.
