Dear Members of the UW Community,
We have encouraging news about the mumps outbreak on the UW Seattle campus: The number of new cases has slowed considerably due in large measure to the diligence of our community members in following preventive measures. Since the first case in early February, we have had 38 mumps cases among people associated with the University, only six of which occurred in April.*
The UW provides a safe and healthy environment for faculty, staff, students and visitors through maintaining a no smoking policy (WAC 478-136-035). Although research has clearly indicated that smoking damages the human body, there are still some 37.8 million adults that continue to smoke in the United States (CDC).
EH&S is pleased to welcome Scott Nelson to our Building & Fire Safety team. Scott has a B.S. in chemical engineering, a Professional Engineering License in fire protection and over 30 years of experience in fire safety, boiler safety, risk assessment and engineering. He has worked for a number or property insurance companies including Paragon, AXA, Matrix, Chubb, CIGNA and Factory Mutual. Scott retired as a Commander from the Naval Reserve.
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.
