Administrative Services | Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety
Administrative Services | Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety
Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety

Laboratory Safety Program

PURPOSE

The University believes it is prudent to minimize all chemical exposures. It is the University's intention to improve the health and safety of students, employees and the public by providing guidance regarding the safe handling of chemicals that are present in the laboratory. The Chemical Hygiene Plan/Laboratory Safety Manual applies to all laboratories at Saint Joseph ’s University.

DEFINITIONS

  • "Laboratory" means a facility, using relatively small quantities of hazardous chemicals on a non-production basis. "Dry" laboratories such as computer labs are not covered by this policy.
  • "Chemical Hygiene Plan" (CHP) is a written program setting forth procedures, equipment, and work practices to protect students and employees from the health hazards associated with laboratory work.
  • "Standard Operating Procedures" (SOPs) and "Fact Sheets" are documents that outline the minimum mandatory practices that University personnel must follow in order to safely work with a specific class of chemicals or type of hazard in the laboratory.
  • “OSHA", the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a federal agency under the Department of Labor that publishes and enforces safety and health regulations.
  • Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory is an OSHA standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) that regulates laboratory workers engaged in non-manufacturing related work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • The Department of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS), and the University Chemical Hygiene Officers will revise the CHP/Laboratory Safety Manual as necessary.
  • Department chairpersons are responsible for establishing and maintaining compliance with the CHP and for delegating this responsibility.
  • The Laboratory Supervisor, Faculty Advisor, or Principal Investigator (PI) has the overall responsibility for compliance with the CHP/Laboratory Safety Manual in his or her laboratory and for ensuring that appropriate training and oversight is provided. 
  • Individual laboratory workers are responsible for planning and conducting each operation in accordance with the procedures outlined in the CHP/Laboratory Safety Manual, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and laboratory attire, developing good laboratory hygiene habits, ensuring that all containers of chemicals are properly labeled, and reporting unsafe acts or conditions to their supervisor or the Department of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety.
  • The Department of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety and the University Chemical Hygiene Officers are responsible for establishing procedures for the safe storage, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals used in the laboratories and provide assistance to faculty, staff, and students to develop and implement appropriate chemical hygiene practices and procedures, when needed. To accomplish this:

TRAINING AND INSPECTIONS

  • Training is provided by University Chemical Hygiene Officers, in EHRS.
    • Training and information must also be provided and documented by the Laboratory Supervisor or Principal Investigator and must be as specific as possible to the activities conducted in the laboratory. Training must be updated periodically and whenever new hazards or changes are introduced.
    • Supervisors must also ensure that laboratory-specific hazards are evaluated and then controlled by developing laboratory-specific written protocols/SOPs and conducting training. A literature review should be used as a supplemental training tool and not as a substitute for laboratory-specific training and oversight. (There are template SOPs in the Laboratory Safety Manual.)
  • Lab inspections are conducted by the Departments and the University Chemical Hygiene Officers.
  • Chemical waste is handled in accordance with the University Hazardous Waste Procedures and are compliant with regulatory requirements. Drain disposal of hazardous chemicals is not permitted.
  • Infectious/biohazardous waste is handled in accordance with the University biological/infectious waste procedures and are compliant with regulatory requirements. 

REFERENCES