All Safety Tips

Provide Fire Extinguishers, Safety Showers, Eye Wash Fountains, First Aid Kits, Fire Blankets, and Fume Hoods in each Lab (Posted: 8/29/2008)
Not only should these items be provided but they should be test or checked monthly. ... READ MORE

Provide Adequate Supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (Posted: 8/18/2008)
Employers are responsible for providing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses, goggles, face shields, gloves, lab coats, and bench top shields. Employees are responsible for using these devices. ... READ MORE

Communicate Hazards (Posted: 8/6/2008)
In order to ensure chemical safety in the workplace, information must be available about the identities and hazards of the chemicals. ... READ MORE

Require the Use of Appropriate Eye Protection at All Times in Labs and Areas where Chemicals are Transported (Posted: 7/21/2008)
Appropriate eye protection is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z-87.1 standard. The most current edition is 1989. ... READ MORE

Allocate a Portion of the Departmental Budget to Safety (Posted: 7/9/2008)
The establishment of a separate accounting line for safety and health related purchases is essential. This allows you to clearly track monies expended for this purpose.... READ MORE

Develop Specific Work Practices for Individual Experiments (Posted: 6/25/2008)
While the Lab Standard does not require specific work practices for individual experiments, it does stipulate that employers generate a list of recognized good practices which lab workers are expected to follow, ... READ MORE

Require Good Housekeeping Practices in all Areas (Posted: 6/11/2008)
Good housekeeping is one of the foundations of good safety practice.... READ MORE

Use Warning Signs to Designate Particular Hazards (Posted: 5/28/2008)
The use of warning signs to designate particular hazards is not just a good idea it's the law.... READ MORE

Avoid Purchasing Unnecessary Quantities of Chemicals (Posted: 5/14/2008)
One school accumulated 20 five-pound bottles of mercury. Each year they ordered from the same list used the year before! Not a good idea.... READ MORE

Store Incompatible Chemicals Separately (Posted: 4/30/2008)
The proper storage of chemicals has become a focal point of laboratory safety. We need to keep chemicals which are incompatible separated some reasonable distance from each other.... READ MORE

Keep Emergency Phone Numbers Next to Every Phone (Posted: 4/16/2008)
In an emergency, you tend to forget even the most common things. Having emergency phone numbers for the fire, police, and local ambulance by every phone is a very important reminder.... READ MORE

Planning for Emergencies (Posted: 4/2/2008)
It's important to develop plans and conduct drills for dealing with emergencies such as fire, explosion, poisoning, chemical spill, vapor release, and personal contamination.... READ MORE

Do Not Store Food in Chemical Refrigerators (Posted: 3/19/2008)
Prohibiting the storage of food in chemical refrigerators is one of the basic rules of good practice.... READ MORE

Forbid Smoking, Eating, and Drinking in the Laboratory (Posted: 3/5/2008)
The practice of forbidding smoking, eating, and drinking in laboratories is one of the basic good hygiene practices.... READ MORE

Limit Amounts of Flammable Liquids (Posted: 2/20/2008)
There seems to be a special law of nature that leads to the accumulation of chemicals in laboratories.... READ MORE

Extend the Safety Program Beyond the Lab (Posted: 2/6/2008)
The effectiveness of safety programs depends on their ability to motivate people to care about their health and safety.... READ MORE

Require that all Accidents be Reported (Posted: 1/23/2008)
Not only should it be required that all accidents or incidents be reported, they should also be evaluated by the departmental safety committee and discussed at departmental safety meetings.... READ MORE

What are the worst possible things that could go wrong? (Posted: 1/16/2008)
When conducting experiments with hazards or potential hazards, ask yourself these four questions...... READ MORE

Precautions for Unattended Experiments (Posted: 1/9/2008)
There are surely going to be times when experiments must continue running on their own while you do other things (go to lunch, or go home to sleep).... READ MORE

Forbid Working Alone in the Lab (Posted: 12/19/2007)
Working alone is a bad idea. It's an open invitation to tragedy. The legal consequences can be equally serious.... READ MORE

Discuss Health and Safety When Teaching (Posted: 12/5/2007)
Providing instruction in the safety hazards, appropriate precautions, and potential emergency procedures is a faculty duty under the law. ... READ MORE

Schedule Regular Departmental Safety Meetings to Discuss the Results of Inspections and other Aspects of Laboratory Safety (Posted: 11/7/2007)
Safety meetings are an integral part of a good safety program. You need to have a time when you and your colleagues can get together and focus on safety issues.... READ MORE

Make Learning how to be Safe an Integral and Important Part of the Science Education Process (Posted: 10/24/2007)
For too many years at academic institutions and some companies, safety has been something extra. ... READ MORE

Conduct Periodic, Unannounced Laboratory Inspections (Posted: 10/10/2007)
Quarterly inspections are an integral part of a good safety program. ... READ MORE

Require all staff members to read and sign a statement of safety procedures (Posted: 9/26/2007)
All staff members, as well as students, should be required to read the institution's lab safety rules.... READ MORE

Provide Incentives for Safety Performance (Posted: 9/12/2007)
Everyone likes to receive a reward for good performance. It can be a merit raise, a promotion, or praise.... READ MORE

Safety is not a Spectator Sport (Posted: 8/29/2007)
Involve every staff member in some aspect of the safety program and give each a specific responsibility.... READ MORE

Encourage caring about one's health and safety (Posted: 8/15/2007)
Employees, faculty, staff, and students need to be encouraged to develop a genuine concern about their own health and safety.... READ MORE

Develop a Safety Orientation Program (Posted: 8/1/2007)
All new employees, students, faculty, and staff should receive a specially designed indoctrination to your safety program.... READ MORE

Organize a Safety Committee (Posted: 7/18/2007)
All new employees, students, faculty, and staff should receive a specially designed indoctrination to your safety program.... READ MORE

Have a Written Safety Policy (Posted: 7/6/2007)
A written safety policy is the cornerstone of a good safety program. It's a statement endorsed and supported by the administration that speaks to the fundamental responsibilities for health and safety in the academic institution or company.... READ MORE