Chemical hygiene refers to the lab’s approach to protecting staff from hazardous chemicals used in scientific work. It is driven by a chemical hygiene plan and led by a chemical hygiene officer. The intent is to document how chemical hazards are assessed, tracked, and mitigated. Here are six tips to help your lab develop effective chemical hygiene as part of your lab safety program.
Chemical hygiene plan (CHP)
Developing a CHP is required in the United States by OSHA and guided by its standard, 29 CFR 1910.1450. The chemical hygiene plan comprehensively addresses chemical use, handling, storage, and disposal. A typical CHP consists of several sections:
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- Standard operating procedures documenting the safe handling, use, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemicals
- Criteria for the use of control measures to reduce the exposure to chemical hazards
- Chemical hazard identification and communication using safety data sheets (SDS), labels, and hazard communication methods
- Risk assessment to identify chemical hazards and to aid with mitigation activities
- Guidelines for chemical storage and waste disposal
- Emergency procedures to address leaks, spills, and other chemical exposure incidents
- Training requirements for staff on chemical hazards and risk mitigation
- Roles and responsibilities to establish required actions and accountability
- Reference lists to help staff identify specific classes of hazardous chemicals, such as particularly hazardous substances, peroxide formers, OSHA carcinogens, sensitizers, teratogens/reproductive hazards, signs and symbols, acronyms, and chemical formulae
- Contact information for questions or help addressing incidents
Chemical hygiene officer
The chemical hygiene officer (CHO) plays a critical role in fostering a culture of safety, ensuring staff are protected from hazardous chemicals and the lab follows safety regulations and best practices. The CHO provides chemical safety expertise to assess risks, provide technical lab safety advice, set the chemical hygiene policy, manage the CHP, and work with the lab manager and lab safety manager. Together, they ensure staff are trained in chemical hazards, follow safety policies, investigate incidents and implement hazard control measures appropriately.
Chemical inventory
A well-designed and maintained chemical inventory enhances lab safety and supports the CHP in several important ways:
- Identifies chemical hazards and risks
- Enables compliance with chemical safety regulations and fire codes
- Improves incident response by documenting chemical storage locations and amounts
- Supports proper segregation and storage of hazardous chemicals
- Reduces chemical wastes by managing inventory and expiration dates
- Enhances training and awareness of chemical hazards by keeping SDS in a known location
Modern chemical inventory systems also improve lab operations by reducing the time needed to locate specific chemicals and reagents through barcodes and RFID tags.
Assessing and managing risk
A key component of the CHP—and a critical responsibility of the CHO—is assessing and managing the risk of using hazardous chemicals in the lab. The three primary factors in risk assessment are severity, probability, and exposure. A common approach to risk assessment in labs is Recognize, Assess, Minimize, and Prepare (RAMP)—a comprehensive approach to identify, evaluate, and control lab risks. Using a risk assessment tool like RAMP enhances chemical safety, effectively mitigates chemical risks, and reduces incidents associated with hazardous chemicals.
Chemical hazard categories
There are six major chemical hazard categories:
- Corrosive
- Asphyxiants
- Oxidizers
- Reactivity/instability
- Flammable, combustible, ignitable (classified by flash point)
- Toxins
Each category presents different challenges in the lab. A well-designed CHP helps mitigate these risks, ensuring that chemicals are used safely and effectively
Hazard control measures
One of the key approaches to mitigating chemical risks is using hazard control measures. Each of these control measures reduces the risk that staff face when using hazardous chemicals in the lab:
- Eliminate
- Substitute
- Isolate
- Engineering
- Work practices
- Administrative
- PPE
The order of the control measures is essential. The ones at the top of the list are the most effective in mitigating risk, and those at the bottom are the least effective. It is often necessary to use control measures together to take the best actions to reduce chemical risks.
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