Problem: An emergency spill response plan is part of every laboratory safety protocol. However, despite all the best precautions, accidents can happen! Laboratories often house chemicals such as acids, bases, solvents and flammables—all of which can be toxic to human health and the environment if used incorrectly or spilled.

Follow our guidelines for developing a solid, proactive approach to protecting your employees from potential hazards in the workplace

Forgotten smallpox samples found in July leads to search of other government labs, finding more samples of other deadly pathogens.

Disposing of unwanted or outdated lab chemicals has always been somewhat of a troublesome, expensive, and sometimes outright dangerous process. Ironically, the introduction in the UK of legislation designed to make this practice simpler has not, in our experience, always had the desired effect.

Two-day lab safety short courses will take place in 18 different locations across the U.S. and Canada. Webinar, online, and one-day courses are also available.

Get some factoids about lab safety in this mini category.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on July 11 that reviews the early June incident that involved the unintentional exposure of personnel to potentially viable anthrax at the CDC’s Roybal Campus. The report identifies factors found to have contributed to the incident; and highlights actions taken by the agency to address these factors and prevent future incidents. Based on a review of all aspects of the June incident, CDC concluded that while it is not impossible that staff members were exposed to viable B. anthracis, it is extremely unlikely that this occurred. None of the staff who was potentially exposed has become ill with anthrax.

Following a thorough damage assessment, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory had restored power to the linear accelerator. All safety systems and fire suppression systems have been restored. SLAC will start up accelerator operation and resume operations at both LCLS and FACET, according to the lab's website. The fire had shut down the lab as of late Thursday, June 28, but there were no injuries and no danger to the community, the university said in a statement.

A University of California, Los Angeles chemist facing criminal charges after a lab accident that killed his research assistant in 2009 avoids a public trial and jail time.

Last year we reported a distressing decline in nearly every area of laboratory safety practices among the nearly 600 respondents who participated in the survey.