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The hazards: Nitric acid is a highly corrosive mineral acid and strong oxidizer used primarily for nitration of organic molecules and washing glassware or metal equipment. Nitric acid reacts violently with alcohols, alkalis, reducing agents, combustible materials, organic materials, metals, acids, cyanides, terpenes, charcoal, and acetone. It produces exothermic reactions, as well as toxic, corrosive, and flammable vapors.

To reduce the risk of injury related to telework activities consider the following ergonomic tips when setting up your workstation:

COMPUTER SETUP

The Asbestos General Awareness-Online training course that is required for all UW employees was replaced with a newly refreshed video, thanks to a collaboration between EH&S and UWTV. The video contains awareness-level training regarding asbestos-containing building materials in UW facilities and potential hazards for building occupants.

EH&S has released four new online courses to support the basic safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment when using or operating tools and equipment.

Chemical waste generators at the University have two ways to submit waste collection requests:

1. Directly from your MyChem inventory

2. From the Chemical Waste Disposal page on the EH&S website

On February 26, EH&S will be offering a webinar on lab safety and compliance for department staff who support researchers and principal investigators at the UW.

This training is designed for administrators, but it is open to all UW staff who do not work in a laboratory setting. The course provides background material on regulatory, policy and permit requirements, and addresses hazards and risk assessment in the laboratory to ensure lab safety and compliance.

In February 2020, all new biosafety and radiation safety laboratory inspections are available through the online Environmental Health and Safety Assistant (EHSA) portal.

After your next biosafety or radiation safety inspection:

Following the announcement of the Seattle Police Department’s preventable fire alarm initiative (that will result in fines for false alarms starting January 1, 2020), EH&S has fielded concerns about whether a fire alarm should be trigged when a fire is not present.

On December 9, 2019, EH&S hosted the Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovation Event to share new practices developed to enhance the culture of safety in UW research and teaching labs. Executive Director of Health Sciences Administration, Dave Anderson gave the opening speech, and Katia Harb, Senior Director of EH&S, gave the closing remarks. Research leaders presented innovations instated in their labs and departments to improve safety practices and safety training completion.

The University has over 950 active biosafety cabinets (BSCs), and about 150 have become obsolete due to safer design standards and the challenge of obtaining replacement parts. EH&S recommends replacing obsolete cabinets before they fail to minimize disruptions to research projects.

The following resources are available to assist with the purchase and replacement of BSCs: