Lab Safety Awareness Week 2025
Help raise awareness of safe lab practices at the UW!
Lab Safety Awareness Week is sponsored by CSHEMA and held at academic institutions nationwide February 10-14, 2025. This event is dedicated to recognizing the successes of laboratory safety programs and offering ideas on how to keep our faculty, staff and students safe.
Be a Safety Champion in your lab and receive a prize!
2025 Lab Safety Awareness Week Packet
Lab Safety Awareness Week is sponsored by CSHEMA and held at academic institutions nation-wide February 12-16, 2024. This event is dedicated to recognizing the successes of laboratory safety programs and offering ideas on how to keep our faculty, staff and students safe.
New focus sheet explains SDSs vs. SOPs
Why should labs have a standard operating procedure (SOP) for a chemical when the manufacturer safety data sheet (SDS) is available? Both documents are required in the lab and offer different types of important information about a chemical.
Use the SOPs versus SDSs Focus Sheet to understand the types of information provided by each document and how to effectively use them as part of your laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan.
Standard Operating Procedures versus Safety Data Sheets
Safety data sheets (SDSs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are both required elements of a laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan but each captures different types of information. Use the Standard Operating Procedures versus Safety Data Sheets Focus Sheet to understand what types of information can be provided by or included in each type of document and how to effectively use these documents as part of your laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan.
Updated Lab Safety Manual now available
The December 2024 version of the UW Laboratory Safety Manual (LSM) is now available for download or printing. It's time for principal investigators to review, bookmark, or print a copy of the updated LSM and make it available for all personnel and students in your lab.
Motorboat Operator Training Course Flyer
The Motorboat Operator Training Course (MOTC) is recommended for all University of Washington personnel who operate motorized watercraft less than 65 feet in length to perform their duties.
Visit the Boating Safety page for more information.
Motorboat Operator Instructor Training Course Flyer
The Motorboat Operator Instructor Training Course (MOITC) is for experienced motorboat operators who have a desire to teach courses, specifically the Motorboat Operator Training Course (MOTC).
Visit the Boating Safety page for more information.
EH&S move to Gateway building
Most Environmental Health & Safety teams relocated to the new Gateway building above the Sound Transit Link light rail station on Brooklyn Avenue NE between NE 45th and 43rd Streets.
Programs and services that moved include:
Animal Worker Occupational Health and Safety
Animal research involves a diverse range of hazards, some that pertain to animals, and others are a result of the work being performed. University personnel working in animal care and use environments must receive hazard awareness training, review all pertinent occupational health information, and follow safe and healthy practices.