Updated Lab Safety Training Requirements

The Laboratory Safety and Compliance training course is now “required initial training” for all Principal Investigators, lab managers, lab chemical hygiene officers, and people working in a supervisory role in research and teaching laboratories. The class provides essential information on regulatory, policy, and permit requirements, and addresses hazards and risk assessment to ensure lab safety and compliance.

 
 

No cardboard in biological labs

We often encounter cardboard when we visit biological labs. Unless you are using cardboard as part of your experiment, it doesn’t belong in a biological lab.

Cardboard and other porous materials cannot be decontaminated with a surface spray in the event of a splash, spatter or spill of biohazardous material. In the event of contamination, these items must be autoclaved.

Spring is the perfect time to organize, clean, and remove unnecessary and potentially hazardous clutter, such as cardboard.  

 
 

SOPs vs. SDSs

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 but offer different types of important information about a chemical. SDSs can be a good source of information when assessing risks associated with the storage, use, and transport of a chemical or product, whereas an SOP gives the researcher detailed lab-specific information for handling of a chemical at every stage of its presence in the lab.