Research & Lab Safety

EH&S staff had an opportunity to speak with compliance inspector Chad Fisher from the Washington State Department of Ecology regarding three of the most common hazardous waste violations he's encountered at the UW. As it turns out, the majority of these violations are easily preventable and making simple corrections contributes to a safer lab environment.

EH&S has developed a new document Anesthetic Gases: Safe Use Guidelines and an Anesthetic Gases webpage to help users of anesthetic gases understand the potential health effects from exposure to anesthetic gases, and to provide guidance on minimizing potential exposures. These gases can be separated into two categories: Halogenated anesthetic gases/vapors and nitrous oxide.

EH&S has autoclave tools to assist you including general autoclave safety guidelines, autoclaving biohazardous waste guidelines with template SOP, both with step-by-step instructions for autoclave users.