Most Environmental Health & Safety teams are relocating to the new University District Station Building, located above the Sound Transit Link light rail station at NE 45th Street and Brooklyn Avenue NE, in January 2025.
The holiday season is a time of joy and celebration, and it can also bring about increased distractions and stress for employees, which can lead to a higher risk of workplace injuries. Environmental Health & Safety recommends implementing strategies that help ensure the safety and well-being of you and your teams during this busy period. Here are some key points to consider:
Recognize the risks
Gathering and sharing food with friends and family is a treasured part of holiday celebrations. Environmental Health & Safety offers the following food safety tips to prevent foodborne illness and help ensure that safe meals are an enjoyable part of your holiday.
Remember to use safe food preparation techniques, including:
Take precautions to keep yourself and others safe this holiday season.
Stay up-to-date on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, and take a COVID-19 test if you have symptoms.
Slips, trips and falls are more frequent in rainy or icy weather, in darkness, when walking on uneven surfaces, and when we're in a hurry.
Visit the UW Alert Blog and Snow Removal Progress Map (as appropriate) to check conditions before arriving on the Seattle campus.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new rule for methylene chloride (also known as dichloromethane) for worker safety and public and environmental protection. The required actions and timelines to comply with the new rule are described below. The new EPA rule is in addition to existing Washington State Department of Labor & Industries rules for workplace safety.
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) has noticed an increase in regulatory inspections and audits related to permits for biological samples. EH&S Biological Safety is available to support your lab in preparation for and during regulatory inspections and permit applications with external (non-UW) agencies to help ensure readiness and compliance. Please inform your laboratory personnel about the following so that they can notify EH&S of inspections and provide the appropriate UW contact information for permits.
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) is asking University building coordinators, facility managers, units and departments to identify and unplug Steelcase LED Shelf Light fixtures (listed below) from building power sources due to the potential for fire and/or overheating.
UW students or personnel hosting or sponsoring an event at a UW location where food will be served, sold, or given away, may need to apply for a Temporary Food Service Permit from UW Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S).
In October 2024, the U.S Food and Drug Agency (FDA) recalled multiple brands of frozen toaster waffles, frozen Belgian waffles, and frozen pancakes due to potential for Listeria monocytogenes contamination.
