The Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) developed a new online training course called Five Whys Root Cause Analysis. This training is recommended for University supervisors and other personnel responsible for incident investigations and documenting root cause(s) and corrective actions.
A new Notice of Cleaning and/or Decontamination Form was published in August 2021 to replace the prior decontamination form. The new form contains expanded information to include cleaning as well as decontamination procedures for lab instruments, equipment, appliances, and furniture.
EH&S published an updated UW Confined Space Program Manual that reflects revisions to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries confined space regulations (2018 update) and aligns with standards established by federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety policies and procedures. For 2021, EH&S would like labs to focus on the importance of wearing lab coats. Lab coats are an important barrier between your skin or clothes and any hazards that you work with in the lab. Not only do lab coats protect you from exposure, they also help prevent you from transporting laboratory contamination home to your family, friends and pets.
EH&S is hosting its biannual Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovations Event on December 15, 2021. Submit your safety innovation or nominate someone to receive an award.
Has your lab created a tool, resource, or practice to enhance safety in your workspace?
Now is a good time for research and teaching labs that are reopening or seeing an increase in occupancy to conduct a self-inspection to check that all safety resources are in place and current.
A person can be seriously injured, even killed, when working on a machine or equipment if the hazardous energy sources are not controlled.
When performing maintenance, service or repair work on equipment, processes or systems, all hazardous energy sources must be controlled using lockout/tagout procedures and OSHA-approved locks and tags to protect those impacted from the unintended start-up or release of stored energy. Common hazardous energy sources include electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, thermal, chemical or gravitational.
As the University is working toward a return to normal operations, you may be lifting and moving things around, such as chairs, printers, and other equipment, in preparation for on-site work. Take precautions before lifting or moving objects, as incorrect lifting can lead to back pain and/or a back injury.
Several recent incidents have occurred at the University in which a chemical or infectious material splashed or splattered into the eye because the individual was not wearing the correct type of eye protection for the hazards they faced, or not wearing eye protection at all. You should always evaluate your workplace for potential eye hazards so you can select the appropriate safety equipment.
Eyeglasses versus safety glasses or goggles
