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Safety, Hazards, & Environment

Lab Safety

Ryan Hladyniuk, Ph.D. 

Core Facilities Laboratory Manager & Safety Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute
Around Campus with Ryan Hladyniuk, Highlights, by Sally Palmer.

  • For most, the dangers are in the laboratory.

     

  • What are the hazards?
    • High voltage
    • High pressure
    • Extreme heat/cold
  • UT Lab Safety - Planning Safe Research, Resources and guidelines from UT EH&S.
  • American Chemical Society (ACS) Center for Lab Safety - Supports and promotes safe, ethical, responsible, & sustainable practice of chemistry through authoritative tools, education, training and guidance.
  • Chemical Safety Library - Open access platform. Search for hazardous reaction information by CAS Registry Number, chemical name, etc.
  • C&EN Safety Letters - List of reports of unexpected or misunderstood chemical/reactive hazards that appeared in Chemical & Engineering News, since 1993.
  • The Safety Net - Collection of shared standard operating procedures for synthetic chemists from UNC.
  • Dow Lab Safety Academy - Series of instructional videos for lab safety training.    
  • Flammables, > 10 gallons need to be stored in flammable cabinet
  • Compressed gas, oxidizers and flammables need to be at least 20 ft apart when not in use
  • No daisy chaining extension cords
  • Empty containers, throw away in regular trash (if no drops/solids come out after tipping)
  • Mercury thermometer exchange program
  • Keep chemical inventories current and safety training up-to-date

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • REQUIRED to work in lab
    • OH 101 Hazardous Communication
    • OH 102 Site-Specific Hazardous Communication
    • OH 201 Laboratory Safety
    • OH 202 Hazardous Waste Management 
    • FF205 Fire Extinguisher Training
  • REQUIRED ONLY if working with hazard
    • OH 204 Compressed Gas Safety
    • OH 207 Biological Safety (BSL Users)
    • OH 241 Cryogen Safety
    • There are more...

Updated OH 202 Requirement

An updated OH 202 Hazardous Waste Management course is now available in UT Learn. This course reflects changes in waste management at the University and updated regulations. All employees are required to complete the updated course after January 12, 2022. If you have previously taken OH 202, please follow the OH 202 instructions to make sure your transcript reflects the new date of training.

 Any questions about EHS training can be directed to the EHS Training Coordinator (EHS_Training@austin.utexas.edu)

EH&S Lab Safety Manual

EH&S Lab Safety Manual - PDF available (2017)

Word to the Wise

Maintenance, Custodial and Grounds Staff:

  • You work with hazardous chemicals, be familiar with SDS & proper applications (i.e., gasoline, bleach, ammonia, etc.)
  • Be aware of potential hazards when entering labs, read placards outside of lab
  • Report unsafe chemical/waste storage
  • Report unusual smells, evidence of spills, etc.
  • Caution when removing inner-bags of trash cans
  • Radiation lab tape, work outside of these areas
Subjects: Marine Science

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.