Section B: Laboratory Facilities and Information

1.  Facility Description

• A list of all areas that are engaged in laboratory use of hazards chemical must be maintained and up to date. See Appendix A.
• Emergency phone numbers will be posted on the door of all laboratories and chemical storage areas.
• Warning signs will be posted on doors and/or in the lab.
• All safety equipment will be clearly labeled.
• Hazardous chemical Right-to-Know information must be posted in the department.
• Emergency procedures and evacuation routes must be posted for each lab.

2.  Signs and Information

Signs

• Warning signs must be posted in all labs and chemical storage areas and must alert employees and visitors to the potentially hazardous materials located within.
• Signs must be posted to show the location of all safety equipment including safety showers, eyewash stations, fire extinguishers, telephones, etc.
• Signs must also be posted showing the location of MSDS’s.
• Areas where large quantities of highly flammable chemicals are stored and used must be labeled with "No smoking and no open flames" signs.
• Storage areas for the following classes of chemicals must be appropriately labeled:
• Carcinogens
• Corrosives
• Flammable liquids
• Flammable solids

Information

• Material safety data sheets (MSDS)
• A MSDS is a document containing chemical hazard and safety handling information.
• The chemistry department must obtain a MSDS for each chemical that it receives and maintain an MSDS library on all chemicals in the department.
• Each laboratory will have available MSDS's for the substances used in it.
• Material safety data sheets (MSDS) must be maintained and readily available to all employees and students.
• A copy of the chemical hygiene plan (CHP) must be accessible in all areas where chemicals are used and stored.
• All employees must be currently trained in accordance with the CHP.
• Employees must have access to various reference materials including a copy of the chemical hygiene plan, a copy of OSHA’s Laboratory Standard, and material safety data sheets. A list of reference material and locations can be found in Appendix B.

3.  Facilities And Maintenance

• General ventilation system for each lab that ensures 4 to 12 air changes per hour to prevent the buildup of chemical vapors.
• Storage areas will have continuous ventilation, fire alarms, and spill control material. NFPA hazardous warning labels shall be posted outside stockroom doors. Storeroom ventilation will be checked every 6 months.
• All labs will have hoods for use with volatile chemicals that are toxic, flammable, or corrosive. Additionally, general chemistry labs and the organic lab will have individual local exhaust ventilation at each work position. Each hood will be inspected at the beginning of each semester for proper airflow.
• Eyewash stations and safety showers must be located in each lab. They must be clearly visible and accessible and never restricted or blocked in any way. Eyewash stations and safety showers are to be tested and flushed every three months.  A log of these inspections will be kept.
• Fire extinguishers must be clearly visible and accessible in each laboratory. The maintenance of fire extinguishers is the responsibility of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. Inspection records of fire extinguishers can be obtain from the Environmental Health and Safety Office.
• Spill control kits- All laboratories and storage areas where hazards chemicals are used should contain a chemical spill kit. Minimally, the kit should contain:
• Splash resistant goggles
• Chemical resistant gloves
• Large, sealable plastic bags
• Absorbent materials
• Dust pan and hand-held brush
• Spill control kits will be checked at the beginning of each semester and replaced when depleted.
• Personal protective equipment such as safety goggles, aprons, gloves, face shield, and lab coats are available for anyone handling concentrated acids, bases, and other hazardous chemicals.
• Telephones must be are located in every laboratory and chemical storage area; phones must be clearly marked and labeled with the following telephone numbers:
• Public Safety -3333
• Crawford Health Center -2206
• All laboratories and storage areas, in which hazardous chemicals are used and/or stored, will be inspected weekly by the laboratory chemist, each semester by the chemical hygiene officer and annually by the department chair and University Chemical Hygiene Officer. See Appendix C for a laboratory safety checklist.
• An inventory of all chemicals will be conducted yearly by the laboratory chemist; a database of all chemicals will be maintained and updated.  All chemicals will be bar-coded.

4.  Procurement And Receipt Of Chemicals

• Requisitions for chemicals are initiated by faculty members or the laboratory chemist.
• Anyone ordering a chemical must use the “Chemical Ordering” form and give a copy to the laboratory chemist and Lee Miller. See Appendix D.
• Chemicals are delivered to the supply room or to the chemical storage building.
• All chemicals must be delivered to the chemistry stockroom to ensure that the laboratory chemist is aware of all chemicals received by the chemistry department. This excludes hazardous materials that are delivered directly to the chemical storage building such as compressed gas cylinders, liquid nitrogen cylinders, etc. The laboratory chemist must be notified of all such deliveries.
• When a shipment arrives:
• The laboratory chemist will inspect the shipment to ensure that it is in fact the material ordered, is in good working condition, and that a MSDS is provided.
• The laboratory chemist will ensure that a copy of the MSDS is kept in the chemistry stockroom and that a copy is placed in the MSDS Notebook in the lab where the chemical will be used.
• A preprinted format label will be placed on each chemical, which will include the date of receipt, a date of disposal, and an open date to be recorded when the chemical is opened.
• All chemicals will be bar-coded and logged into the chemical inventory by the laboratory chemist, which will include the amount of chemical ordered, the location as to where the chemical will be stored, and the faculty/staff member responsible for supervising its use.
• Compressed gas cylinders will be tagged accordingly. See Compressed Gases (Section 5, Part B)

5.  Training

• All employees, including faculty, staff, student teaching assistants, and nonchemistry staff, exposed or potentially exposed to hazardous chemicals must be provided with information and training to ensure that they are appraised of the hazards of chemicals present in the department. The degree of training will depend on the person's work function in the laboratories.

Information Requirements

Employees that work with hazardous chemicals, including faculty, part-time laboratory instructors, staff, and student teaching assistants and must be informed of the following:

• The contents of the OSHA Laboratory Standard and its appendices. This information must be available to employees
• The contents, location and availability of the chemical hygiene plan.
• The permissible exposure limits for OSHA regulated substances or recommended exposure limits for other hazardous chemicals where there is no applicable OSHA standard
• Signs and symptoms associated with exposures to hazardous chemicals in the laboratory
• The location and availability of known reference material on hazards, safe handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemicals found in the laboratory. A list of reference materials available in the department can be found in Appendix B.
• How to read and use MSDS’s and labels.

Training Requirements

Training of the above-mentioned employees will include the following:

• Methods and observations that may be used to detect the presence or release of a hazardous chemical
• The physical and health hazards of chemicals in the work areas
• The measures employees can take to protect themselves from these hazards, including specific procedures the employer has implemented to protect employees from exposure to hazardous chemicals, such as appropriate work practices, emergency procedures, and personal protective equipment to be used.

Training Responsibilities

• All department employees, including faculty, staff, and student teaching assistants, working with hazardous chemicals must participate in the training program.
• All employees working in the same building as the chemistry department should be trained by the University Chemical Hygiene Officer or their own department and informed of the existence of the OSHA Laboratory Standard and the department’s chemical hygiene plan.
• Refresher information should be provided yearly.
• Training for department employees will be conducted by the department’s chemical hygiene officer.
• Training of research students will be the responsibility of their advisor to ensure that they are properly trained in the hazards involved in their specific research.

Documentation of Training Programs

• Records as to the content of the training programs provided to whom must be maintained. See Appendix E.

Training of Nonchemistry Staff

• Any person who enters a laboratory to perform routine maintenance, including custodial, public safety, and facilities management personal will be trained by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety or by their individual departments. Training must include the use of personal protective equipment.
• Supervision of such programs and documentation of training programs will be the responsibility of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.