Section B: Laboratory Facilities and Information

1.  Facility Description

• A list of all areas that are engaged in laboratory use of hazards chemicals must be maintained and up to date. See Appendix A.
• Emergency phone numbers are posted on the door of all laboratories and chemical storage areas.
• 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

• NFP warning signs must be posted on all laboratory doors 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:

o Carcinogens

o Corrosives

o Flammable liquids

o Flammable solids

• Emergency telephone numbers should be posted in all laboratories with the following numbers:

o Fire 9-911 (campus phone); -911 (cell phone)

o Public Safety -3333 (campus phone); (803)323-3333 (cell phone)

o Environmental Health and Safety- (803)323-2328 (EHS office); (803)242-9545 (EHS′s cell phone number)

• Emergency contact information should be posted on each laboratory door and should include the following:

o Name, office number and office telephone number of the employee responsible for the lab

o Public safety′s phone number

o Office of Environmental Health and Safety′s telephone number

Information

• Material safety data sheets (MSDS) - a MSDS is a document containing chemical hazard and safety handling information.

o Material safety data sheets (MSDS) must be maintained and readily available to all employees and students.

o A MSDS will be obtained for each chemical the department receives.

i. An electronic database of MSDS′s will be maintained.  This database can be accessed by faculty and staff from any computer on the WIN domain.

ii. A hard copy of the MSDS will be placed in the laboratory in which the chemical is stored.

• 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.  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. Eyewash stations should be flushed once a month. A log of these inspections will be kept. Safety showers should be tested and flushed every three months and is the responsibility of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.  Inspection records should be obtained from the Environmental Health and Safety Office.
• 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 should be obtained from the Environmental Health and Safety Office.
• Fire blankets are available in labs that routinely use heating devices. Fire blankets can be used 1) to smother small fires, 2) as a shower curtain for someone using the safety shower, 3) as a wrap after someone used the safety shower, 4) to keep someone warm while waiting for emergency help to arrive. A fire blanket can also be used to help smother the flames if someone′s clothing is on fire, but should not be used to wrap someone in to extinguish a clothing fire. The process of wrapping a fire blanket around a person with burning clothing traps the heat while creating a chimney effect, directing the hot, toxic gases and flames into the victims face.
• Spill control kits- All laboratories and storage areas where hazards chemicals are used should contain a chemical spill kit. Minimally, the kit should contain:

o Splash resistant goggles

o Chemical resistant gloves

o Large, sealable plastic bags

o Absorbent materials

o A scraper and scoop

o Spill control kits will be checked yearly and replaced when depleted.

• Personal protective equipment such as safety goggles, aprons, gloves, face shield, and lab coats are available for employees handling concentrated acids, bases, and other hazardous chemicals. Students must purchase their own splash goggles.
• All laboratories and storage areas, in which hazardous chemicals are used and/or stored, will be briefly 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 checklist.

4.  Procurement and Inventory of Chemicals

• 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.
• Requisitions for chemicals are initiated by faculty members or the laboratory chemist. 
• Anyone ordering a chemical must use the ordering form for chemicals and supplies and give a copy to the laboratory chemist and to the department′s administrative specialist.  Request an electronic copy of the ordering from at aikenw@winthrop.edu. 
• 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 added to the chemical inventory system and that a copy is placed in the MSDS notebook in the lab where the chemical will be used.
• 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 date the chemical is received.
• Anyone removing a chemical from the stockroom before it is inventoried must provide the laboratory chemist with the name and storage location of the chemical along with the date the chemical was received.
• Empty chemical bottles that have a bar-code must be removed from the chemical inventory.
• Compressed gas cylinders will be tagged accordingly. See Compressed Gases (Section 5, Part B)

5. Training

• All employees, including faculty, staff, student research and teaching assistants, 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.

Information Requirements

Employees that work with hazardous chemicals, including faculty, part-time laboratory instructors, staff, and students 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 students working with hazardous chemicals must participate in the training program.
• Faculty and staff training:
• Participation in the Chemistry Department′s annual safety training session is required.
• Training will be conducted by the department′s chemical hygiene officer.
• Research students and student employees:
• Research students must attend safety training yearly. In addition, any student working with hazardous chemicals in the summer must attend the summer safety training session.
• All students required to participate in the department′s safety training program must take a safety quiz yearly and pass with a 100%.
• Research students must be farther trained by their research advisors to ensure that they are properly trained in the specific hazards involved in their research.
• Non-departmental employees working in the same building as the chemistry department who could potentially be exposed to hazardous chemicals 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.

Documentation of Training Programs

• The chemical hygiene officer will maintain records of safety training for faculty and staff and all students who participate in the departmental safety training program. Appendix D
• Research advisors must maintain records of training that they provide to their students which is in addition to the departmental safety training. 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.