Have you ever walked through the labs and seen N95 masks sitting on a bench shelf even though you do not have an active respirator program? Make sure the use of all respiratory protection is reviewed and approved at your facility.
A Chemical Hygiene Plan is required for companies falling under OSHA’s Lab Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1450, while a Hazard Communication Plan fulfills the requirements found in OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200. Is your Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) updated as hazards, procedures, and policies change, or is it a stagnant document that is reviewed annually at best?
The Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 480, defines sharps as discarded medical articles that may cause puncture or cuts, including, but not limited to, all needles, syringes, lancets, pen needles, Pasteur pipettes, broken medical glassware/plasticware, scalpel blades, suture needles, dental wires, and disposable razors used in connection with a medical procedure.
Are you looking for ways to engage attendees during annual safety training refreshers? Have you ever considered setting up mock spill scenarios for participants to clean-up during training?
When utilizing recombinant DNA technology, a thorough risk assessment should be conducted for all projects. The potential risks to personnel and the environment need to be evaluated should an exposure or release occur.
February 2015 in New England is certainly giving people something to talk about! If you are subject to Tier II reporting, hopefully being snowed in is giving you sufficient time to meet the March 1st reporting deadline.
The requirements of OSHA’s electrical safety regulations are often not known by workers. Individuals need to be trained based on the electrical hazards present in the workplace.
Hopefully everyone is staying warm and safe during the blizzard! At times when people are entering facilities after walking through the snow, it is prudent to remember to address the potential for slips, trips, and falls.
Are there any new pieces of equipment in your labs that need a job safety analyses conducted on them to evaluate potential hazards? In an ideal setting, EHS personnel are notified when new equipment is purchased so set-up, hazards, proper procedures, and waste can all be evaluated.
Remember that as of January 1, 2015, the OSHA reporting requirements for severe work-related injuries and illnesses have changed. All employers under OSHA jurisdiction are now required to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours, and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations, and all losses of an eye within 24 hours.
