Chemical Safety Archives - Page 12 of 19

Treat Temporary Employees As Your Own Employees

June 21, 2016

When temporary employees are hired at your facility, remember that the host employer and the staffing agency are jointly responsible for ensuring a safe work environment for temporary employees. In these situations, the temporary staffing agency and host employer share responsibility and control over the workers’ job duties.

June 14, 2016

Be careful not to confuse a flammable permit with a flammable license. These are two very different regulatory processes stipulated in 527 CMR 1.00, Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code. When discussing flammable permitting, the terms permit and license should not be used interchangeably.

June 7, 2016

When conducting risk assessments, job safety analyses, or evaluating the hazards associated with laboratory space, remember to think about the small hazards as well as the high hazards. One ‘small’ hazard that should be addressed is substituting plasticware for glassware whenever possible in order to reduce the risks associated with broken glass.

May 31, 2016

What is the established new employee training schedule at your facility? Is it clear that new employees working in the laboratory need to attend safety training prior to commencing any lab work?

May 24, 2016

OSHA has issued a Final Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses which will take effect on August 10, 2016, with phased in requirements taking effect January 1, 2017. This rule is intended to improve workplace safety and prevent injuries and illnesses by modernizing injury data collection, and better informing workers and the public about workplace hazards.

May 10, 2016

ASHRAE 110, Methods of Testing Performance of Laboratory Fume Hoods, has been updated to a 2016 version. This standard, which covers a quantitative test procedure for testing fume hood operation, was first developed in 1985 and last revised in 1995.

April 26, 2016

Scale-up can mean different things to different people in terms of actual quantities, but the scale-up of all laboratory work needs to be addressed. It is important for all lab workers to know about scale-up, and the steps that need to be followed when they are considering scaling up their work.

April 19, 2016

If you were to survey the scientists in your labs about their view of the EHS program at your facility, what do you think they would have to say?

April 12, 2016

No, not the kind of mermaids that swim in the ocean, the kind of mermades that synthesize oligonucleotides. It is becoming more and more common to come across these pieces of equipment that are designed to synthesize DNA and RNA oligonucleotides, and there are several EHS concerns that need to be addressed when beginning work with mermades.

March 29, 2016

On March 28, 2016, OSHA announced that they have published a final rule to update requirements for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers in general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, longshoring, and construction.

March 22, 2016

All of the fume hoods at your facility need to be certified on an annual basis. The certification process verifies that the fume hoods are all operating as they should be and are therefore providing adequate protection for the workers utilizing a fume hood.

March 15, 2016

OSHA maintains an interactive map of enforcement cases with initial penalties above $40,000, which is updated on a weekly basis. Keep your facility off this map!

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| Biosafety, Chemical Safety, OSHA, Regulatory Compliance, Safety Tips

Chemical Safety

Chemical Safety

Treat Temporary Employees As Your Own Employees

Flammable Permits vs. Flammable License

Substitute Plastic for Glass

Conduct Safety Training Before Lab Work Commences

Encourage Injury, Illness, and Near Miss Reporting

ASHRAE 110-2016

Keep an Eye Open for Scale-Up

Safety Survey Says

Are There Mermades in Your Labs?

OSHA Updates PPE Requirements

Keep an Eye on Sash Positions

OSHA Enforcement Cases

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