Department of Safety Tel: 401-874-2618 & Risk Management Fax: 401-789-5126 Laboratory Safety Program

Inspection Criteria

1. Housekeeping practices in a lab are important. Keep the lab as neat and clean as possible. Makes sure the trash is not overflowing. Sinks are not filled with dirty glassware. Non-recyclable glass must be disposed by the occupants in the lab, not custodians, in a timely fashion. Place in a cardboard box, mark “Broken Lab Glassware”, tape it well and dispose of it in the dumpster. Keep eye wash and shower station clear of debris. These areas must be accessible at all times. 2. Hazardous Waste Accumulation area. This area is for hazardous waste only. You are not to store any other chemicals, sharps, garbage and empty glassware at this site. The pan is ONLY for hazardous waste. If you do not need such a large pan, please replace it with a smaller pan. Keep in mind that the pan must hold 110% of the volume of the largest container of waste. All waste must be kept in secondary containment at all times. All bottles in the pan must have a red and white Hazardous Waste Label on the bottle from the minute you add waste to the bottle. The bottle must have a tight fitting cap. Therefore, you are not able to store waste in a beaker or flask. The yellow sign stating that the area is Hazardous Waste Accumulation site must be close by. You are allowed to set up more than one waste area in a lab. This would be necessary if you accumulate HPLC waste. That area could be set up as a waste site by having secondary containment, a red/white label on the bottle and a yellow sign on the containment pan. If you are getting rid of a chemical that is still in its original bottle you must still put a waste label on the bottle. There are no exceptions.

3. Chemical storage. The storage on shelves must be separated by hazard class. For example, you do not keep non-flammables in a flammable cabinet. Do not store oxidizers near flammables. Any chemical that will react with another chemical must be stored separately. Hazardous liquids must be stored below eye level of the shortest person in the lab. ALL bottles, flasks, and beakers that store chemicals must have a FULL COMPLETE NAME on the bottle. No abbreviations or chemical formulas. Never keep liquids in a hood with a sink unless the bottle is in secondary containment. 4. Gas cylinder storage. All gas cylinders are to be stored upright and restrained properly. This involves a strap made and purchased for this use only. No bungee cords, ropes and other items that are not qualified to secure a tank. 5. Sharps collection. Sharps are to be collected in a sharps container. We will not accept them in any other container. Sharps are all needles and syringes, broken pipettes, scalpels, broken vials and laboratory slides. 6. Removal of hazardous waste. All waste must have a red and white hazardous label on the bottle. The bottle MUST be in the secondary containment pan at all times except when adding waste to the bottle. The bottle may only be left open for the addition of waste for no more than 15 minutes. The label must state its contents with a full complete name, no formulas or abbreviations. If it is a mixture the percentages MUST be listed. Fax the Fax Request for Hazardous Waste Pick-up form to SRM. Make sure the form is completely filled out. All contents in the bottle, the hazard class, the quantity in the bottle and the percentages of the contents if it is a mixture. 7. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Per the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) recently distributed to all faculty, you are required to have Laboratory-Specific Written Standard Operating procedures. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigators to write Laboratory-Specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to cover the use of hazardous chemicals, reproductive toxins and carcinogens, as well as, processes or equipment that may be hazardous. Read the CHP for more detailed information. All labs must have on hand an MSDS for every hazardous chemical in their lab. This should be kept in a binder, near the exit for quick retrieval during an emergency.

Department of Safety Tel: 401-874-2618 & Risk Management Fax: 401-789-5126 Laboratory Safety Program