Health & Safety
In-person safety training schedule
Training for things... Schlenk technique. Airfree whatnot...
WPI Chemical Hygiene Plan
The federal government's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations exist to minimize the occurrences and severity workplace injuries and protect worker health. Academic chemistry and biochemistry laboratories present unique hazards that require unique a safety standard as outlined in OSHA's Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (29 CFR 1910.1450). This standard, often referred to as the OSHA Laboratory Standard, imposes many requirements, including developing a written Chemical Hygiene Plan. The complete Chemical Hygiene Plan for all laboratories consists of three parts:
- The University's Chemical Hygiene Plan
- Laboratory-specific chemical hygiene plans
- WPI Laboratory Safety Guide
The University's Chemical Hygiene Plan
The university's chemical hygiene plan document outlines the for laboratory personnel, contains policies and practices applicable to the entire campus, and provides an overview of the various regulations applicable to operations in a campus laboratory. It also provides information on other regulations such as fire codes, hazardous waste regulations, chemical shipping requirements and other requirements pertaining to the use of hazardous chemicals in the laboratory.
Read the WPI Chemical Hygiene Plan.
Laboratory-specific chemical hygiene plans
For each laboratory, the Principal Investigator and the laboratory's Chemical Hygiene Officer must prepare a laboratory-specific Chemical Hygiene Plan that includes the following information specific to their laboratory’s operations:
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements
- Engineering and administrative controls
- Provisions for handling Particularly Hazardous Substances
- Provisions for designating specific operations that shall require prior approval before initiating Training prerequisites.
Included are quick links to the individual laboratory Chemical Hygiene Plan documents for Argüello, Burdette, Brodeur, Dempski, Dittami, Emmert, Gericke, Grimm, Heilman, Kaminski, Lambert, MacDonald, Mattson, Scarlata.
View the OSHA standard for Occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals in laboratories.
WPI Laboratory Safety Guide
The WPI Laboratory Safety Guide consists of a series of documents drafted by the campus Environmental Health and Safety office. Below is a list quick links to several of the subjects relevant to working in a chemistry or a biochemistry lab. However, anyone working in a chemistry or biochemistry lab is responsible for reading through and understanding this list.
- Employee Accident Report Form (PDF)
- Latex Allergy Information (PDF)
- WPI Hazardous Waste Management Plan (PDF)
- Chemical Hygiene Plan
- Procedures Guide for the Disposal of Hazardous Waste
- Written Hazardous Communication Program
- Exposure Control Plan for Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens
- Laboratory Safety Rules
- WPI Medical Waste Disposal Guidelines
- Protecting Yourself From Bloodborne Pathogens
- WPI Darkroom Safety: Photographic Chemicals
- Hazardous Waste Inspection Form (PDF)
- Quick Guide to Risk Assessment for Hazardous Chemicals
- WPI Chemical Spill Response Procedure
- WPI Institutional Animal Care & Use
- WPI Occupational Health and Safety Program in the Care and Use of Research Animals (DOC)
- Animal Handler Questionnaire (RTF)
- WPI Hazardous Materials Transportation Security Plan
- Form for Outside Groups or Individuals for the Use of WPI Lab Space (PDF)
- Online Lab Safety Training
- WPI Lab Equipment Move Form (PDF)
- Bunsen Burner Safety Guidelines
- Biosafety Manual (DOC)
- Procedures for Handling Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) (PDF)
- WPI Laser Safety Manual (PDF)
- Minimizing Hazardous Waste Generation (PDF)
- Hazardous Material Shipping (PDF)
- Laboratory Experiment: Safety and Risk Analysis (DOC)
- Hazardous Waste Posting (DOC)
- Chemical Compatibility Chart (PDF)
Safety Training
In order to work in and have access to departmental research laboratories, all participants must complete:
- The WPI online safety training course.
- Attend an in-person safety training seminar. View the calendar of upcoming seminars.
This training must be renewed yearly in order to maintain laboratory access.