I-Safety
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Environmental Health and Safety's lab signage program helps to protect public health and safety, prevent disruptions to your research when building infrastructure needs attention, make others aware of the various hazards and personal protective equipment required to enter the lab and meet our ethical obligations to keep our people safe.
Why should you want a lab sign? Occasionally emergencies happen, and when research labs are involved it is best to reach out to those most knowledgeable about the work being done within a lab. EHS provides lab signage to include emergency contacts of the Principle Investigator or Lab Manager or those most familiar with the work being performed within the lab. If an emergency occurs within your lab, having emergency contact information readily available minimizes impacts on research while also getting information on how to protect our employees from hazards that may exist within the lab.
In addition to contact information, specific chemical, biological, radioactive and physical hazards that may pose a danger to those unfamiliar with the lab should be included on the lab signage. Standardized pictograms from the globally harmonized system (GHS) of classifying and labeling chemicals are used to depict the type of hazards present within your lab.
If you work in a lab and notice there are no signs to indicate the hazards that you or others might deal with, contact EHS today; we will work with you to create lab signage that meets the requirements of your lab. More information is available on the Lab Signage webpage, or you may complete the Lab Signage Request Checklist to get signs for your lab.
University of Idaho Emergency Response Team
The University of Idaho maintains an Emergency Response Team (UIERT) through the office of Environmental Health and Safety. This team’s purpose is to provide rapid response to incidents that threaten lives, property and/or the environment, including chemical, radiological and biohazardous incidents.
The UIERT, comprised of all members of EHS, is trained and equipped to handle most incidents that may occur on campus. All team members have completed, at a minimum, a 40-hour hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) course as well as FEMA training in Incident Command and are ready to respond to small and major incidents. The UIERT maintains an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) which is fully stocked and ready to use at a moment’s notice.
The team responds to about 9 incidents of any size per year; these are mostly small incidents. The last major response was in June 2018 for a major oil spill at the dairy farm. A dump truck caught on overhead lines, pulling down two attached power poles which had 3 transformers on each and resulted in a spill of approximately 100 gallons total of mineral oil. The team worked long hours in the sun to capture the spilled oil from the pavement and dig up barrels of contaminated soil to protect the environment.
The team also has an agreement with the City of Moscow to respond to other incidents in the city as requested. This service is activated as needed by the Incident Commander acting for the City of Moscow and may be initiated by calling 911.The team continuously collaborates with the state of Idaho Fire Marshal, Moscow Volunteer Fire Department, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and Washington State University to share information, plan incident responses and participate in training.
Campus Contacts
Emergency Numbers for: Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls Campuses
Moscow
- Campus Security (24/7): 208-885-7054 | campus-security@uidaho.edu
- Environmental Health and Safety: 208-885-6524
- Facilities (office hours): 208-885-6246
- Facilities (after hours): 208-885-7233
- Parking and Transportation Services: 208-885-6424
- Public Safety and Security: 208-885-2254
- Recorded Emergency Updates: 208-885-1010
- Safe Walk (24/7): 208-885-7233
- Vehicle Assistance (Pit Crew) Monday-Friday: (office hours) 208-885-6424 or (4:30-9 p.m.) 208-885-7054