Laboratory Safety Program 

The CHP ensures the safety of personnel working with hazardous materials in laboratories by providing essential procedures and recommendations from the APLU Task Force on Laboratory Safety (2015). All individuals in university laboratories are responsible for knowing and adhering to the CHP provisions. The CHP will be updated annually by EHS. 

Using the chemical inventory template ensures ease of use and consistency across campus. This template is required by the chemical hygiene and lab safety plans and must be used by all labs to maintain an inventory of hazardous chemicals, compressed gases, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and other materials. Additional details on what should be included in the inventory are provided within the template. A printed copy should be placed in the lab safety binder inside the lab. 

The laboratory safety plan template helps laboratory personnel create a safety plan for their labs, covering areas such as inventory, safety data sheets (SDS), standard operating procedures (SOPs), and the minimum personal protective equipment (PPE) required for lab entry. Each section includes introductory text in black and specific instructions in red for the laboratory supervisor to provide lab-specific information. A printed copy should be placed in the lab safety binder inside the lab. 

The laboratory safety inspection checklist is designed to assist laboratory supervisors in conducting a self-audit of their laboratory. Not all items on the checklist will apply to every laboratory and can be marked as not applicable (N/A). 

All incoming laboratory workers must understand and sign the lab safety agreement. This agreement provides an overview of essential good lab practices to follow while working in a university laboratory. Signed copies should be stored alongside the laboratory safety plan in the lab safety binder inside the lab. 

Lab signage is required by regulatory agencies to inform individuals about the types of hazards present in unfamiliar laboratories. A laboratory hazard sign will be displayed at every main entrance, and while EHS produces these signs, it is the responsibility of laboratory personnel to ensure the information remains current. This should be updated annually by completing the form or by contacting EHS. 

Performing laboratory hazard analyses helps personnel identify hazards related to specific tasks and determine methods to eliminate or reduce them. These analyses are essential for preventing accidents and injuries, as they establish safe, uniform processes for standard operating procedures and training.  

The laboratory equipment decontamination form  helps students, faculty and staff ensure that laboratory equipment is properly decontaminated and must be completed and forwarded to EHS for certification before equipment is moved. 

The lab decommissioning checklist helps outgoing principal investigators ensure hazardous materials are safely removed and the area is free of contamination. Decommissioning is necessary during events like a researcher's departure, relocation, major renovations, or retirement from research, per APM 35.66. Some checklist items may not apply to every lab and can be marked as N/A. 

Shower and eyewash flushing should be performed weekly by lab users to identify plumbing issues, reduce sediment buildup, and maintain familiarity with operation. These tests should be recorded on the shower and eyewash flushing record, which is posted next to each unit, following the shower and eyewash flushing instructions. 

Regularly completing the walk-in cooler checklist is essential for maintaining the functionality of walk-in coolers and freezers in research facilities. These units are critical for storing temperature-sensitive materials, and regular inspections help prevent safety hazards and equipment failures. Following the checklist allows personnel to quickly identify and resolve issues, ensuring coolers and freezers maintain required temperature ranges and protect valuable research materials. 

Written standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be created by each lab to document how to safely work with any chemical, process or equipment with unusual ordinary hazards; for example, labs do not need to create an SOP for handling low concentration acids, but labs ought to create an SOP for handling pyrophoric chemicals or toxic compounds such as sodium azide. Some chemicals, equipment or processes are common enough that EHS will create SOP templates for labs to use and fill in lab-specific information; these will be posted on the guidance document page as they are created.   

Cleaning and waste disposal in laboratories requires strict adherence to policies and procedures, involving collaboration among laboratory personnel, building services, and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). Waste disposal categories include municipal waste, hazardous waste, radioactive waste, biological waste, and sharps, and each category must be handled according to established procedures and work practices. The goal is to ensure safe and efficient services while minimizing hazards.

Laboratory personnel responsibilities

Laboratory personnel must manage their activities to eliminate or minimize hazards, ensuring a safe working environment for all. They should keep floors clear of obstructions to facilitate cleaning by building services and must not leave sharps, such as broken glass or razor blades, on the floor. All spills and hazardous materials must be cleaned up by laboratory personnel, with EHS assistance if necessary, ensuring that floors, surfaces, and equipment are free of hazardous residues.

Building services personnel responsibilities

Building services should collaborate with laboratory staff to understand the activities and waste practices in each lab. They must wear, at a minimum, safety glasses and gloves while working in laboratories. If they encounter hazardous situations, such as spills or improperly disposed sharps, they should notify their supervisor, who will address the issue with laboratory personnel or leave a discrepancy notice.

EHS personnel responsibilities

EHS personnel develop procedures for the disposal of hazardous waste, ensure timely removal of hazardous and radioactive materials, and conduct hazardous spill clean-ups when necessary.

Reference links

• Laboratory waste disposal procedure summary
• Sharps and pipette tips disposal
• Sharps disposal flow chart 

Hazard warning signs

Lab signage is required by regulatory agencies, informs individuals of present hazards, and must be placed at every main entrance to laboratory rooms or complexes. While EHS produces these signs, laboratory personnel are responsible for keeping the information current.

Obtaining a posting

After evaluating room hazards, laboratory users must submit a lab signage request form to EHS. Once received, EHS will post the sign in a hard-sided plastic sleeve on the latch side of the door. Door postings must be reviewed at least annually by either filling out a new form or by contacting EHS for an updated effective date if no changes are necessary.

Hazard information

Laboratory signage definitions explain the information conveyed through door postings, while particularly hazardous substances (PHS) provides relevant PHS classifications for different chemicals listed.

Contact information

Each sign must include the name, title, office location and contact number of individuals knowledgeable about laboratory operations. After-hours contact information for qualified individuals must also be provided for emergency responders, with the principal investigator listed as one of the emergency contacts. 

Service animals are allowed within university buildings, including labs. However, before you bring your service animal into a lab space, there are certain conditions that must be met to ensure the safety of the service animal and others occupying the lab space. Please see the Center for Disability and Access (CDAR) Service Dogs in Labs page for more information  

New faculty have many safety items in order to start up their lab. EHS has worked with the Office of Research (ORA) to create a lab start-up guidance sheet to aid new faculty in starting up their lab. 

Particularly Hazardous Substances (PHSs) are defined by OSHA in 29 CFR 1910.1450(e)(3)(viii)

as “select carcinogens, reproductive toxins and substances which have a high degree of acute toxicity.”  

Carcinogens are substances that can cause cancer from chronic exposure. OSHA defines select carcinogens as those found in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z, those listed as “known to be carcinogens” by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), those listed as “carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer Monographs (IARC) or those listed in either Group 2A or 2B by IARC or under the category, “reasonably anticipated to be carcinogens” by the NTP. These can also be defined using the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) classification criteria: if the chemical is listed in Section 2 of the SDS as a category 1A or 2A (known or presumed carcinogen) or a category 2 (suspected carcinogen), it is to be considered a carcinogen and managed as a PHS.

Examples of commonly used select carcinogens include chloroform, formaldehyde, benzene, and dichloromethane. 

Reproductive toxins are substances (chemical and biological toxins) that affect various aspects of reproduction, from fertility and gestation to lactation and general reproductive performance. Reproductive toxins can affect women and men. These can be defined using the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) classification criteria: if the chemical is listed in the SDS as a category 1A or 2A (known or presumed human reproductive toxicant) or category 2 (suspected human reproductive toxicant), it is to be considered a reproductive toxin and managed as a PHS.

Examples of commonly used reproductive toxins include chloroform, formaldehyde, and carbon disulfide. 

Substances which are highly acutely toxic are identified by OSHA as:

• A chemical with a median lethal dose (LD50) of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight when administered orally to certain test populations.
• A chemical with an LD50 of 200 mg less per kg of body weight when administered by continuous contact for 24 hours to certain test populations.
• A chemical with a median lethal concentration (LC50) in air of 200 parts per million (ppm) by volume or less of gas or vapor, or 2 mg per liter or less of mist, fume, or dust, when administered to certain test populations by continuous inhalation for one hour, provided such concentration and/or condition are likely to be encountered by humans when the chemical is used in any reasonably foreseeable manner.

Information on this can be found in Section 11 of the chemical’s SDS. Examples of commonly used chemical with high degree of toxicity are sodium azide, bromine, hydrogen fluoride and osmium tetroxide. 

EHS has compiled a partial list of PHSs to start identifying any PHSs in labs. Unfortunately, as the scientific field is constantly evolving and new substances are being discovered and their hazards characterized, any list for PHSs cannot be all-inclusive for all time. At best, EHS can provide a list of commonly encountered PHSs. It is ultimately the responsibility of the individual lab to check the SDS or other sources for information that would lead to the classification of said chemical as a PHS. Sections 2 and 11 of a chemical’s SDS provide information that can aid in the determination of whether a chemical should be classified as a PHS.  

OSHA requires labs to establish a designated area for use of PHSs. At U of I, the designated area shall be the entire lab room as indicated by the presence of the PHS hazard symbols on the lab signage located on the lab entry door, or a particular location within the lab such as a fume hood or glovebox. 

All labs must have containment for PHSs listed in their lab safety plan. Most labs using PHSs will utilize fume hoods as a form of containment, but other forms of containment exist, such as glove boxes.  

All PHS waste must be managed as hazardous waste according to EHS guidelines.  

Within the SOP that all labs must have regarding the handling of PHSs, decontamination procedures must be outlined. Depending on the nature of the PHS, decontamination may be as simple as wiping down an area or as complicated as removing full PPE and cleaning oneself off in a shower. See the SDS for the particular PHS for guidance on decontamination. 

PHS SOP: Must be completed by the lab for each PHS and placed inside the lab safety binder.

List of PHSs: This document is intended to be a non-exhaustive list for users to look up if a chemical is a PHS. 

Each lab should have a lab safety binder that includes their lab safety plan, a copy of the chemical hygiene plan, a chemical inventory list, any SDSs for chemicals that are in the lab (these may be in a separate binder), and any standard operating procedures that are used in the lab. An SOP template for general chemical use can be found on the guidance documents page.

The lab safety binder should be in a place that is clearly visible and easily located by anyone who enters the lab space.  

No. Any time a fume hood isn’t drawing in air at an acceptable face velocity (100 fpm), work is not to be performed in the laboratory. Some buildings have backup generators that will run the fume hoods, but for the most part, the building should be evacuated whenever there is a power outage. Without the continuous negative pressure pulling contaminants out of the lab and fume hoods, contaminants can disperse through the lab and the building, making the entire building unsafe to occupy. 

EHS is responsible for annual testing of safety showers and eyewashes. This includes ensuring that safety showers have the proper flow rates, correct temperatures, etc. Labs, however, are responsible for flushing safety shower and eyewashes weekly in accordance with OSHA regulations. Weekly flushing helps reveal plumbing problems, reduce buildup of sediment in the lines, flush out microorganisms that can cause infection and make users more familiar and confident with the operation of the equipment in case of emergency. See the shower and eyewash flushing instructions for more information. 

According to APM 35.66, University of Idaho labs must undergo decommissioning during certain events:  

• Termination of a researcher's affiliation with the university
• Relocation of a research group to another laboratory space
• Major laboratory renovation  
• Retirement of a professor from research activities  

Faculty who meet these criteria must reach out to EHS at least four weeks in advance to ensure that the lab is properly decommissioned.  

EHS’s laboratory decommissioning checklist is provided to help principal investigators and their departments ensure that hazardous materials have been safely removed from the laboratory and that the area is free of contamination. Check laboratory waste disposal procedures for specific information on what to do with various types of waste within the lab.  

Additionally, the laboratory equipment decontamination form must be utilized to ensure that laboratory equipment is properly decontaminated and must be completed and forwarded to EHS for certification before equipment is moved. Once equipment is properly decontaminated, contact Surplus to begin the process of removing the equipment from the lab.

Users should not take lab coats home to wash. These should be cleaned using a commercial laundry service. If the lab coat is sufficiently contaminated or stained, the lab coat should be disposed of properly.  

Typical prescription glasses are not rated to protect a user’s eyes from the various hazards present within lab spaces (chemicals, flying objects, etc.). Users that have prescription glasses must either wear over-the-glasses (OTG) safety glasses or goggles or obtain prescription safety glasses or goggles with side-shields to enter labs. APM 35.72 outlines the process of working with the department to obtain prescription safety eyewear; departments may cover up to half of the cost of the prescription safety eyewear. 

Yes, safety glasses or goggles are required in the lab even if hazardous materials are not being used. Accidents can happen unexpectedly, and safety eyewear provides essential protection for eyes against potential risks such as chemical splashes, debris and particles, or accidental spills. Wearing safety eyewear is a simple yet effective way to protect the eyes and ensure a safer working environment. PPE cannot work if it is not worn. 

Appendix B of the chemical hygiene plan details spill response procedures for lab users as well as the minimum contents of a chemical spill kit. Commercial chemical spill kits are available, but labs should ensure that the kit contains clean-up material that is specific to the hazards present within the lab (e.g. acid neutralizer for acids used within the lab, etc.).   

Chemical solutions should be labeled at a minimum with the identity of the solution (including concentration of any constituents). Additionally, it is good to label the solution with the date prepared and the identity of the preparer.   

Most likely. Chloroform is classified as hazardous at concentrations of 6 ppm or greater. If the concentration is below 6 ppm, label the material as non-RCRA hazardous waste to avoid confusion. Otherwise, pipette tips must be placed in a sharps container marked "Chemical-Contaminated Sharps," with "Chloroform/Phenol" noted. Keep the container closed except when adding waste tips. 

No. Ethidium bromide is not regulated as hazardous waste in Idaho, while chloroform is regulated. To minimize disposal costs, collect non-hazardous tips in a separate container and submit a chemical waste collection request for disposal. Note that EHS manages ethidium bromide waste as if it were hazardous; refer to the ethidium bromide guidance document for more information. 

Email safety@uidaho.edu. Include the number of containers needed, the type of sharps to be collected (metal, plastic, etc.), and whether they are chemically contaminated. You will be notified when the containers are ready for pickup at the EHS office on Sixth Street. 

Refer to the laboratory safety inspection checklist for detailed information on what to expect. Frequently cited items include documentation that is out of date. Ensure lab safety binders are current and include the latest copy of the CHP, the lab's chemical inventory, and the Lab Safety Plan, and that lab signage forms have been reviewed within the previous twelve months.