The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has responsibility for workplace regulations designed to prevent injuries and protect the health of workers. Research laboratories are unique workplaces. In order to address the worker protection needs in these facilities OSHA developed a specific standard, 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 (CHP) for all university laboratories consists of three parts: The University of Alabama Chemical Hygiene Plan, a laboratory-specific CHP, and the Standard Operating Procedures specific for your work practices.
The UA Chemical Hygiene Plan covers the basic requirements for most laboratory areas. Each lab is expected to develop a customized CHP that addresses risk and hazard controls for their areas. Guidance for how this is to be done is included in the manual. It is essential that this be done by someone who is completely familiar with the work and work area covered, and who has read and understood the CHP and its requirements. Assistance is always available from the Chemical Safety Manager at EHS.
Chemical Hygiene Program Information
Chemical inventory is managed and tracked thru the SciShield program. You can request SciShield training on the Training Information page. If you are having trouble with the SciShield system, you can submit an email Request for System Assistance and EHS will help to troubleshoot your problem, add chemical items to your inventory, or remove items from inventory record.
Information about training and the training course request can be found at Training.
Information about ordering chemicals or other items can be found in Ordering Information.
Research and teaching labs sometimes need to dispose of hazardous waste. The UA CHP provides instructions on how to dispose of these items. Additional information for the proper handling of hazardous waste disposal is located Hazardous Waste Management, Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) and Waste Disposal page.
Shipping of hazardous chemical materials of any type is potentially subject to DOT and/or IATA regulations. Please review our Shipping Information.
Laboratory Decommissioning guidelines and equipment/room tags are posted at Forms and Supporting Documents. Before anyone else can move into a lab room, all lab spaces MUST be decommissioned (by the exiting Lab PI or Research Group) anytime you relinquish control the space for any reason.
Additional guidance information is available for…
- Hydrofluoric Acid: Guidance for Laboratories
- Perchloric Acid: Guidance for Laboratories
- Picric Acid: Guidance for Laboratories
Helpful Chemical Hygiene and Laboratory Safety Links
- Laboratory Ventilation
- ChemView: Health and safety data on chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredient List: The Safer Chemical Ingredients List contains chemicals that meet the criteria of the Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program
- Evaluations of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: As evaluated in IARC Monographs
- Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) and Hydrogen Fluoride (HF): Hazard Summary from Purdue University
- Less is Better: Guide to Minimizing Waste in Laboratories, 2002 version of the popular ACS publication
- Teratogens: from Purdue University, based on Sax 9th ed. “Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials”
- Compressed Gas Safety from Airgas
- Compressed Gas Safety: Understanding Gas Types and Hazards from Airgas
- Compressed Gas Safety: Storage and Handling from Airgas
- Compressed Gas Safety: Using Compressed Gases from Airgas
- Compressed Gas Association safety resources
- Compressed Gas Association safety posters
- National Library of Medicine Environmental Health & Toxicology
- The OSHA website gives you health hazard information on hundreds of commonly used chemicals. Just click on the name of the chemical you are concerned with to see detailed industrial hygiene information on that chemical , including:
- General description (CAS, RTECS, NIOSH)
- Exposure limits (OSHA, ACGIH, NIOSH)
- Health factors (carcinogen, IDLH, symptoms, target organs, & other references)
- Monitoring methods (e.g. sampling media, air volume, flow rates, wipe sampling, bulk sampling, etc.) used by OSHA. It lists the detailed sampling methods that the OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC) instructs their Industrial Hygienists to follow when sampling for airborne contaminants.
- How to use an Emergency Safety Shower from Iowa State University
- Engineered Nanomaterials Guidelines
- DEA Website
- State Board of Pharmacy Website
*** In the case of a hazardous condition related to a laboratory space, contact EHS by phone at 205-348-5905 during working hours, or UAPD at 205-348-5454 if immediate assistance is needed.***