Welcome To The UE Chemistry Department Safety Website
The University of Evansville Chemistry Department promotes safe working practices in all its laboratories. The department, in conjunction with the university environmental management personnel, are working toward the establishment of a strong and effective safety program to ensure the safety and well-being of all students, faculty, and staff. We have developed a culture of safety awareness, education, and training for all who work in a laboratory setting. This website provides details on safety in both the teaching and research labs and outlines the safety policies we employ in our department. The sidebar provides links to the ACS documents on Safety in the Academic Laboratory (Volumes 1 and 2) and the United Nations document covering the Hazard Communication in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. It also provides a link to a GHS powerpoint presentation based on the UN document. A short powerpoint presentation that covers the most important aspects of GHS that studnets working in UE labs should be familiar with.
Safety Plans & Policies
The chemistry department, in collaboration with UE's Environmental Management, have developed a Laboratory Safety Manual and Chemical Hygiene Plan. The chemical hygiene plan adheres to the provisions established by the OSHA Laboratory Standard. Additionally, the chemistry department has produced other documents, taken from the chemical hygiene plan, that highlight several important aspects of working safely in the lab. These documents include a peroxide former policy and emergency action plans, which detail responses to chemical spills, accidents & injuries, fires, and evacuation routes.
The department also has formed a safety committee, comprised of faculty, staff, and students, that has been charged with the responsibility of overeeing lab safety. The committee will perform annual reviews of current safety policies and make recommendations for improvements as the need arises.
Student Orientation & Employee Training
Any student taking a chemistry course will be required to receive safety orientation before beginning any lab work. The orientation will include a safety video, overview of basic safety rules, discussion of safety equipment, learning to read safety data sheets, and a safety quiz.
All faculty, staff, lab assistants, or students that are teaching, doing research, or working as employees of the department must complete safety training. Such training may include, but not limited to, fire extinguisher training, first-aid training, and chemcial inventory management. Click safety orientation or employee training for important announcements.
Safety in the Teaching Laboratory
All students enrolled in a chemistry course will receive safety orientation and only after successful completion of the orientation will a student be allowed to work in the lab. If you are a student in an advanced chemistry class you are required to review basic lab safety rules. Also, your instructor may have additional safety rules for your class (e.g. laser safety in PChem). In some lab classes, students will have the opportunity to use their safety knowledge by participating on a safety team, at least once, during the semester.
Safety in the Research Laboratory
The chemistry department is very active in undergraduate research during the summer as well as the academic year. In order to work safely in the lab, all faculty and their student researchers are required to follow the Research Safety Guidelines and to complete a Standard Operating Procedure Form (see sidebar) before research may begin. The SOP outlines the chemical and physical hazards associated with the research and how generated waste materials will be handled.
