UVM Environmental Safety Staff

At UVM, over 500 teaching and research laboratories use a wide variety of hazardous materials in the course of their work. While these materials are present in small quantities, if improperly managed they can present a significant hazard to laboratory workers, their neighbors in the building, and the environment in general. For these reasons, the Environmental Safety office partners with UVM's laboratory workers to support the safe and healthy use of these materials. We do this by providing safety training, chemical waste disposal, emergency response, and laboratory oversight services.

Our work is guided by four specific values. These are, in priority order:

• SAFETY: The safety of UVM's laboratory workers, their co-workers, and the staff who support their work, including facility maintenance workers and emergency responders, are the top priority in environmental safety considerations.

• COMPLIANCE: Compliance with government regulations is a legal requirement and supports protection of the laboratory environment as well as social acceptance for laboratory work on campus.

• LABORATORY PRODUCTIVITY: Environmental Safety staff works to find ways to help laboratory workers do their job as efficiently as possible within safety and compliance constraints.

• EDUCATION: We support UVM's academic mission by educating the UVM community about laboratory health and safety practices. In addition to participating in academic classes, we provide training to UVM's laboratory workers.

We have eight people on staff who have been working in a variety of environmental safety-related professions for a combined total of over 70 years. We are:

Ralph Stuart, CIH, Environmental Safety Manager rstuart@uvm.edu 656-5403		Ralph oversees the environmental safety program, including laboratory safety support programs, regulatory relations, management of the Indoor Air Quality program, and connects with the campus environmental sustainability program. Ralph is a member of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society and former president for the Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence
Francis Churchill, Environmental Compliance Program Coordinator fchurchi@uvm.edu 656-5405		Francis oversees general University compliance with environmental regulations, particularly hazardous waste and air pollution permit (available here in PDF format) compliance. In addition, he participates in hazmat emergency planning work at both the University and County level. He served as the chair of the Chittenden County Local Emergency Planning Committee for 8 years.
Jeff LaBossiere, Biosafety Program Coordinator jlabossi@uvm.edu 656-3418		Jeff started at UVM in February, 2006 after 12 years of experience in the biotech industry in Cambridge, Mass. He is developing UVM's biosafety program in cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Animal Care Office and laboratories affected by NIH and other relevant regulations. Jeff is a member of the American Biological Safety Association.
Barbara Benton St. Gelais, MA, LCMHC, Laboratory Safety Program Manager bstgelai@uvm.edu 656-5402		Barbara is responsible for general oversight of the laboratory safety program as well as providing direct safety assistance to laboratory workers in the College of Medicine, Marsh Life Sciences and Rowell buildings. She also manages our Indoor Air Quality program. Her work in developing the UVM laboratory safety training program has been recognized nationally by the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association. Barb has a Master's degree in Counseling.
Lee Diamond, Environmental, Laboratory Safety Coordinator ldiamond@uvm.edu 656-5404		Lee has worked at UVM since 1996 managing laboratory chemical wastes. Lee is now the Laboratory Safety Coordinator responsible for Dewey, Delehanty Hall, the Bioresearch Center, Torrey Hall, the College of Engineering, Williams Hall, the Carrigan Wing of Marsh Life and farm labs not on main campus.. In this role, she works with laboratories in many different campus buildings to identify and help solve chemical safety concerns.
Jeff Rogers, Laboratory Safety Coordinator jrogers2@uvm.edu 656-0767		Jeff joined the UVM Environmental Safety staff in 2008 after with 5 years experience in UVM's Physical Plant Department.Jeff Rogers is the Laboratory Safety Coordinator responsible for supporting lab workers in Cook, Terrill, Hills and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
Brian Medor, Environmental Safety Technician bmedor@uvm.edu 656-5408		Brian has worked in the hazardous waste industry for more than a decade. He manages pick-up of laboratory and other campus wastes and assures that they are managed according to government regulations while they are on campus. In addition, he manages their disposal through commercial vendors, assuring that the wastes are disposed of as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Brian Hodge, Environmental Safety Technician blhodge@uvm.edu 656-5408		Brian joined UVM after with 10 years' experience working at the Chittenden Solid Waste District Environmental Depot, where he worked with household and small business hazardous waste. At UVM, he is helping to manage laboratory hazardous waste and delivering ChemSource orders to campus laboratories.
Louie the Laboratory Safety Lizard		Louie the Laboratory Safety Lizard has supported safe laboratory work for a long time ever since he saw the negative effects of too many chemicals in the environment while he served in the Peace Corps in Indonesia. After visiting his uncle, Champ, in Lake Champlain he now calls Vermont his home and does all he can to protect the lake and to help his cousins, the amphibians, who are having a hard time out there with extra appendages and reproductive problems. In his spare time he goes up to the Champlain Islands to redirect frogs from crossing the roads and getting killed needlessly.

Last Updated: June 19, 2009