Laboratory Specific Safety Training

Environmental Safety (ES) staff provides background training for laboratory workers in laboratory safety. The information covered in this training is general in nature. Specific safety training in the procedures used in each laboratory must be provided by the laboratory supervisor or Laboratory Safety Officer.

ITo complete introductory safety training which meets OSHA and EPA requirements new laboratory workers must receive specific training on the hazards in their laboratory (you can download a PDF file that provides guidelines for what this training should cover). New laboratory workers must also be supervised while they work, based on their supervisor's assessment of the individual’s competency. As long as these requirements are met, it is the judgment of the laboratory supervisor as to when new workers can begin to participate in laboratory work.

Laboratory Safety Training Resources

In addition to the online and classroom training we offer, ES staff have resources available for laboratory supervisors to use when they provide specific laboratory safety training. These include:

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Training Videos

Available on loan from the ES staff, or order your own free copy of the appropriate videos directly from the HHMI from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Web site. Topics include:

• Practicing Safe Science
  (30 minutes on general laboratory safety)
• Controlling Your Risks: HIV in the Research Laboratory
  (30 minutes on working with potentially infections materials)
• Radionuclide Hazards
• Assessing Chemical Hazards
  (15 minutes on planning chemical work)
• Emergency Response
  (18 minutes on planning emergency response; used during ES training).
• Centrifugation Hazards
• Chemical Storage Hazards
  (15 minutes on setting up chemically compatible storage in your laboratory)
• Glassware Washing Hazards
• Mammalian Cell Culture Hazards
• X-Ray Diffraction Hazards
• Assessing Risks of Toxic Chemicals

Environmental Health and Engineering Powerpoint files and write-ups (e-mail us for a copy). Topics include:

• Autoclave Safety
• Cell and Tissue Culture
• Centrifuges and Ultracentrifuges
• Ethylene Oxide
• Gel Electrophoresis
• Glutaraldehyde
• Laboratory Ergonomics
• Latex
• Peroxide Forming Chemicals
• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Other UVM Safety Training

In addition to environmental safety training, UVM's Risk Management Department provides Driver Safety training for people who drive as part of their UVM work. You can sign up for this training at http://www.uvm.edu/~riskmgmt/?Page=driver_train/index.php

Last Updated: January 9, 2007