Health and Safety

Safety Manual and Acknowledgement Form

All graduate students, postdocs, and lab staff are required to review these two documents on an annual basis.

Chemistry Student Safety Committee (ChemSSC): More information about departmental safety procedures can be found on the ChemSSC website.

Acknowledgement Form

To ensure compliance, once these documents have been reviewed, graduate students, postdocs, and lab staff are required to submit the acknowledgement form below.

I have read the Standard Operating Procedures document provided by the University Safety Office, as well as the Department’s Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Handbook. I understand the information provided within the documents and the importance of following these procedures to ensure a safe laboratory environment.

MM slash DD slash YYYY
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Certain research laboratories may have lab-specific standard operating procedures. These lab-specific SOPs should also be reviewed on an annual basis.

Emergency Protocols

Emergency Health Care and Emergency Incident Reporting

If you are injured while in a lab as a research or teaching assistant you are required to report to Occupational Health, located at C-160 of the Eastern H.S. Building.  At all other times, go to the Emergency Room of Union Memorial Hospital (two blocks east of the university at Calvert and 33rd Streets). Students may also contact the Chemistry Department Office, Remsen 138, 410-516-7429. Transportation will be made available during the working hours.

If you are injured at work, please notify your supervisor immediately and contact the Department of Occupational Health Services at 410-516-0450. Students will be required to complete and submit to the department an incident report. This report can be found on Occupational Health’s website.

If you observe conditions or practices you consider unsafe, contact the professor in charge of the laboratory course or research laboratory. Hazardous situations outside of a specific laboratory should be brought to the attention of the facilities manager, the safety officer, or the department chair.

Fire

Set off fire alarm (red box in corridor; note location). From a phone outside the fire area, call Security at 410-516-7777, 911 or dial 0.

Theft

Call Security at 410-516-7777 or 0 (operator). For non-emergencies dial 410-516-4600.

Serious Injury

Call Security at 410-516-7777, dial 0 (operator), or call 911.

Eye injury

Use eye wash fountains and call Security at 410-516-7777. Ask for an ambulance with eye wash service.

Poisoning

Call Security at 410-516-7777 and the Maryland Poison Control at 410-706-7701 or 1-800-222-1222.

Radioactivity

Call Mina Razavi at 410-516-7278 (office days only), and Security at 410-516-7777.

Hood Shutdown

Call the facilities manager at 410-516-7458, and Security at 410-516-7777.

What Is an Emergency?

Any incident that threatens the safety of students, faculty, and staff, or interferes significantly with the ability to provide educational and support services should be considered an emergency or crisis situation that requires immediate action by school administrators.

General Rules of Response

There are two simple guidelines to follow in the event of an emergency:

  • If the danger is outside, stay in the building
  • If the danger is inside, leave the building immediately.
  • In the event of an urgent life-threatening emergency (e.g., fire, explosion), all persons should immediately evacuate the premises. If possible, call Campus Security (6-7777), sound a fire alarm, and warn fellow workers, students, and others.

General Emergencies

Campus Security Office 6-7777. The Security Office will assist with the emergency and will call 911, if appropriate.