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Chemical Safety

While the primary use of chemicals on campus is in laboratories, the use of chemicals generally speaking is broad enough for there to be chemical safety procedures for all spaces. For non-laboratory spaces, chemical users must abide by the Hazard Commuication Plan. Requirements for laboratory safety can be found in the Chemical Hygiene Plan. More specific guidance on lab safety in general, including chemical safety, can be found in the Laboratory Safety Manual. All spaces where chemicals are used or stored are required to submit chemical inventories by December 1 each year. Labs can accomplish this by completing their Chematix inventory. Non-lab areas use a template sent out by EHS during the fall of each year.

Chemical Hygiene Plan
Hazard Communication Plan
Chematix Login

Highly Hazardous Chemicals

Labs using Highly Hazardous Chemicals must have lab-specific procedures for working with these materials. Highly hazardous chemicals can be particularly hazardous substances (major health and/or environmental hazards) or major physical hazards. Some highly hazardous chemicals can be in both categories.

Particularly hazardous substances can be found in the link after the bulleted list below and include:

  • Select carcinogens
  • Acutely toxic chemicals
  • Reproductive toxins
  • Chemicals likely to cause undesirable biological effects
  • Chemicals that have not been categorized or do not have sufficient toxicity information available, but are suspected to be major health hazards due to their similarity to known chemicals that are major health hazards.
  • Substances the EPA has placed on the P-list, a list of chemicals deemed to be acutely toxic to the environment.

Particularly Hazardous Substances List

Major physical hazards can be found in the link after the bulleted list below and include:

  • Explosive Chemicals
  • Pyrophoric Chemicals
  • Water-Reactive Chemicals
  • Otherwise violently-reactive chemicals

Major Physical Hazards list

Procedures must be reviewed by all lab personnel and approved by EHS. EHS provides template standard operating procedures (SOPs) that should be used for any material on these lists.