The UW Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) provides services to our campus partners both remotely and on site to support critical work activities in accordance with the University’s COVID-19 Prevention Plan for the Workplace and EH&S's site-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plans.
View the slide presentation from the Graduate Student Safety Seminar on September 28, 2020.
Incoming graduate students working in laboratories or other research spaces with hazards at any UW campus location attended the 2020 Graduate Student Safety Seminar.
The seminar oriented new researchers to the University’s safety requirements, procedures and expectations, and informed them of safety resources and services available through EH&S. It was an opportunity to introduce new graduate students to the established strong culture of safety that will support them in creating a successful graduate career.
October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety policies and procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected biological research labs in many ways, from potential difficulties obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) and disinfectants to limiting how many people can work at a given time in a space. This year, EH&S would like labs to focus on creating or updating biosafety standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staying aware of how to work safely during COVID-19.
Does your research require the use of Aqua regia or Piranha solutions? These are two types of acidic washes used for very specific purposes and have very important workplace health and safety considerations.
On August 31, 2020, EH&S sent an email to biological researchers warning them to be aware of suspicious mail. Our local FBI shared with us reports of threatening mail being sent to COVID-19 researchers on the east coast of the U.S. Several local and national media outlets have since published news stories based on the email. The original email is included below.
