The 2025 Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovations Event was held on December 9, 2025.
Guest speakers included Provost Tricia Serio, Phillip Cox, Program Manager for the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, David Giblin, Herbarium Collections Manager for the Burke Museum, and Tasha Ritchie, Laboratory Safety Coordinator for the School of Pharmacy.
Please join us in congratulating our 2025 awards recipients and innovators!
This template can help establish clear expectations and responsibilities health and safety in the event UW personnel or students request to use your laboratory for student work or a capstone project.
The Teaching Laboratory Risk Assessment Tool (Teaching Lab R.A.T) provides a framework for risk assessment of work done in teaching laboratories.
This tool provides a format for responsible parties and personnel to systematically identify and control hazards to reduce risk of injuries and incidents.
Review the Teaching Lab R.A.T. Guidelines for further details.
If you are partially or completely vacating your laboratory for remodeling, relocation or closure, you are required to leave it clean and safe. By following safe practices, we can help prevent exposures and maintain the health and safety of everyone in our workspaces.
Moveout notice
The Environmental Health & Safety Boating Safety Program created two new resources to help UW personnel identify and reduce the risk of drowning while working on, over, or alongside water. These resources are designed to prioritize the safety of UW personnel and clarify guidance from Washington State Department of Labor & Industries regarding the selection, use, and maintenance of personal flotation devices (PFDs) to protect workers when drowning hazards exist in the workplace.
What is my responsibility to prevent drowning?
Are you responsible for a teaching lab that uses chemicals, biological materials, or hazardous equipment? Download new and updated resources to support safe and effective teaching lab operations.
New resources
Teaching Laboratories Risk Assessment Tool & Guidelines
Flammable materials storage
Cold storage of flammable materials, including chemicals, requires a refrigerator or freezer that is explosion-proof or intended for storage of flammable materials. Refer to the updated Laboratory Refrigerators and Freezers For Flammable Materials focus sheet for guidance on storing flammables safely.
Lab housekeeping
Looking for a way to document all in-house trainings in your laboratory? EH&S’s Laboratory-Specific Safety Training Record template is customizable and covers the required elements of safety training for researchers. It can be stored in paper or electronic format to meet compliance requirements.
Areas with hazardous materials can post the Emergency Procedures Flip Chart to be prepared in case of an emergency.
In December 2024, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to protect workers, the public, and the environment from the risks of trichloroethylene (TCE) exposure. While certain portions of the rule are currently under legal review, most of its requirements are still expected to go into effect starting on September 15, 2025.