The University is committed to maintaining a healthy and safe environmental for learning, teaching and conducting research. Executive Order 55 gives authority to the Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) to conduct safety surveys and inspections in University teaching and research laboratories.
EH&S assists organizational units in meeting their responsibility to protect the environment and to provide a safe and healthful place for employment and learning.
Following the announcement of the Seattle Police Department’s preventable fire alarm initiative (that will result in fines for false alarms starting January 1, 2020), EH&S has fielded concerns about whether a fire alarm should be trigged when a fire is not present.
On December 9, 2019, EH&S hosted the Laboratory Safety Awards & Innovation Event to share new practices developed to enhance the culture of safety in UW research and teaching labs. Executive Director of Health Sciences Administration, Dave Anderson gave the opening speech, and Katia Harb, Senior Director of EH&S, gave the closing remarks. Research leaders presented innovations instated in their labs and departments to improve safety practices and safety training completion.
The University has over 950 active biosafety cabinets (BSCs), and about 150 have become obsolete due to safer design standards and the challenge of obtaining replacement parts. EH&S recommends replacing obsolete cabinets before they fail to minimize disruptions to research projects.
The following resources are available to assist with the purchase and replacement of BSCs:
There are multiple models of biological safety cabinets (BSCs) at the UW that Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) has identified as obsolete.
The University is implementing the Provost’s Task Force on Laboratory Safety’s recommendations to develop a more robust laboratory safety oversight and management program, particularly regarding chemical and physical hazards in research and teaching.
