Chemicals are used in laboratories, maker spaces, shops and other areas across campus. Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) provides information and guidance on safe practices for handling, storing, transporting and disposing of hazardous chemicals.
Safe use guidelines
Biotoxins
Visit the Biotoxin Safety page to learn how to safely handle biotoxins and for details about regulatory oversight for certain biotoxins.
Chemicals
- Anesthetic Gases
- Chemotherapy and Other Hazardous Drugs
- Compressed gases and cryogenic fluids
- Crystalline Silica
- Dry Ice
- Hydrofluoric Acid
- Formaldehyde, Formalin, Paraformaldehyde, Safe Work Practices
- Guidelines for Peroxide Forming Chemicals
- Lead
- Mercury
- Nanoparticle Research
- Nitric Acid Safety
- Particularly Hazardous Substances
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
EH&S provides guidance and information for the safe management of specific chemicals. If you are seeking information about a specific chemical, compound or category that is not listed, please contact EH&S for a consultation.
Chemical Hygiene Plan
UW personnel and students are required to follow a Chemical Hygiene Plan when working in areas where chemicals are present.
- Laboratories use the UW Laboratory Safety Manual and standard operating procedures (SOPs) as their Chemical Hygiene Plan.
- All other workspaces where chemicals are present follow the requirements of the Chemical Hazard Communication Program.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
A standard operating procedure are step-by-step instructions to help personnel perform specific tasks and work processes, ensuring consistent quality and compliance with safety standards and best practices.
If you operate a chemical laboratory, you must have standard operating procedures (SOPs) that describe the safety measures for using, storing, and disposing of chemicals in your lab.
Visit the Chemical SOPs page for templates and a list of required elements you can refer to when developing your SOPs.
Additional resources
Environmental Health & Safety provides the following resources for University personnel working in areas where chemicals are present.
Container labels
If you transfer a chemical into a secondary container, it must be labeled correctly to ensure workers are aware of its contents and hazards associated with the chemicals.
Fumes
A fume hood (or biosafety cabinet) is used when working with toxic compounds to prevent exposure to chemical fumes.
MyChem
Use MyChem to record and update your chemical inventory, exchange chemicals with other users, and download the safety data sheet for a specific chemical.
Emergency response and reporting incidents
Call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
If a spill occurs, follow the instructions on the Hazardous Material Spills page.
if an exposure has occurred, follow the instructions on the Exposure Response Poster.
Reporting
UW personnel are required to submit an incident report to Environmental Health & Safety for any work-related event that results in an injury, illness, exposure to hazardous materials, or fire, regardless of the work location.
UW personnel are highly encouraged to submit work-related near-miss events. Visit the Incident Reporting page for more information.