Laboratory Safety (Lab)

OSHAs laboratory health standard (Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (CFR 1910.1450)) requires employers of laboratory employees to implement exposure control programs and convey chemical health and safety information to laboratory employees working with hazardous materials.

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Safeguards will protect laboratory workers from unsafe conditions in the vast majority of situations. There are instances, however, when the physical and chemical properties, the proposed use, the quantity used for a particular purpose or the toxicity of a substance will be such that either additional, or fewer, controls might be appropriate to protect the laboratory worker. Professional judgment is essential in the interpretation of these standard operating procedures, and individual laboratories may modify these procedures to meet their specific uses and operational needs.

Chemical Hygiene Plan

Where hazardous chemicals are used in the workplace the employer must develop and carry out the provisions of a written Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP). The CHP must include the necessary work practices, procedures and policies to ensure that employees are protected from all potentially hazardous chemicals in use in their work area. The plan must be available to employees, to employee representatives.

Employee Training and Information

Employers must provide employees with information and training to ensure that they are aware of the hazards of the chemicals present in their work area. This information must be provided at the time of an employee's initial assignment to a work area where hazardous chemicals are present and prior to assignments involving new exposure situations.  Employees must be informed of:

the contents of the OSHA standard and its appendices must be made available to them

the location and availability of the employer's Chemical Hygiene Plan

the permissible exposure limits for OSHA regulated substances or recommended exposure limits for other hazardous chemicals where there is no applicable OSHA standard

signs and symptoms associated with exposures to hazardous chemicals used in the laboratory

the location and availability of known reference material on the hazards, safe handling, storage and disposal of hazardous chemicals found in the laboratory including, but not limited to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) received from chemical suppliers.