Overview
The UW-Madison Chemical Safety Office works with the campus Chemical Safety Committee to establish policies, related to safe handling, storage and disposal of chemicals on campus. The Chemical Safety Office also helps chemical users develop best practices to comply with federal, state, and local chemical and environmental safety laws.
Visit the Office of Chemical Safety’s website for resources to develop your laboratory chemical hygiene plan, staff training opportunities and chemical safety office contacts.
Guidelines
Working safely with hazardous chemicals takes planning. It is important to work with chemicals in a manner that reduces risk, but be prepared to respond to an unexpected incident.
Chemical safety program for laboratory environments
Identify hazards by completing the laboratory emergency information card, which is critical to first responders. Keep this up to date.
Prepare a laboratory-specific chemical hygiene plan.
Keep a laboratory-specific inventory of all chemicals include the amounts, when purchased and expiration dates. Remove all expired or unused materials to prevent clutter and reduce risk of chemical reactions due to aging of materials. Assistance with chemical pickup is available through the chemical safety office.
Need help preparing a chemical hygiene plan or inventory? You can request a chemical safety laboratory visit by reviewing the instructions at EHS.
Hazard communication program for non-laboratory environments
This program is for units that work with or use hazardous chemicals in vivariums, maintenance shops, custodial operations, etc. The hazard communication program includes a chemical inventory, labeling, safety data sheets (SDS), a written program and employee training. View detailed hazard communication information
Worker protection standard for pesticide handlers and agricultural workers
Please see the UW-Madison Pesticide Use Policy and the EPA Worker Protection Standard (WPS) guidance documents for more information.
Training
In-person training provided by the chemical safety office staff is available for workers in laboratory environments with hazardous materials. See information for the chemical safety training and other training courses available for non-lab employees: fume hood use, hazardous chemical shipping/transportation and hazard communications.
Resources
The Chemical Safety Office website provides a laboratory safety guide that includes MSDS info and requests, a newsletter and forms.
View a liquid nitrogen safety video from Northwestern University.