Chapter 1 – Introduction

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Purpose

This Laboratory Safety Plan (LSP) describes policies, procedures, equipment, personal protective equipment and work practices that are capable of protecting employees from the health hazards in laboratories. This Plan is intended to meet the requirements of both the federal Laboratory Safety Standard, formally known as "Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories", a copy of which is found in Appendix A, and the Minnesota Employee Right To Know Act (MERTKA).

 

This LSP is intended to safely limit laboratory workers' exposure to OSHA- and MERTKA-regulated substances. Laboratory workers must not be exposed to substances in excess of the permissible exposure limits (PEL) specified in OSHA rule 29 CFR 1910, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances. PELs for regulated substances are provided in Appendix B. PELs refer to airborne concentrations of substances and are averaged over an eight-hour day. A few substances (listed under Individual Chemical Standard in the Federal column in Appendix C) also have "action levels". Action levels are air concentrations below the PEL which nevertheless require that certain actions such as medical surveillance and workplace monitoring take place.

 

MERTKA requires employers to evaluate their workplaces for the presence of hazardous substances, harmful physical agents, and infectious agents and to provide training to employees concerning those substances or agents to which employees may be exposed. Written information on agents must be readily accessible to employees or their representatives. Employees have a conditional right to refuse to work if assigned to work in an unsafe or unhealthful manner with a hazardous substance, harmful physical agent or infectious agent. Labeling requirements for containers of hazardous substances and equipment or work areas that generate harmful physical agents are also included in MERTKA.

 

An employee's workplace exposure to any regulated substance must be monitored if there is reason to believe that the exposure will exceed an action level or a PEL. If exposures to any regulated substance routinely exceed an action level or permissible exposure level there must also be employee medical exposure surveillance.

 

2. Scope and Application

The laboratories at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research are covered by this Laboratory Safety Plan.  The Laboratory Safety Standard applies where 'laboratory use' of hazardous chemicals occurs. Laboratory use of hazardous chemicals means handling or use of such chemicals in which all of the following conditions are met:

i.         the handling or use of chemicals occurs on a 'laboratory scale', that is, the work involves containers which can easily and safely be manipulated by one person,

ii.       multiple chemical procedures or chemical substances are used, and

iii.      protective laboratory practices and equipment are available and in common use to minimize the potential for employee exposures to hazardous chemicals.

At a minimum, this definition covers employees (including student employees, technicians, supervisors, lead researchers and physicians) who use chemicals in teaching, research and clinical laboratories at the University of Minnesota. Certain non-traditional laboratory settings may be included under this standard at the option of individual departments within the University. Also, it is the policy of the University that

 

laboratory students, while not legally covered under this standard, will be given training commensurate with the level of hazard associated with their laboratory work.

 

This standard does not apply to laboratories whose function is to produce commercial quantities of material. Also, where the use of hazardous chemicals provides no potential for employee exposure, such as in procedures using chemically impregnated test media and commercially prepared test kits, this standard will not apply. The CMRR researchers listed in the following table are covered by this Laboratory Safety Plan.

 

Principal Investigator  Bldg    Room #   Primary Area of Research       Primary Research Hazard

                                   

  Wei Chen                   CMRR    132A     imaging oxidative metabolism         High magnetic fields              

                                                                                                               Sched 2, 3N                         

  Michael Garwood      CMRR    109       animal model to study response     High magnetic fields                   

                                                                                    to taxotere                                  Sched 2, 5                           

  Rolf Gruetter              CMRR     132A     biomed on brain metabolism       High magnetic fields             

                                                               & neurochemistry                       Sched 2                                

  Geoffrey Ghose          CMRR    149       learning & cognition in visual       High magnetic fields; Zoonotic

                                                               cortex                                         diseases (e.g. Herpes B)

                                                                                                               Sched 2, 3                           

  Dae-Shik Kim             CMRR    118       animal model-visualization,         High magnetic fields

                                                               function & connectivity of brain    Sched 2, 3, 3N, 5

  Kamil Ugurbil            CMRR     116       animal model for oxidative           High magnetic fields

                                                               metabolism in heart myocardium  Sched 2, 3N, 4                     

  J Thomas Vaughan    CMRR     147       animal model for human              High magnetic fields

                                                               safety                                       Sched 2, 3N, 4                     

 

 

3. Coordination with Other Standards and Guidelines

The Laboratory Safety Standard and MERTKA address occupational safety issues. Other federal, state and local standards that address use of hazardous chemicals and other materials are listed in Appendix C.  Note particularly the listed chemicals with individual standards in the ‘Federal’ column, since these compounds generally have action limits (usually set at half the TLV), air monitoring requirements, and medical monitoring requirements.  If a researcher is using one of these chemicals, or in the unlikely event that there is a conflict between provisions of various standards, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety should be contacted.

 

4. Responsibilities

Implementation of the Laboratory Safety Standard at the University is a shared responsibility. Employees, supervisors, Research Safety Officers, department heads, deans, upper administrative staff, and DEHS staff all have roles to play. These roles are outlined below.

 

A.      President, Vice Presidents, Provosts and Chancellors (Central Administration)

Upper level administrators are responsible for:

 

·         promoting the importance of safety in all activities;

·         promoting the same attitude among all levels of employment at the University;

·         supporting a broad-based laboratory safety/chemical hygiene program that will protect U of MN laboratory employees from health effects associated with hazardous chemical, physical or biological agents; and

·         ensuring that deans, directors and department heads provide adequate time and recognition for employees who are given laboratory safety responsibilities.

Performance will be measured by:

·         DEHS's documentation and annual reporting of the level of compliance within each of the reporting units.

 

B.         Deans, Directors and Department Heads

              - Medical School Dean:  Deborah Powell and Sr Assoc Dean:  Charles Moldow

              - Radiology Dept Chair:  Charles A. Dietz

              - CMRR Director:             Kamil Ugurbil

 

DDDs are responsible for:

·         identifying at least one technically-qualified research safety officer for the unit. (Colleges or institutes that are made up of a number of large laboratory-based departments are urged to assign research safety officers within each department. Large departments may assign one research safety officer for each division);

·         transmitting the name of the designated research safety officer to the U of MN's Chemical Hygiene Officer;

·         ensuring that the designated research safety officer is adequately trained regarding the roles and responsibilities of the position;

·         ensuring that the designated research safety officer modifies this generic Laboratory Safety Plan to incorporate location-specific information;

·         ensuring that the designated research safety officer reviews and evaluates the tailored LSP at least annually, and submits a copy of the modified plan to the Chemical Hygiene Officer for approval;

·         taking appropriate measures to assure that college/department/division activities comply with University and OSHA laboratory safety policies;

Performance will be measured by:

·         DEHS's record of a trained, research safety officer for the unit.

·         DEHS's record of a current, tailored Laboratory Safety Plan for the unit.

 

C.         Department of Environmental Health and Safety (DEHS)

The Chemical Hygiene Officer for the University is Dawn Errede, and the entire DEHS staff will participate in providing resources for departments in the development of their individual health and safety programs. The Department of Environmental Health and Safety is responsible for:

·         preparing and updating the University's generic Laboratory Safety Plan;

·         distributing the LSP to departments or other units who will tailor and implement the plan;

·         training designated departmental research safety officers regarding compliance with the laboratory safety standard;

·         monitoring the progress of departments toward achieving compliance.

Performance will be measured by

·         DEHS's documentation that review and evaluation of the generic LSP occurs at least annually, updates as necessary;

·         annual feedback to DDDs regarding DEHS's records of lab safety officer training and current LSP s within the units;

 

 

D.         Research Safety Officer

            The CMRR RSO is Jeramy Kulesa.

 

The RSO’s Roles and Responsibilities are described in greater detail in the RSO Toolkit (http://www.dehs.umn.edu/training/rso/roles.shtml).  Briefly, the RSO will:

·         serve as liaison between employing department and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety;

·         know the rules, to help researchers comply with applicable state, federal and university requirements;

·         develop and implement a Laboratory Safety Plan for the department;

·         coordinate training to ensure all researchers understand their responsibilities and the policies that apply to their research.

·         coordinate inspections of laboratories and ensure laboratory supervisors address any noted deficiencies;

·         keep records to document compliance with state, federal and university requirements.

            Performance will be measured by DEHS's documentation that:

·         review and evaluation of the tailored LSP occurs at least annually;

·         the research safety officer's personal training records are current.

 

E.         Supervisors/Principal Investigators

The immediate supervisor of a laboratory employee is responsible for:

·         assuring that potential hazards of specific projects have been identified and addressed before work is started;

·         ensuring there are written, laboratory-specific standard operating procedures for the protocols carried out in the laboratory that incorporate directions about how to mitigate the hazards of the procedures.

·         informing and training employees regarding the specific hazards in their area and in the work they will be doing;

·         scheduling time for the employee to attend designated training sessions;

·         enforcing U of MN safety policies and safe work practices;

·         conducting periodic audits of the research space under the supervisors control;

·         reporting hazardous conditions to the college or departmental research safety officer;

·         investigate laboratory accidents and send an Accident Investigation Worksheet (Appendix N) with recommendations to the departmental research safety officer for review.

Performance will be measured by:

·         home department's documentation of current, pertinent safety training for the supervisor and each employee in the supervisor's group;

·         home department's documentation of regular audits for laboratory space under the control of the supervisor.

 

F.         Employee

Employees who have significant responsibility for directing their own laboratory work are responsible for assuring that potential hazards of specific projects have been identified and addressed before work is started. All laboratory employees however, are responsible for:

·         attending safety training sessions;

·         following safety guidelines applicable to the procedures being carried out;

·         assuring that required safety precautions are in place before work is started; and

·         reporting hazardous conditions as they are discovered.

Performance will be measured by:

·         supervisor's assessment of employee's adherence to topics covered in safety training.


 

Chapter 2 - Standard Operating Procedures

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

As noted in Chapter 1, Principal Investigators are responsible for ensuring there are written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the research protocols conducted in their area.  The SOPs must identify the hazards of the protocol, as well as measures to be taken to mitigate those hazards.  The references listed below may provide enough detail to serve as the SOPs for some research protocols.  Others

 

1. Chemical Procedures

   

     A. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory

 

Laboratory standard operating procedures found in Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals (National Research Council, 1995) are adopted for general use at the University of Minnesota. Departmental Research Safety Officers have hard copies of this text, and the entire contents are accessible on the web. Note especially the following topics which are covered in Chapters 5 and 6 of Prudent Practices:

 

Chapter 5 Working with Chemicals

·         Introduction

·         Prudent Planning

·         General Procedures for Working with Hazardous Chemicals

·         Working with Substances of High Toxicity

·         Working with Biohazardous and Radioactive Materials

·         Working with Flammable Chemicals

·         Working with Highly Reactive or Explosive Chemicals

·         Working with Compressed Gases

 

Chapter 6 Working with Laboratory Equipment

·         Introduction

·         Working with Water-Cooled Equipment

·         Working with Electrically Powered Laboratory Equipment

·         Working with Compressed Gases

·         Working with High/Low Pressures and Temperatures

·         Using Personal Protective, Safety, and Emergency Equipment

·         Emergency Procedures

 

 

B. The American Chemical Society's "Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories"

 

ACS’s "Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories" another useful text. This manual presents information similar to that found in Prudent Practices, but in a considerably condensed format.

 

C. Hazardous Waste Management

 

Extensive and detailed policies regarding hazardous waste management are specified in the University's guidebook "Hazardous Chemical Waste Management, 5th edition”. Please refer to this text for approved waste handling procedures.

 

D. Emergency Procedures for Chemical Spills

 

The procedures listed below are intended as a resource for your department in preparing for emergencies before they happen. If you are currently experiencing an emergency such as a chemical or blood spill, please contact the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at 612-626-6002.

 

Complete spill response procedures are described in the Hazardous Chemical Waste Management guidebook (http://www.dehs.umn.edu/guidebook/guidebook3.html). However, the quick reference guide is included for convenience in this Laboratory Safety Plan.

 

Quick Reference Guide

 

Evacuate

·         Leave the spill area; alert others in the area and direct/assist them in leaving.

·         Without endangering yourself: remove victims to fresh air, remove contaminated clothing and flush contaminated skin and eyes with water for 15 minutes. If anyone has been injured or exposed to toxic chemicals or chemical vapors, call 911 and seek medical attention immediately.

 

Confine

·         Close doors and isolate the area. Prevent people from entering spill area.

 

Report

·         From a safe place, call the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) (612) 626-6002 during working hours, 911 after hours (Twin Cities Campus 911 operators will contact on-call EHS personnel).

·         Report that this is an emergency and give your name, phone and location; location of the spill; the name and amount of material spilled; extent of injuries; safest route to the spill.

·         Stay by that phone, EHS will advise you as soon as possible.

·         EHS or the Fire Department will clean up or stabilize spills, which are considered high hazard (fire, health or reactivity hazard). In the case of a small spill and low hazard situation, EHS will advise you on what precautions and protective equipment to use.

 

Secure

·         Until emergency response personnel arrive: block off the areas leading to the spill, lock doors, post signs and warning tape, and alert others of the spill.

·         Post staff by commonly used entrances to the area to direct people to use other routes.

 

After an accident, supervisor(s) must complete and fax in reporting forms within 24 hours. Workers' Compensation policy and reporting forms are available on the web (Appendix J).

 

2. Biohazardous Procedures

 

At the University of Minnesota, researchers must follow the policies in the CDC/NIH text, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 4th Edition, May 1999. A copy of this text is available on the web at http://bmbl.od.nih.gov/.  Another useful reference is the National Research Council’s text “Biosafety in  the  Laboratory:  Prudent Practices for Handling and Disposal of Infectious Materials” (1989),  available on the

 web at   http://books.nap.edu/books/0309039754/html/R1.html#pagetop.

In addition, researchers working with biological materials must acquaint themselves with the policies of the university’s Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), which are on the web at

 

http://www.ibc.umn.edu/homepg.html.  The IBC is charged under Federal Regulations and Regents’ Policy with the oversight of all teaching and research activities involving:

 

 

If the research involves work with any of 31 infectious agents or 12 biological toxins (federally designated as Select Agents), follow the procedures outlined in the Select Agent section of the IBC Web page (http://www.ibc.umn.edu/select.html).

 

 

 

3. Radioactive Procedures

All researchers using radioactive materials at the University of Minnesota must:

 

·         contact the Radiation Protection Division;

·         obtain a permit for the possession and use of radioactive materials;

·         complete required training modules; and

·         comply with the radiation policies and procedures of the university (contained in the Radiation  Protection manual).

 

The Radiation Protection manual contains information on a number of topics including license committees, the permitting process, purchasing procedures, transfer procedures, general safety, personnel dosimetry, waste management, emergency management (spill control), record keeping, and regulatory guides (declared pregnancy workers, risks from ionizing radiation exposure).

 

Initial training is required for all personnel who are authorized to access radiation areas. Training tapes can be viewed in Minneapolis in the Learning Resources Center (LRC) at the Biomedical Library in Diehl Hall, in the St. Paul Library LRC, and at the UMD Library LRC. After viewing the tapes, users fill out a questionnaire and then recieve specific, on-site training required by permit holder (trainer).

 

4. General Safety Procedures

Other University of Minnesota Policies for Safe Practices in Laboratories are accessible in Appendix E of this laboratory safety plan.

 

Lab Safety

 

·