Lab Safety Training

Lab Safety

Lab Safety Training

Environmental Health and Safety provides regular training programs for UCCS faculty, staff and students. These classes are mandatory for those who handle, manage or come into contact with potentially hazardous materials. To schedule training, or ask if training is required for you, please call 255-3212 or e-mail cnorton@uccs.edu

Before entering a laboratory, all new laboratory employees, including teaching assistants, must receive training on the hazards (chemical, physical, etc.) they will encounter in their work area. The specific training required is clarified below.

Departmental Oversight of Student Safety

Departments with teaching laboratories should periodically conduct self-evaluations to ensure teaching assistants are enforcing safety rules and students are complying with them. These evaluations should be documented, as should any discrepancies found and steps taken to correct them.

 

Lab Safety Training for Research

All faculty, staff or other parties who work or volunteer in a research lab with hazardous materials are required to have an initial lab safety training and an annual refresher training. EHS offers a classroom course each fall prior to the start of the school year or you may take the on-line course.  EHS recommends the classroom version since they are geared to each specific discipline (biology, chemistry, engineering, etc.). 

Refresher classes offered online are specific to your role at the University.

Initial Lab Safety Training for Researchers

Annual Refresher for PIs and Researchers
Lab Safety Training for Instructors / Assistants in Teaching Labs-Shops-Studios

All faculty, staff or other parties who work or volunteer as instructors or assistants in a teaching lab/shop/studio with hazardous materials are required to have an initial lab safety training and an annual refresher training. EHS offers a classroom course each fall prior to the start of the school year or you may take the on-line course.  EHS recommends the classroom version since they are geared to each specific discipline (biology, chemistry, engineering, anatomy & physiology, art, etc.). 

Refresher classes offered online are specific to your role at the University.

Initial Lab Safety Training for Instructors (except Anatomy & Physiology)

Initial Lab Safety Training for Anatomy & Physiology

Annual Refresher for TA and Instructors (except Anatomy & Physiology)

Annual Refresher for Anatomy & Physiology
 

Work Area Specific Training

Work area specific training is provided by the principal investigator, laboratory manager and/or laboratory supervisor. This training should focus on the specific hazards in the employee's work area, such as chemical hazards, equipment hazards, biological hazards, etc. Work area specific training should also include the location of MSDSs, the proper use of personal protective equipment, the location and proper use of safety equipment (fume hoods, biological safety cabinets, etc.), the location and use of emergency equipment (showers, eyewashes, fire extinguishers, spill kits, etc.), and the proper response to emergency situations (fires, chemical spills, etc.).

Training should also be provided for new hazards that are introduced into the work area. If new information becomes available for an existing hazard, additional training on that information should be provided.
Training Documentation

Employee safety training must be documented and records maintained for at least five years. Completion of the Introduction to Laboratory Safety Training classroom and/or online course is documented in EHS. A Laboratory Safety Training Record is provided to each person who completes the classroom course. A copy of this record should be maintained in the employee's personnel records. This document lists the specific topics covered in the training and is the document which state auditors will ask for as proof that Laboratory Safety Training has been provided to the employee.

Documentation of Work Area Specific Training should include the date of training, specific topics covered, the name of the person providing the training, and the signature of the trainee. The employees initial On-the-Job training can be documented on the OJT form. This form walks a supervisor/PI through the items which need to be reviewed with each new employee.
 

Student Training

Students enrolled in Laboratory Courses will receive appropriate safety information and instruction if class work involves hazardous chemicals; the instructor or class supervisor will provide this training. Generally for Biology and Chemistry students this training is provided through Canvas. Please check with Brent Wallace (biology) or Brett Mayer (chemistry) on how to access this training.

For students in engineering or the arts, please check with the lab coordinators or your instructor in those areas regarding safety training available.

Students who do not complete the required training within a reasonable time period shall not be permitted in the laboratory. Students who are doing volunteer work in professor's labs are treated as "employees" and require the same training as paid staff.  Refer to the appropriate type training for research or instruction.

Instruction on safe and proper use of laboratory equipment should also be provided to students as needed. 
Training for Non-UCCS Members

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs requires anyone working or volunteering in a research lab to complete appropriate safety training.  If you are member of the UCCS community with access to CANVAS, please complete your training there; otherwise, you may complete your training here.