Use and Storage of Potentially Hazardous/Bio-hazardous Material

Use and Storage of Potentially Hazardous Material

1. Special training.  All users that make use of chemicals for studies in the IRC must complete the training provided by the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Environment, Health and Safety regarding hazard communication, laboratory safety, and hazardous material disposal (at the time of writing, these classes are designated OH 101, OH 201 and OH 202, respectively).  Depending on the nature of the specific chemicals used, specialized training might also be required as dictated by the director and operations administrator.

2. Chemical storage and disposal.  All chemicals stored at the IRC must be kept in suitable containers and cabinetry.  All chemicals stored at the IRC must be registered with the operations administrator, and copies of the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be kept both in a yellow binder close to the storage location and in the files of the operation administrator.  The laboratory binder of MSDSs must be placed conspicuously for ease of access.  Disposal of all chemicals should adhere to all applicable regulatory and statutory rules.

3. BLS storage.  (Bio-level safety) Storage of any BLS-classified materials shall be allowed only in rooms and refrigerators/freezers that have been duly designated as appropriate for such use.  These facilities will be clearly labeled as described in §IID5.  Any user planning to work with BLS-classified material (e.g. saliva, blood, other bodily fluids) shall notify the Operations Administrator with a written description of the collection, storage, emergency, and disposal procedures.  After those procedures have been approved by both the OA and Environmental Health Services, they will be appended to the IRC’s BLS procedures (kept on file by the OA), and the user(s) shall sign a document stating that they will follow them.