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Scope, Regulations, Minimum Standards

Scope
Regulations
Minimum Standards

The purpose of our Laboratory Chemical Hygiene Plan (LCHP) is to develop and implement a program which defines the minimum standards necessary to avoid personnel exposure to hazardous chemicals through eye, skin, inhalation, and ingestion. Laboratories are unique operations in that in many cases a large number of small quantities of materials are used. This program serves to address this uniqueness.

Scope

The LCHP shall apply to all employees at Union College who handle or use hazardous chemicals in quantities designated as laboratory scale.

Regulations

The regulatory reference that applies to this program is the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories Standard, issued under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and which is published in the Federal Register 29CFR 1910.1450.

1. The effective date of this Standard is May 1, 1990 and revised 1998

2. The Standard requires that our LCHP be implemented no later than January 1, 1991.

Minimum Standards

1. The LCHP must be accessible to all employees during their regular working hours.

2. It is the responsibility of each laboratory employee to know the requirements of the LCHP and to abide by them.

3. Each laboratory employee shall be notified of the existence and location of the LCHP through information sessions or verbally as described in the section on the posted document, "Employee Information".

4. The LCHP is to be reviewed annually by the Chemical Hygiene Officer or one who holds that responsibility.

5. It is the ultimate responsibility of each employee to assure their own safety. The supervisor of employees conducting an analysis or experiment must assure that performance of the task does not represent undue risk to the individual performing the work.

6. Monitoring for personnel exposure to hazardous chemicals shall be performed in accordance with the monitoring requirements of existing regulatory requirements as applicable.

7. Training of all who use the chemical laboratories will be conducted periodically as described in   the LCHP Training section. No one may use the laboratories until they have attended at least one training session. Non-employees must receive this annually.

8. Medical evaluation/monitoring will be available at no cost to employees in accordance with the Medical Monitoring/Evaluation section of the LCHP.

9. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be made available in accordance with the Union College Hazard Communication Program.

10. Hazard Communication Program. Labels for materials that are generated in the laboratory must indicate the contents of the container in such a manner as to allow for reference to any safety and health precaution available.

11. Temporary or contract personnel who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals as part of their normal duties must comply with the requirements of the OSHA Laboratory Safety Standard and all safety rules and regulations for that particular laboratory.

12. The "General Safety Rules for Laboratory Work" are listed in Appendix B of this LCHP.

13. The minimum facilities required for laboratories shall include those listed in the "Minimum Facilities" section of this LCHP.

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