Laboratory safety

The laboratory safety program provides guidance on the safe use of chemical agents in research and laboratories on campus. We provide training and information on the proper use, spill response storage and disposal of chemicals and other hazardous materials.

Laboratory supervisors

Laboratory supervisors are responsible for the health and safety of all personnel who work in their lab and regulatory compliance. The following resources have been developed to assist principal investigators and lab supervisors with their responsibilities and ensure compliance with WorkSafeBC and UVic health and safety requirements in research lab settings.

Working alone in labs

Working alone procedures must be in place if laboratory personnel, including faculty, staff, students and visitors, are working alone outside regular hours (8:30am-4:30pm M-F) or during regular hours but in areas with limited access. In all circumstances, lab personnel must have pre-approval from their supervisor to work alone.

Lab personnel are considered to be working alone during a time or in a location when assistance would not be readily available in case of emergency, injury or ill health. Readily available assistance is determined by considering the presence of others in the vicinity, awareness and willingness of others to provide assistance, and the timeliness of assistance that can be provided.

Principal investigators (P.I.) and lab supervisors are required to assess the risks of working alone in their lab space and develop working alone procedures and controls to eliminate or minimize the risk. These procedures must be reviewed annually by the relevant lab, or local safety committee for departmental protocols.

Lab inspections

WorkSafeBC requires the university to conduct regular inspections of workplaces at intervals that will prevent the development of unsafe working conditions. UVic is also required to conduct inspections of certain work areas or activities by other regulatory agencies. To meet these requirements, several groups and individuals on campus have a responsibility to carry out inspections.

Departments

Regular inspections are a departmental responsibility, coordinated by management or the supervisor of a particular unit, area, lab or facility. Each department or P.I. is required to conduct at least one formal, comprehensive self-inspection of their labs annually. It is expected that less formal inspections will also occur periodically to identify any hazards or issues that need to be addressed in a timely manner.

A Lab Self-Inspection Checklist has been developed to assist departments in identifying and correcting any potential safety issues and ensure compliance with WorkSafeBC. To complete a self-inspection:

review and answer all questions in section A of the checklist.
If departmental-specific items are required, please add them to section B.
Additional comments can be provided in section C.
Completed inspection checklists should be kept in the lab for review.

For any departmental self-inspection, the employer (manager/supervisor) should invite an employee representative of the LSC to participate, or an employee who works in the area and is knowledgeable about the activities.

OHSE

OHSE Consultants will conduct inspections of all labs annually, to supplement the self-inspection process, and to ensure any specialized inspections (e.g. biosafety, radiation, laser, etc.) are also completed. This ensures that higher risk areas are formally inspected at least twice annually.

Click here to access your OHSE laboratory inspections

Lab decommissioning

When a laboratory is vacated, (for example: retirement, renovation, change of research activities, etc) it must be left in a condition that is safe for new occupants or non-lab workers involved in renovations and/or removal of surplus equipment.

As part of this process and prior to vacating the lab, the lab owner or department must complete the:

laboratory decommissioning/ close-out form
decommissioning tag (if applicable)

Please ensure a copy of the signed form is sent to ohs@uvic.ca.

Fume hoods

WorkSafeBC Regulations mandate that the airflow and containment of fume hoods must be tested and certified:

after a new or relocated the fume hood is installed and before it is used
at least once in each 12 month period after installation
after any repair or maintenance that could affect the air flow of the hood

Fume hoods are the primary engineering control when working with hazardous materials in laboratories. A fume hood is a partially enclosed workspace intended to contain contaminants within the hood and then exhausted outside.

The three types of fume hoods on campus are conventional, high performance and variable air volume. Regardless of the type of fume hood, it is important to work within these fume hoods with the sash opened at the recommended operating height. Fume hoods are installed and calibrated to maintain the air velocity within regulatory requirements at the 38 cm opened sash height. Review the Fume Hood Guidelines for information and safe use.

When used properly, hazardous gases and vapors generated inside the hood are captured before they enter the breathing zone. This serves to minimize your exposure to airborne contaminants.

Annual testing of fume hoods for air flow and compliance with WorkSafeBC Regulations is coordinated by OHSE. If you suspect a problem with air flow or require more information, please contact Paraskevi Lagaditis or 250-721-8876.

Planned fume hood shutdown procedures
566KB PDF file

Lab safety alerts

Many common hazards at different risk levels are found among research laboratories.

These alerts serve as a learning tool for lab personnel and students to review incidents, the underlying causes, and learning outcomes to work safely within laboratories.