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Occupational Health Safety & Environment

Chemical safety

Chemical safety outlines the requirements and guidelines for handling or storing chemicals in laboratories or shops. Chemicals include but are not limited to solvents, gases, acids, bases, organic or inorganic compounds, metal powders, or buffers. The risks and hazards vary for each hazard class of chemical but the principles and requirements are universal. We provide training for identifying hazards through WHMIS, knowledge of handling and storage, and safe work procedures for specific chemicals with high risk hazards.

WHMIS

The purpose of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is to reduce injuries or diseases from hazardous materials used in the workplace. Every person working with or near controlled products is required to know the hazards and how to safely use them. WHMIS training is required every 3 years.

The three key components of this information system are:

  1. product labelling,
  2. safety data sheets (SDS),
  3. education and training is mandatory for all staff and faculty working with or near hazardous materials, and recommended for all personnel working in a laboratory environment. 

For more information, please contact Paraskevi Lagaditis or 250-721-8876.

TDG

Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG)

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDG) and its Regulations are designed to promote public safety (people, property and the environment) and security during the transportation of dangerous goods via air, road, rail and ship transport in Canada.

Any university personnel who ship, receive or transport dangerous goods must comply with all parts of the regulations that apply to their work. Anyone involved in TDG activities will require appropriate training on a regular basis.

For more information, please contact ohs@uvic.ca.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

The University of Victoria subscribes to a number of online databases related to Safety Data Sheets (SDS), available from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. These databases are available to all UVic faculty, staff and students.

Research labs and workplaces that handle and store hazardous materials must ensure a printed copy or electronic version of the SDS is readily available. SDSs should be reviewed at least every 3 years and replaced with the most recent revised SDS when applicable. When searching for an updated SDS from the database ensure you select an SDS from the same supplier and within 3 years of publication.

Please note: you may need to be logged in with VPN to access SDS. 

Search for SDS

Additional information is available from the following other databases:

Chemical inventories

WorkSafeBC requires employers to maintain an inventory of all hazardous substances at the workplace. The inventory must identify the physical state, location and approximate quantities of substances, including all controlled products regulated under WHMIS.

  • All labs are encouraged to review their chemical inventory on a regular basis to ensure compatible storage, proper labelling, removal of surplus or expired chemicals and to maintain current records in the event of an emergency. 
  • At minimum, each lab is required to update their full inventory annually through the online database. 
  • Each individual lab will be responsible to maintain their current inventory by adding all new chemical purchases or acquisitions to the database and deleting the item when a chemical has been used up.

For more information, please contact Troy Hasanen or 250-721-8875.

Chemical inventory database

Chemical storage

Many low risk chemicals, such as buffers, salts, and drying agents, can be stored in open laboratory work benches or shelving on the work benches. However, the majority of chemicals or dangerous materials found in laboratories must be stored in specialized types of storage units for safe storage when not in active use. 

  • It is not good practice to store all chemicals in alphabetical order by name but rather by hazard class.
  • Each chemical must be evaluated to determine where and how it should be stored according to chemical compatibility and manufacturers’ recommendations.
  • As a general rule, flammable or combustible liquids, toxic chemicals, explosive chemicals, oxidizing agents, corrosive chemicals, water-sensitive chemicals and compressed gases should be segregated from each other.

For more details, please refer to the chemical compatibility guidelines .

General chemical storage practices

  1. Do not store liquid chemicals above shoulder height. Lips or restraints on storage shelves are recommended to prevent bottles from falling off.
  2. Label storage areas and cabinets to identify hazard classification.
  3. Ensure chemical containers have proper WHMIS labels before storage.
  4. Flammable chemicals must be stored in flammable storage cabinets or storage rooms with only small quantities available for immediate use.
  5. Storage of chemicals on the floor should be avoided. If bottles are stored on the floor they are to be contained in a form of secondary containment.
  6. Excessive chemical storage in fume hoods is not acceptable; this practice interferes with the airflow in the fume hood.
  7. Stored chemicals must be in cool, dry areas and in some cases well ventilated. Please also refer to Chemical Handing & Storage Safety During Hot Weather.
  8. Chemical waste must be placed in the appropriate waste containers and segregated.
  9. Chemicals should be dated when received and any old chemicals must be disposed of through the hazardous waste system.

Flammable storage cabinets

In each laboratory, only 10 L of flammable and combustible liquid is permitted to be stored outside of a storage cabinet where only 5 L of the total amount can be a Class I liquid. Volume of flammable or combustible liquids above 10 L must be stored in closed containers within flammable storage cabinets.

Flammable cabinets are tested by the manufacturer to meet fire code and specific installation instructions are required to maintain conformance with the fire code.

  • At UVic, all flammable storage cabinets found underneath fume hoods are not vented as per recommended by BC Fire Code and US National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA).
  • The majority of free standing flammable storage cabinets at UVic are not vented.
  • A small number of free standing storage cabinets found on campus are vented, and are connected via static venting pipes which meet regulatory venting requirements; however, they are not truly effective in reducing odour build-up.
  • Odours can be reduced by improving housekeeping and placing strong odour chemicals in labelled second outer bottles.

Corrosive storage cabinets 

Corrosive storage cabinets are used to store corrosive material, in particular acids or bases. These cabinets are not tested to meet fire codes but are constructed of materials to resist corrosion and avoid incompatible materials that may cause generation of hazardous or flammable vapours. 

  • Bases and acids are incompatible chemicals and must never be stored together in the same corrosive storage cabinet but rather in separate cabinets dedicated to base or acid only. 
  • Where practical, keep organic and mineral acids separate within an acid cabinet using, for example, secondary containers. 
  • At UVic, corrosive cabinets are typically found underneath fume hoods and connected to the exhaust system to prevent build up of any acidic vapour of acid storage. 

Special hazards

Hazards in laboratories vary as greatly as the research being conducted or the techniques being used. Some hazardous materials present high risks that require special precautions for safe handling, storage and use.

Before starting work in a lab, individuals who use the hazardous materials described below should familiarize themselves with the safe work procedures and any lab-specific training. 

Physical hazards

Chemical hazards

For more information, please review special hazardous waste chemical disposal protocols.