日韩无码

Academic and Research Health and Safety Roles and Responsibilities

日韩无码 is committed to supporting the safety, health, and welfare of our campus community.

University of Vermont Goals

[To] realize our vision to be among the nation鈥檚 premier small research universities, we must take these actions.

  • Promoting a culture of advancing academic excellence and cultivating talent
  • Instilling an institutional commitment to efficiency and effectiveness that optimizes the use of facilities, technology, assets, and shared services

"An overarching goal is to ensure those individuals who develop and hone their scientific research skills within [our] academic research laboratories leave this university with the understanding that safety is a primary and core value in [our research] activities and that these individuals will embrace and promote those safety culture values throughout their professional careers."

- Stanford University Advancing Safety Culture in the University Laboratory

Workplace Health and Safety Responsibilities

The elimination or reduction of accident-related illness, injury, and property and environmental damage is a cooperative effort and an important one. Only if safety is practiced by all can the university meet these obligations and provide a safe and healthy environment for members of this community.

To successfully achieve 日韩无码's goal of Academic Excellence, individual members of our campus community must understand their roles and accept responsibility as described in 日韩无码 policies and plans. These are summarized in the links on this page. Please use the resource of 日韩无码's to increase your personal awareness and minimize your risk for injury both on and off campus.

We look to all members of the University community to do their part in helping to meet this goal.

"Scholarly excellence and responsible conduct of research includes safety as a critical component."

- APLU Guide

Roles and Responsibilities

President and Provost

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Health and Safety Responsibilities: Campus Administrators

"A safe campus environment is a right of employment for all categories of employees. A safe campus learning environment is a right of all involved in education and research."

- APLU Guide

President's and Provost's Responsibilities

The President and Provost are responsible for:

  • Supporting the overall effectiveness and implementation of the University's environmental health and safety programs.
  • Committing the University to a culture of excellence and safety; and
  • Designating leadership to establish, maintain, and improve this culture.

Deans and Vice Presidents

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Vice Presidents' and Deans' Responsibilities

The Vice Presidents and Deans are responsible for:

  • Supporting and encouraging a culture of safety and the use of best practices in laboratory protocols and procedures,
  • Ensuring that such practices are implemented and enforced in academic and administrative units for which they are responsible,
  • Ensuring that departments have the resources necessary to adequately mitigate risks, and
  • Communicating with Chairs and Directors about environmental health and safety responsibilities and programs that need to be implemented within their departments.

Chairs and Directors

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Department Chairs and Directors are responsible for:

  • Supporting and encouraging a culture of safety and the use of best practices in protocols and procedures,
  • Communicating to to those charged with supervision that health, safety, and a concern for the environment are requirements at 日韩无码,
  • Communicating that everyone shares in the obligation to perform work in a safe, healthful, and environmentally protective manner, and
  • Ensuring and enforcing that environmental health and safety responsibilities are carried out in the academic departments or administrative units for which they are responsibile.

Delegation

Directors and Chairs may entrust the details of program implementation to department faculty, staff, department safety officers, or other appropriate persons within the department or unit; however, the responsibility for implementing these programs at the academic department/administrative unit level remains with the Directors and Chairs.

Supervisors (and Managers)

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This category includes department chairs, faculty and other employees with direct oversight of University activities.

General Responsibilities

  • Communicate to employees, contractors, students and visitors that safety, health, and concern for the environment are values of 日韩无码 and that everyone shares the obligation to work in a safe, healthy and environmentally protective manner.
  • Analyze work procedures to identify hazards; and to make sure measures are implemented to eliminate or minimize those hazards; and document that hazard assessment.
  • Provide information about workplace hazards and safety and health related procedures to employees, contractors, students and visitors, and document that training.
  • Supply the proper safety equipment to individuals working in their operations, and enforce the use of that equipment.
  • Monitor that safety and health responsibilities are carried out by everyone working under their supervision, including contractors.
  • Ensure that workplace safety inspections are performed regularly, records are kept, and any deficiencies identified in self-assessments or other inspections are addressed.
  • Encourage prompt reporting of health and safety problems without fear of reprisal.
  • Stop work being carried out under their authority if they believe that continuation of the work poses an imminent danger to the safety or health of people in the vicinity. If the situation cannot be corrected immediately, the supervisor must notify the Chair or Director under whose responsibility the work is being performed.

Training Responsibilities

  • Determine appropriate training requirements for those working under their supervision, in consultation with the Risk Management and Safety (RMS) and/or the Training and Compliance Office (TCO).
  • Provide training, assisted by RMS/TCO.
  • Ensure that work is performed only by persons who have received the proper training.
  • Document all required training.
  • Incorporate safety discussions into routine meetings.

Emergency Response and Training:

Contribute information as needed for the development of the unit's plan; ensure that those working in her or his operations know about the plan; and communicate the importance of participating in drills. Prepare for and report immediately to the 日韩无码 Police Department any hazardous material spills or releases that could result in exposure of individuals or in a release outside the laboratory or other location where these materials are stored or used.

Hazardous Waste Minimization and Disposal:

Ensure that work being carried out in their operations is consistent with campus hazardous waste source reduction and management. Inform employees and students that hazardous materials may not be disposed of via the sewer system, regular trash, fume hoods; and to stress the importance of adherence to legal and acceptable disposal methods.

Delegation

Many of the specific activities described in this section above may be delegated. While this work may be delegated, the supervisor retains the responsibility for ensuring that required programs are implemented and required duties are carried out in an appropriate manner.

Laboratory Supervisors (Faculty, and Principal Investigators)

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Health and Safety Responsibilities: Laboratory Supervisor/LSO

"PIs are the single most important element for developing and sustaining a strong, proactive laboratory safety culture and must clearly communicate and reinforce to everyone within their groups that safety within their research laboratory is a top priority and define roles, responsibilities, authority and accountability for safety within their laboratory."

- Stanford University Advancing Safety Culture in the University Laboratory

Laboratory Supervisors and Lab Safety Officers play a critical role in creating and maintaining a safety culture at 日韩无码 while ensuring their activities remain in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations.

Laboratory Supervisor Responsibilities

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Laboratory Supervisor responsibilities include implementing and following which ensures compliance with OSHA's requirements for a Chemical Hygiene Plan and EPA's requirements for a Laboratory Environmental Management Plan. Laboratory Supervisors are the Chemical Hygiene Officers (CHO) for their laboratories for purposes of complying with OSHA's Standard for Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (1910.1450).

Lab Supervisors/CHOs:

  • Identify and assess the hazards associated with the lab work;
  • Specify and document the controls to mitigate those hazards;
  • Inform all lab personnel of hazards;
  • Motivate others to utilize those controls to ensure a safe work environment for everyone within their area; and
  • Conduct inspections for safety and compliance with 日韩无码 policies/programs and lab-specific protocols.

The online lab safety training, entitled Laboratory Roles and Responsibilities, specifically addresses the roles and responsibilities of 日韩无码 Laboratory Supervisors. All Supervisors are required to complete this training in addition to the safety trainings shown on the Train and Inform Personnel page. While some safety tasks can be delegated to a Laboratory Safety Officer, the Laboratory Supervisor bears the responsibility for carrying out those tasks and ensuring safe laboratory conditions. 日韩无码 Risk Management and Safety is available to consult and provide tools or resources to support safe laboratory work.

Laboratory Safety Officer (LSO)

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A Laboratory Supervisor may designate a Lab Safety Officer (LSO) and delegate authority to that person.  The lab safety officer is a part of the lab's quality team. Their role is to improve the lab's safety culture using education, training and coaching, and to complete routine tasks that help ensure safety and compliance. They liaise with Risk Management and Safety and coordinate annual refresher trainings as needed, orient new lab staff as they begin working and complete the required monthly self-inspections of the lab area(s). This allows the Supervisor to support the development of technical and leadership skills within the LSO and to maintain the high values of safety and excellence within the lab group.

Specific duties of the LSO may include the following:

  • Ensure all lab staff receive training in general lab safety and safe procedures for the hazards specific to their laboratory when they begin work.
  • Keep the lab safety notebook updated with Chemical Use Planning Forms, safety data sheets, SOPs, etc.
  • Report of employee or student injuries, exposures, and near-misses and following up with occurrences, looking at trends and making engineering or work practice control changes, if necessary.
  • Request a risk assessment or exposure monitoring for those who work with any specific hazardous material of concern.
  • Ensure completion of the monthly
  • Ensure that  everyone in the lab is prepared to respond to a lab or building emergency (spill response, evacuation, etc.)

Often, these safety responsibilities are in addition to their normal laboratory research and duties.  LSO's may be asled to assist with follow up to a lab audit, conduct incident follow-up and act as safety role model for other lab personnel. Large laboratories might even designate a safety representative for each shift.

Visiting Researchers and Students

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日韩无码 often hosts visiting researchers and students within our labs, especially during the summertime months.  There are a few actions required of lab supervisors to accommodate this:

  • MOU:  All personnel working within 日韩无码鈥檚 labs must be affiliated with 日韩无码, either as employees, students enrolled in a class and/or degree program, or through a 鈥淢emorandum of Understanding.鈥  See for the 鈥淰isiting Worker MOU鈥 (bottom of page under Forms/Guidelines).
  • Minors:  If the researcher is less than 18 years of age, then 日韩无码鈥檚 policy for 鈥淢inors in Laboratories鈥 applies.  A link to this policy, as well as the 鈥淢inors in Labs Permission Form鈥 are also on .
  • Training:  日韩无码鈥檚 compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations is detailed within our Laboratory Safety Program and related trainings, even visiting lab workers must complete the trainings detailed in  of this program.
  • Protocols:  Protocols approved through the RSC, IBC, IACUC and IRB do not automatically include changes in research personnel or in research spaces.  Lab Supervisors and visiting researchers may have protocols that need to be updated and reviewed to accommodate these changes.

Laboratory Audits

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Routine laboratory safety audits are conducted by the Risk Management and Safety. The system used to track laboratory audits is called LabcliQ; this system is used by many Colleges and Universities around the country. The questions on the audit are based on the monthly self inspection required by all labs at 日韩无码.

The original audit is sent to the Principal Investigator and the Lab Safety Officer.  Labs have two weeks to follow up with any safety deficiencies or concerns noted in the audit. The PI and LSO will receive two reminders if they do not address the audit concerns and login to close out the audit online.

If audit items are not corrected, an third email notificationis automatically sent to the PI, the LSO and it includes the Department Chair. The intent of including the Chair is that they will assist the researcher in resolving the safety issues with RM&S support.

If audit items are still not corrected, a fourth email notification is automatically sent to the PI, LSO, Chair and Dean of the College. It may also include any other necessary contacts. The intent of including the Dean is that they will assist the researcher in resolving the safety issues with RM&S support.

日韩无码 Employees, Students, and Visitors

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Health and Safety Responsibilities: 日韩无码 Employees, Students and Visitors

"Safety is everyone鈥檚 responsibility. A safe campus environment is a right of employment for all categories of employees. A safe campus learning environment is a right of all involved in education and research."

- APLU Guide

Employees, contractors, students, and everyone else authorized to conduct activities at 日韩无码 are responsible for:

Identifying Hazards

  • Learning about hazards associated with their work and work area
  • Stopping work if they reasonably believe continuation of the work poses an imminent danger to health, safety, or the environment, and immediately notifying a supervisor in the chain of authority over the work
  • Reporting unsafe conditions to their supervisor or safety committee (such conditions include malfunctioning equipment, and work-related fires, accidents, incidents, injuries, illnesses, or property damage, as well as "near misses"
  • Warning coworkers about defective equipment and other hazards

Controlling Hazards

  • Participating in health and safety training applicable to their work situation
  • Taking appropriate and necessary steps to protect themselves and others from obvious hazards
  • Following safe operating procedures, directions and guidance applicable to their work
  • Using personal protective equipment and engineering controls appropriate to their work
  • Complying with applicable environmental health and safety policies and programs, safe work practices, and regulations

Emergency Preparedness

  • Being familiar with the emergency response plans for the workplaces they frequent
  • Being familiar with evacuation routes and assembly areas for their building
  • Participating in emergency drills.

Waste Management

  • Arranging for proper management of all wastes: recycling, trash, hazardous materials, contaminated materials, broken glass, etc. in accordance with 日韩无码 procedures

Safety Departments

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Health and Safety Responsibilities: Safety Departments

General Responsibilities

日韩无码 has several departments and offices that provide central support for the interpretation of safety and environmental regulations, aid in developing programs to support training, hazard identification, risk assessment, exposure monitoring, and coordination of emergency response with outside agencies. These include:

Program Management

Environmental Health and Safety develops and manages programs to advance 日韩无码's safety committments and meet legal requirements in the following areas.

General Safety

  • Emergency Response and Training: Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the Office of Emergency Management are responsible for coordinating the development of emergency response plans on campus, providing training in emergency preparedness, and liaising with external response agencies. EHS also provides for remediation of hazardous materials releases.
  • Health and Safety Consultation: Respond to calls regarding health and safety concerns in the workplace, with information, investigation, or other assistance.
  • Incident Investigation: Perform investigations of accidents, incidents, near-misses, and safety concerns on the campus
  • Occupational Health and Safety: OSHA Training and Hazard and Exposure Assessments, Respirator Fit testing

Chemical Safety

  • Chemical Right-to-Know Program: Training in general chemical safety is offered by RMS staff upon request, tailored to specific administrative and academic units.
  • Chemical Hygiene Program for Laboratories: Consultation and training concerning hazardous chemical exposures in the laboratory is available from RMS staff.
  • Chemical Inventory: RMS staff has developed a system for compiling and reporting the annual inventory of chemicals required by state and local laws.
  • Hazardous Waste Management Program: RMS operates facilities for the collection, storage, packaging, and shipping of hazardous wastes. RMS also reports on hazardous waste management and minimization programs as required.
  • Environmental Compliance: RMS, in consultation with other departments, manages compliance with environmental requirements for protection of clean air, clean water, oil storage, and local emergency response planning.

Biological Safety

  • Exposure Control Plan: RMS has developed an Exposure Control Plan for compliance with OSHA's bloodborne pathogen standard and provides training to employees identified as at-risk by their supervisors.
  • Biosafety Consulting: RMS provides information about biosafety requirements for lab work on campus as outlined in NIH guidelines and best practices.
  • Recombinant DNA Use: RMS, the Office of Sponsored Programs and the Institutional Biosafety Committee monitor regulations affecting the use of recombinant DNA and infectious substances and review, approve and enforce related protocols.

Radiation Safety

  • Radiation Safety Program: The Radiation Safety Office within RMS administers the University radiation safety program which includes procedures and services to support use of radioactive materials and monitor the workplace for radiological hazards and regulatory compliance.
  • Radiation Waste Disposal: The Radiation Safety Office manages disposal of radioactive wastes generated at the University.

Risk Management Department provides assistance with Risk and Cost Control

  • Contract Review and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs)
  • Worker's Compensation Insurance: Employee Injuries and follow up
  • Driver Certification Program: Provide training and certification to allow 日韩无码 personnel to operate University-owned/leased vehicles.
  • Ergonomic Risk Assessments: Review workplace equipment and tasks to determine whether ergonomic improvements are necessary.
  • Risk Control: RMS works with the campus community in tandem with the University's insurance providers, VOSHA, Burlington Fire Department and others to identify risk exposures, implement measures to control those risks, and thereby reduce the frequency and severity of accident, injuries, damages and any associated liabilities.
  • Reducing the Cost of Risk: Through the coordinated efforts of RMS and the campus community in controlling risk, the University is able to minimize its cost of risk by reducing the financial cost of claims, insurance premiums, regulatory fines and downtime due to work interruption.

University Safety Committees

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Health and Safety Responsibilities: University Safety Committees

College and Department Safety Committees

Colleges and Departments form safety committees comprised of unit faculty and staff as well as staff from Risk Managent and Safety.  Committees review safety audit data, recent incidents, on-going program efffectiveness, and upcoming initiatives.  A common product from these committees is a "Safety Day" tailored to the needs of a specific department, building, or program.

These committees usually report to the Departmental Chair or College Dean and operate within their authority and areas of responsibility.

Institutional Biosafety Committee

The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews all research projects and activities involving recombinant DNA (rDNA) and infectious materials to assure that practices are appropriate to the level of risk presented by the work. Committee members include faculty and staff with experience and expertise in various aspects of rDNA technology appointed by the Vice-President for Research. In addition, at least two voting committee members are not affiliated with the University and represent the interest of the surrounding community. Collectively, the committee has the capability to assess the safety of rDNA research and any potential risk to public health or environment.

The committee has the authority to disapprove, terminate or suspend activities not conforming with its guidelines, and to conduct inspections of laboratories.

Radiation Safety Committee

The Radiation Safety Committee is responsible for establishing policies on all matters relating to the safe handling and use of ionizing radiation. The Committee is comprised of administrators, faculty and staff appointed by the Vice-Provost. Appointees are selected from the roster of active authorized users of radiation and University administrators are appointed as ex officio members.

The committee has the authority to approve the purchase and use of radioactive materials and place irreversible restrictions on or terminate the use of radiation in a research study.

Oversight Process

Oversight Procedure

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This oversight procedure is designed to promote safety in the laboratory workplace and compliance with worker safety, environmental protection and fire prevention regulations as well as to implement 日韩无码's Laboratory Health and Safety Policy

In accordance with 日韩无码's policy for Laboratory Health and Safety:

  • The Faculty member or Principal Investigator (PI) of each lab is responsible for assuring that the lab is operated in a safe and compliant manner.
  • The Department Chair and Dean's Office share a responsibility for oversight of the PI and the research activities.
  • Risk Management and Safety, the Vice President for Finance and Administration and the Vice President for Research/Provost office share a responsibility for providing support, systems and tools to aid in these safety and compliance efforts.
  • 日韩无码's Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for ensuring that a coordinated institutional perspective is present in compliance activities.

This oversight partnership can be used effectively to manage safety and regulatory issues without placing an unmanageable burden on any personnel.

Laboratory Safety Self-Inspections

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Properly conducted, lab self-inspections assure that healthful working conditions are maintained and that regulatory compliance is achieved. Lab personnel are expected to look critically at all of their lab spaces each month and document findings on the Self-Inspection Checklist.

Specific labs may have issues that are not addressed by this checklist. Those lab personnel should work with Risk Management and Safety staff to modify this checklist to best fit their specific safety and compliance needs.

The general checklist is reviewed annually by Risk Management and Safety staff, to reflect problem areas identified during inspections and audits, as well as changes in regulatory focus.

Laboratory Compliance Audits

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Risk Management and Safety personnel perform laboratory compliance audits of the laboratories in order to:

  • Provide feedback to lab personnel regarding their health, safety and compliance efforts;
  • Remedy lab environments that need improvement; and
  • Inform the 日韩无码 administration regarding potential risks.

Audits will be conducted following a risk-based schedule. Risk Management and Safety personnel will identify those labs that have either a higher consequence from an adverse occurrence or a higher probability of adverse occurrence. Labs will be audited according to the following priorities.

High Priority labs are audited once each calendar year.  High priority labs include those labs that:

  • Conduct high hazard activities or use high hazard materials (such as pyrophoric or highly toxic chemicals) in the professional judgment of Safety personnel;
  • Have been identified by an external entity (e.g. Department of Environmental Conservation, Fire Department) as areas that show a risk of non-compliance;
  • That have an accident or incident that shows a lack of preparedness, training or conformance; or
  • Labs with poor past performance.

Low Priority labs are audited at least once in every 3 years.  Low priority labs include those labs that:

  • Use relatively low hazard materials and operations; and
  • Have a history of positive conformance with environmental, health and safety requirements.

Risk Management and Safety personnel log each audit including the date of the audit, location, names of personnel responsible for lab operations, audit results and follow-up actions.  Risk Management and Safety personnel also assign a high or low priority designation to each lab.

Any lab that is conscientiously conducting self-inspections should have minimal corrective actions identified during an audit.

Notification and Response

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Audit results will be communicated to 日韩无码's Lab Supervisors, Department Chairs, College Deans, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Vice President for Research and Chief Compliance Officer as follows:

Labs Requiring Immediate Intervention are identified in an audit as having high likelihood of an adverse occurrence with serious consequences. RMS auditors will communicate these situations immediately to the PI, Chair, College Dean, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Vice President for Research and Chief Compliance Officer. The Chair and/or Dean are responsible for ensuring that the work environment is made safe before lab activities can continue. The Director of Risk Management and Safety, the Senior Assistant Director for Health and Safety, the Director and Radiation Safety Officer, or University Police have the authority to, at their sole discretion, close a laboratory should hazardous conditions present an imminent threat of injury to employees or students, or significant damage to University property or the environment. The cost of correcting safety and related compliance issues shall ordinarily be the responsibility of the academic unit, College or School; however, application may be made to the Provost and Senior Vice President and to the Vice President for Finance and Administration for funding assistance.

Labs requiring corrective action are identified as having areas of non-compliance without an obvious and immediate danger. Lab supervisors and Risk Management and Safety personnel are notified of necessary corrective actions that were identified during the audit.  Safety Personnel will work with the PI or his or her designee to develop a compliance schedule, generally not to exceed two weeks, and communicate this to the PI.  Corrective actions are recorded when complete.  If corrective actions are not completed on schedule, then the Department Chair will be notified.  If corrective actions remain uncompleted according to the schedule, the College Dean will also be notified, along with the Vice President for Finance and Administration, Vice President for Research and Chief Compliance Officer.

Labs that achieve excellence will be recognized in reports by EHS personnel to Department Chairs, College Deans, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Vice President for Research and Chief Compliance Officer.

All lab audit results will be reported in annual reports by Risk Management and Safety personnel to appropriate Department Chairs, College Deans, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Vice President for Research and Chief Compliance Officer. Risk Management and Safety will include in these reports a list of all labs audited within the department or college during the time period (or a notice that no labs were audited) along with results of audits and results of compliance schedules when applicable. If possible, the report will include a list of all labs that exist within that department or college regardless of audit status.

External Review of this Program

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The efficacy of this program in achieving compliance with regulations and best management practices will be reviewed following inspections by external regulators and/or independent auditors contracted by 日韩无码.  These reviews will occur as needed.