Chemistry Department Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
WRITTEN
GENERAL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
and
SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS
for
WORKING WITH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
OSHA’s Laboratory Standard defines a hazardous chemical as any element, chemical compound, or mixture of elements and/or compounds which is a physical hazard or a health hazard. The standard requires the employer to develop the protocols for which a particular laboratory operation, procedure or activity requires prior approval before implementation.
The Laboratory Safety Manager, the Chemistry Department Head, the Laboratory Supervisor, Instructor or Principal Investigator will define which activities, operations, or procedures require that prior approval be obtained before implementation, in consultation with the Department Chemical Hygiene Officer, the Departmental Safety Committee and EHS. Except for activities identified by the EHS and Departmental Safety Committee as requiring their approval, employer approval will occur at the local level (e.g. Supervisor). The Laboratory Safety Manager and Departmental Chemical Hygiene Officer are also available for assistance.
The special precautions described in the following sections are to be used in conjunction with the information detailed in the "General Safety Guidelines." The “Special Precautions” section and any other relevant instructions in this Chemical Hygiene Plan may be used as part of the written SOP required by the OSHA Laboratory Standard.
An SOP template has been developed and is available in Appendix L of the CHP as well as through a link on this page.
A Training Acknowledgement Form (must be used in conjunction with the SOP template) has been developed and is available in Appendix M of the CHP as well as through a link on this page.
Project-specific and/or area-specific standard operating procedures must be written and attached as Appendix J of the CHP by the Laboratory Safety Manager, work areas, principal investigators, laboratory managers or project directors for hazardous chemical, biohazard and hazardous operations work not covered by the following special precautions sections.