UW News

June 26, 2008

Official Notices

Online asbestos training required for UW employees

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) requires the UW to provide general asbestos awareness training to all UW employees. In April 2008, Environmental Health and Safety rolled out an online version of this training. All UW employees who have not yet received general asbestos awareness training should take the online training, which is short (allow 20-30 minutes to complete) and informative. Please have your supervisor’s name and e-mail address ready when taking the training so that a record of the training can be easily sent. The URL for the training is: http://www.ehs.washington.edu/pubcookie/train/asbestosg/index.shtm  

Floor mat protects against asbestos

As another part of the UW’s efforts to ensure that all employees have a safe and healthful work environment, Environmental Health & Safety is taking action to raise awareness about possible damage caused by chair castors to asbestos-containing floor tile. In order to properly protect flooring materials, all chairs should have either a floor mat or area carpeting underneath them. Any floor mat meant for hard flooring can be used; however there are certain floor mats that can be obtained at a significant discount. Your department can obtain the following discounted floor mat through Office Depot on eProcurement:


  • Office Depot hardwood floor chair mat, contour, 39″ x 49″, clear
  • Item # 47890
  • Manufacturer OD76800

Labels to warn of asbestos

Due to the efforts of UW Facilities Services and EH&S, asbestos-containing building materials on campus do not pose a significant health or safety risk to building occupants. To comply with L&I regulations, the University will be adding warning labels to areas where some asbestos materials might easily be damaged. All employees are asked to remember the following and do their part to ensure the continued safety of everybody on campus:


  • Be aware of the possible presence of and do not disturb suspect asbestos-containing materials in your workspaces. This includes flooring, walls, ceilings and other surfaces. If you need to drill, cut, or disturb any surface, contact UW Facilities Services for assistance.
  • Report damaged building components to your supervisor or building coordinator so that they are promptly repaired and any potential hazard minimized.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding asbestos issues on campus, contact Roy Smith in the EH&S Occupational Health and Safety Office at 206-543-1713 or at roysmith@u.washington.edu.

Board of Regents

The Board of Regents will hold a regular public meeting Thursday, July 17, at 3 p.m. in the Petersen Room on the 4th floor of the Allen Library.

Blood Drives


  • Friday, June 27, 10 a.m. –6:30 p.m., Health Sciences Lobby
  • Tuesday, July 1, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Health Sciences Lobby

Parking and U-PASS rate changes

The UW Board of Regents approved parking and U-PASS rate changes to offset the increasing costs of providing transportation and parking options to the UW community. The price changes will go into effect on July 1.

Key New Rates are:

U-PASS


  • Faculty/Staff – $70/qtr = increase of $8.20/qtr or $1.37/paycheck
  • Student – $50/qrt = increase of $6 per quarter
  • Parking
  • SOV – $285/qtr = increase of $30.24/qtr or $5.04/paycheck
  • Carpool – $61.20/qtr = increase of $6/qtr or $1.20/paycheck
  • Motorcycles – $95/qtr = increase of $10/qtr or $1.67/paycheck

Read more information regarding the rate increase here:

http://www.washington.edu/commuterservices/parking/Fees2008_09.php  

A full rate table is available here:

http://www.washington.edu/commuterservices/parking/2008_Rates.htm  

Individuals may share comments and concerns here:

http://www.washington.edu/commuterservices/parking/fee_survey/