UW News

November 9, 2011

Laboratory chemical safety video available online

The UWs Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Department would like to share a film with the UW community to help raise awareness about chemical safety in laboratories and to help prevent serious accidents from occurring in the future.

The film was created by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents, and describes the hazards associated with research involving hazardous chemicals in laboratories at academic institutions.

This video focuses on three laboratory incidents at academic institutions that resulted in serious injuries and death due to work with hazardous chemicals. The causes of these tragic incidents, follow-up actions at the institutions, and ways that these accidents could have been prevented are also reviewed.

The 24-minute video is available online.  There is addition information on chemical safety on the EH&S website. Information on laboratory or chemical safety classes is also available online, or contact EH&S Chemical and Occupational Safety at 206-543-7388.