Outline of the Laboratory Safety Audit

Department of Environmental Health and Safety Laboratory Inspection Protocol 1.0 Introduction Laboratory inspections are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Laboratory Standard and serve as key elements of the New York Medical College (NYMC) policy to ensure a safe, healthy working environment is provided for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Laboratory supervisors have the responsibility of maintaining their laboratory area in a manner that controls hazards and minimizes risk. Inspections shall be scheduled, so as to not disrupt laboratory activities. Under certain circumstances such as a filed complaint or an OSHA violation, an unannounced laboratory inspection may occur. The inspection results will be documented and distributed to the appropriate persons. The success of an inspection program depends on the completeness of the follow up; therefore documentation will improve the program by providing a written tracking system to monitor the correction of health and safety deficiencies. Focused safety inspections of all laboratories shall be conducted semi-annually for the year 2002 with a primary focus (first six month period) on reviewing laboratory chemical inventories, corresponding MSDS, chemical storage and labeling, and the handling of chemical waste. A secondary focus (second six month period) will be a review of the required health and safety training for laboratory personnel. In subsequent ...