General Laboratory Hazards

General Laboratory Hazards

This page applies to you if you work in a laboratory. This page does not apply to non-laboratory settings.

Equipment Hazards

While much attention has been devoted to chemical safety, the risk of injury from certain laboratory equipment is not to be overlooked. Many types of laboratory equipment are associated with electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, radiation, or other type of hazardous energy that can lead to operator injury during service or maintenance, or when safety features have been disabled. Laboratory workers should be familiar with the techniques used to control potential exposures to hazardous energy associated with machines and equipment. If you haven't already done so, add "Hazardous Energy Sources" to your Virtual Manual assessment and consult the content of this page for more detail. Laboratory workers are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with the hazards of electrical equipment and systems by completing the EHS web-based training module General Electrical Safety Awareness. In addition, following is a list of EHS SOPs available for common laboratory equipment:

Procedural Hazards

Laboratories are generally very safe places to work when proper safety precautions are implemented. Common, non-chemical related injuries may involve musculoskeletal disorders from repetitive motion and lacerations. The following SOPs are intended to assist in controlling these types of injuries:

Supervisors should supplement the Virtual Manual with additional laboratory-specific chemical, task, and equipment procedures, as necessary.

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