Book Navigation Links
Lab Specific Chemical Hygiene Plans
Lab Specific Chemical Hygiene Plans
The UMass Lab Health and Safety Manual/Chemical Hygiene Plan provides general guidance for work with hazardous materials and processes that are applicable to all areas where hazardous materials are stored or used or where hazardous processes occur. This document also details the responsibilities of faculty and PIs responsible for these spaces.
Lab specific chemical hygiene plans and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are required to cover specific hazards, materials, processes, and emergency procedures that are unique to their lab/shop/studio spaces. A template for the lab specific chemical hygiene plan has been prepared by EHS. It includes a template for SOP development, which must be developed through an appropriate risk assessment. SOPs for all work with highly hazardous materials or processes must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Chemical Safety Committee (ICSC).
Lab Specific Chemical Hygiene Plan Template
Prior Approval
Institutional Chemical Safety Committee (ICSC) Approval
High risk experiments must receive prior written approval by the Principal Investigator (PI), Department Head/Chair, EHS and the Institutional Chemical Safety Committee (ICSC). These must be conducted in a labeled designated area, segregated from the normal operations of the laboratory. Some experiments may be classified as high risk because they utilize, generate, or have the potential to generate hazardous materials that present exceptional hazards.
Aside from materials, processes may also be classified as high risk and also require prior written approval. These include, but are not limited to:
- Other chemicals/activities that have a significant probability (based on incident history in the literature) to cause a lethal event (e.g. explosion).
- Any chemical process or procedure which the Department Head/Chair has determined to be particularly hazardous.
- Any operation using 50% or greater hydrogen peroxide
- Any operation using 85% or greater perchloric acid
- Or less than 85% and heated
- Any laboratory procedure or activity that cannot be conducted in accordance with the guidelines established in the UMass Amherst Laboratory Health and Safety Plan/Chemical Hygiene Plan and other state and federal regulations and guidelines.