Environmental Health and Safety: Chemical Safety
This section contains information on the safe use of chemicals in laboratories, that is, "Prudent Practices". It contains the URI Chemical Hygiene Plan, the URI Hazard Communication Plan, laboratory inspection forms, fact sheets, and links to other useful sites. Items have been categorized to help navigation.
Note: Some documents are .pdf files, and require Adobe Acrobat reader to view. Click the icon to download, free of charge.
URI Laboratory Chemical Hygiene Plan |
Standard Operating Procedures Examples
- Sample SOP: Chloroform
- Sample SOP: Corrosive, Acid, Inorganic
- Sample SOP: Corrosive, Basic, Inorganic
- Sample SOP: Corrosive, Organic, Solids
- Sample SOP: Ethidium Bromide
- Sample SOP: Flammable
- Sample SOP: Formaldehyde
- Sample SOP: Glacial Acetic Acid
- Sample SOP: Hydrofluoric Acid
- Sample SOP: Nitric Acid
- Sample SOP: Toluene
- Sample SOP: Toxic
Laboratory Inspections
- Laboratory Hazard Communication Sign
(Revised August 2004)
Links for Laboratory Safety Signs
- New Mexico State University: Examples of safety signs, door signs, symbols, and charts
- Cornell University: Laboratory Safety Signs and Labels
- University of North Carolina: Safety Signs & Labels
- Texas ASM Flyer: Sources of Safety Signs
Hazard Communication
URI Hazard Communication Plan URI Hazard Communication Door Sign (Non-Laboratory Area)
Hazard Communication: Your Right to Know Flyer
Finding and Using Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Websites for finding MSDS:
To use this website you must turn off your computer's pop-up blocker and you must be on-line through URI. If you have questions, please contact Safety and Risk.
- Hazard.com Click on Vermont SIRI MSDS Collection to locate MSDS
- MSDS Search
- Google. Type "MSDS + chemical name".
- International Safety Cards
Information about using MSDS:
- Oxford University Fact Sheet: How to Interperet MSDS Information
- Frequently Asked Questions about MSDS - ILPI Fact Sheet
Making Chemical Labels
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- URI Eye and Face Protection Fact Sheet Flyer
- NIOSH Recommendations for Chemical Protective Clothing
- OSHA Guidelines to PPE - Scroll down to 19.10 Subpart I
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Guidelines for the use of Contact Lenses in Industrial Environment
- Latex Allergies Information-Flyer from Community Colleage of Rhode Island
- Selection and Use of Gloves in the Laboratory Dartmouth College Fact Sheet
This site provides a description of how to select the appropriate glove and links to glove manufacturers.
Green Chemistry
- MIT: Green Chemicals Alternatives Purchasing Wizard
- MIT: Tips for Sustainable Solvent Practices
- MIT: Green Chemical Alternatives
- EPA - Green Chemistry
- EPA - Introduction to the Concept of Green Chemistry
- EPA - Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge
- American Chemical Society: ACS Green Chemistry Institutre
URI Chemical Exchange Program
Preparing for Emergencies
Laboratory Chemical Emergencies
Chemical Storage
- Chemicals Storage Guidelines - UCSD Fact Sheet
- UCSD Fact Sheet: Flammable Liquids
- Special Refrigerators for Flammable Liquids Storage - UCSD Fact Sheet
- Organic Peroxide Formers Overview - UCSD Fact Sheet
- Organic Peroxide Forming Materials
- Storage Guidelines - Flinn Scientific
- Chemical Compatibility Chart Storage Guides - Harvard University
- Chemical Reactivity Worksheet (NOAA)
- Fact Sheet From Lab Safety Supply of Flammable and Combustible Liquids
- Flammable and Combustible Liquids - OSHA 1910.106
- EPA - Safe Storage and Handling of Swimming Pool Chemicals
Chemical Usage
Purchasing Guide for Laboratory Supplies and Equipment
Laboratory Equipment Recalls
Laboratory Design
Shipping Hazardous Materials
The following links give information about transporting hazardous materials via; mail and mailroom security.
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Law Forbids the carriage of Hazardous Material aboard aircraft in your luggage or on your person
- U.S. Department of Transportation: HazMat Safety
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Hazardous Materials Transportation(HMT) Security
- FedEx: Shipping Hazardous Materials
- UPS: Guide to Shipping Ground and Air Hazardous Materials
- UPS: Prohibited Materials
- U. S. Postal Service: Mailroom security
- U. S. Postal Service: Shipping Hazardous Materials
- Classification for Diagnostic Specimens and Infectious Substances-Shipping Guidelines: UNH Fact Sheet
- New Labeling Requirements for Biological Samples Dried on Specimen Collection Paper
- New Postal Regulations for Labeling Infectious Substances; Effective January 1,2004
Fire Safety In the Lab
Fire and Emergency Procedures - URI Safety and Risk Management
National Fire Protection Association - NFPA45 - Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories using Chemicals. Copy Available at Safety and Risk Management.
State and Federal Regulations
OSHA Fact Sheets: This is the index of all the OSHA fact sheets OSHA Fact Sheets: This is the index of OSHA safety and health topic fact sheets Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management site for information on Mercury
Training Programs Online
Howard Hughes Medical Center Training Course Yale University Safety Videos
Books and Reference Materials
Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry American Chemical Society Publications American Chemical Society Committee on Chemical Safety Americal Chemical Society Brochure - Safety for Introductory Chemistry Students American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine - Guidelines Preventing Chemical Accidents Prudent Practices - National Academies Press Environmental Health and Safety: Online Safety Resource Guide-Oklahoma State University Vermont (SIRI) Safety Information and Resources Merck Index LabSafety.org Index Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) - 40 Steps to a Safer Laboratory National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) NIOSH Database NIOSH Occupational Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazards NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards NIOSH Recommendations for Chemical Protective Clothing
