Laboratory Safety Program

• Lab safety inspections are conducted by EHS inspectors annually.
• Topics covered during the inspection:
  • Biological Safety
  • Chemical Safety
  • Containment Equipment
  • Documents, Training, and Hazard Communication
  • Electrical Safety
  • Fire Safety
  • General and Physical Safety
  • Hazardous Waste Disposal
  • Housekeeping
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• EHS will contact the PI and/or delegate to schedule the annual lab safety inspection. Laboratory Safety Inspection Schedule FY 25-26 
• UC Inspect, an online safety application, is used to conduct inspections, identify deficiencies, track progress and generate summary reports. It sends automatic reminders to correct findings and allows document uploads to confirm and address findings.
• Findings from inspections are prioritized based on the hazard level and must be resolved within the timeframes listed below:

  Priority Scale	Priority Description	Days to Closure
  IDLH	Imminent Danger/Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health	0
  One	Serious safety hazard, serious/willful regulatory violations and/or significant fire and life safety code violation that poses a serious safety or compliance risk.	0-7
  Two	Moderate safety hazard or moderate/repeat regulatory violation and/or moderate fire and life safety concern, poor housekeeping, safety documentation issues, safety training compliance, etc.	8-30
  Three	Minimal safety hazard, possible regulatory violation, infrastructure, deferred maintenance, etc.	31-90

• Review the Lab Safety Inspection Guide to help you prepare for the inspection.
• Have the following materials up to date and ready to review during the inspection:
  • Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT), including PPE training, hazard assessment review, and update of staff roster
  • Lab staff completion of Laboratory Safety Fundamentals (LSF), Safety Training Self-Assessment (STSA), and other assigned safety training
  • Lab’s Chemical Inventory is current and has been reconciled in UC Chemicals
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for chemicals are reviewed and signed by all lab staff
  • Self-Inspection completed annually
• After the inspection is complete, a report will be sent containing the inspection results and any identified findings. The labs are responsible for resolving all findings within the specified timeframes.
• EHS School Coordinators are available to assist in resolving findings.

• This high level process ensures accountability in resolving outstanding safety hazards in labs and how EHS will attempt to obtain closure on lab safety inspection findings. EHS School Coordinators will periodically follow-up with PIs to check on the status of open findings and assist them in closing out findings. As part of our ongoing quality control process, closed items will be evaluated by the EHS School Coordinators.
• If no action is taken on resolving findings, EHS Administration will generate a monthly report of all open findings that have exceeded the required closure date and will send this to the EHS School Coordinators. They will then share this report with their respective Assistant Dean and/or Department Chairs. After this report is shared and if audit findings remain open, a quarterly report will be generated by EHS Administration and shared with the Lab Safety Committee, Vice Chancellor of Research, Chief Financial Officer & Vice Chancellor of DFA, and the Provost.

EHS Escalation Criteria and Process

Research Escalation Process Flowchart

• As indicated in the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP), all labs covered under the CHP are required to perform self-inspections and update their lab’s chemical inventory every year from January 1 to December 31. Self-inspections must be performed annually, at a minimum. EHS will be looking for completed self-inspection results in your Lab Safety Binder during the annual EHS-performed lab safety inspections.
• Resources
  • Lab Self-Inspection Questions
  • UC Inspect
    • Click the blue sign-in button on the top right side of the page; sign in with your UCInetID.
    • After logging in with your UCInetID and submitting DUO authentication, on the left column under the "More Apps", select the “Inspect” application. Once in Inspect, select “UCI Self-Inspection” and enter your PI name.

All laboratories with hazardous materials are required to have an up-to-date chemical inventory. This includes regularly adding new chemicals as they enter the lab, deleting chemicals as they are used up and reconciling (comparing actual inventory to electronic inventory) annually. Please refer the Chemical Safety webpage for more information.

The Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) establishes a formal written program for protecting laboratory personnel against adverse health and safety hazards associated with exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals and must be made available to all employees working with hazardous chemicals. The CHP describes the proper use and handling practices and procedures to be followed by faculty, staff, students, visiting scholars, and all other personnel working with potentially hazardous chemicals in laboratory settings at UCI.

• Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP)
• Chemical Hygiene Plan Overview and Signature

Campuswide Laboratory Safety Committee

Campuswide Laboratory Safety Committee meets four times a year. This committee is sponsored by office of Research and Division of Finance and Administration.

Vision

The Laboratory Safety Committee (LSC) serves as the catalyst and driving force behind a culture of laboratory safety that integrates health and safety into all aspects of the university’s research and teaching laboratory operations and programs.

Charge

The Laboratory Safety Committee is charged with continuously improving and fostering the lab safety culture at UCI. The LSC evaluates the current state of campus laboratory safety programs including campus policies and procedures for the safe acquisition, storage, use, and disposal of hazardous materials.

The LSC will assess and improve the following program areas of the Laboratory Safety Program:

• Communications with the Research Community;
• Training Programs and Resources;
• Laboratory Hazard Assessments;
• Develop, recommend, update, and maintain policies applicable to the health and safety of laboratory workers;
• Laboratory Design;
• Incident review and Lessons Learned;
• Explore Special Program Areas (e.g., high hazard operational areas, visitor/volunteers, reproductive health, and third-party use of campus facilities).

In addition to providing oversight and guidance, the LSC has the authority to recommend to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost to modify, suspend, revoke, and terminate any laboratory activities that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to life or health.

Reporting

The Committee advises and reports to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost through the Vice Chancellor of Research and the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration (DFA).

Meetings

Meetings will be held quarterly. Each meeting will be scheduled for 1.5 hours.

Attendance

Appointees should attend at least 50% of the meetings (alternates are acceptable).

Membership Term

Membership is for a minimum period of two (2) years. This may be extended by agreement with the committee chair(s) and member. Replacements should be provided to the committee chair(s) prior to leaving the committee.

Membership

* Lab Safety Committee appointment letters are sent from the EVC’s office. Appointment dates are based on the date of the letter sent. Appointments to the Lab Safety Committee are based on a 2-year term.

• Ensuring Safety in the Research Community
  A Message from Vice Chancellor Pramod Khargonekar - 01/08/2024
• Ensuring Safety in the Research Community
  A Message from Vice Chancellor Pramod Khargonekar - 12/01/2022
• Ensuring Safety in the Research Community
  A Message from Vice Chancellor Pramod Khargonekar - 02/04/2021
• Office of Research