04.30.08 Renovation
On Monday May 5, 2008 much of Environmental Safety including the Administrative Office, Occupational Safety, Biological Safety Office, Fire Marshal's Office, and Risk Management & Communication will be moving so that our current work area can be renovated. Consequently on Monday, May 5th and Tuesday, May 6th DES staff may have limited access to our telephone and email. If you need assistance, please contact the main office at (301) 405-3960.
01.16.08 Smoking and Home Fires
Every year, almost 1,000 smokers and non-smokers are killed in home fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials. The U.S. Fire Administration is working to help prevent home fire deaths and injuries caused by smoking materials. Fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials are preventable.
12.18.07 UM Chemical Information Database
The Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards require laboratory managers or designated responsible individuals to identify chemical materials that could be used for terrorism purposes. The UM Chemical Information Database must be completed by Jan 25, 2008 for all laboratories and laboratory support areas on campus.
12.06.07 UM Must Respond to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chemical Facility Rule
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new regulation, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (6 CFR Part 27) for any facility that manufactures, uses, stores, or distributes any of the listed chemicals above a specified quantity. Colleges and universities must comply with this regulation in a very short time frame by reporting the listed chemicals if the regulatory screening threshold quantities are met. Since reporting requirements are based on aggregate amounts on campus, individual laboratories or other locations are not exempt from reporting as even small quantities must be factored in to the campus total. [Read Complete Text of this Important Notice]
11.08.07 Annual Report
The DES Annual report for 2006-2007 is now available.
9.19.07 Increase in College Dorm Fires Prompts Officials to Issue Warning
As students go off to college and leave the comforts of home, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning about the dangers of fires in college housing such as dormitories, fraternities, sororities and barracks.
8.30.07 Fall 2007 Newsletter
Safety Talk, our Fall 2007 newsletter, is now available.
08.16.07
Department of Homeland Security Issues Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards in April 2007. Since the rule does not include a definition of chemical facility, colleges and universities may be subject to the requirements. The complete rule is available at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity. A draft Appendix A list of chemicals is available at http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/gc_1175537180929.shtm with a final version expected in early fall. Information will be provided to affected UM departments as it becomes available.
05.10.07
UM Alert—The University of Maryland's Emergency Text Messaging System
The University of Maryland is urging all students, faculty and staff to quickly register for UM Alert—the university's new emergency text messaging system. UM Alert is now available to all members of the university community. UM Alert is a software-based web application that allows the University of Maryland to send emergency text messages to cell phones, pagers, BlackBerries, PDAs, and/or email accounts.
09.19.06 Certificates for this web site
We have a new site certificate. To avoid having to click through those annoying pop-up boxes every time you load a page that is secured with a University-signed certificate, install the University Root Certificate into your browser.
We would greatly appreciate your feedback about this site.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us.
3115 Chesapeake Bldg. 338 • University of Maryland • College Park, MD 20742-3133
Telephone (301) 405-3960 • Fax: (301) 314-9294
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