Laboratory Safety Audit Initiative 2005-2006

University of Maryland Department of Environmental Safety
Laboratory Safety Audit Initiative 2005-2006

What is the Laboratory Safety Audit Initiative?

The Department of Environmental Safety (DES) will conduct audits of campus laboratories during an announced one month timeframe in both the fall and spring semesters. Nine audit teams, each consisting of two professional staff members, will be using a checklist to identify the status of each laboratory's conformance with major safety and environmental requirements. It is expected that each audit will not require more than 30 minutes, but will require some limited discussions with Principal Investigators or laboratory personnel.

Why are audits important?

Most laboratories have a variety of potential hazards that pose some risk to laboratory personnel, students, staff and other building occupants. Additionally, laboratory activities are often subject to a number of prescriptive environmental, safety and fire regulations. Audits and face-to-face consultations are central to identifying and addressing those potential risks. This summer, the university had four incidents involving laboratory chemicals with injuries sustained in two of the incidents.

What are the objectives/expected outcomes of the Initiative?

To assess the compliance status within representative UM laboratories of major safety and environmental program elements and to assist the laboratories in understanding those requirements in order to achieve or maintain compliance
To assist laboratories in eliminating unsafe conditions
To develop a trend analysis to understand the university's overall success in creating a safe environment in compliance with regulations, standards and codes
To assess the effectiveness of environmental health and safety program outreach to laboratory facilities and personnel

Have audits ever been conducted in UM laboratories?

Yes, audits are performed routinely for fire safety, hazardous waste handling and use of biological agents and radioactive materials. These audits have a specific focus but do not provide a comprehensive view of the status of safety in the laboratories. DES has also performed comprehensive audits of a small sampling of approximately 50 laboratories per year since 2001.

Will all of the campus laboratories be audited?

No, DES is planning to audit a representative sample of approximately 330 laboratories within 6 colleges.

How is DES choosing the laboratories to audit?

Each audit team will be provided with a list of approximately 100 rooms that have been identified by the University's Planning Office as either research or teaching laboratories. Approximately 1/3 of these rooms will be audited. Teams will select laboratories at random or based on prior knowledge of particularly hazardous materials or operations.

What happens to the results of the audit?

Each laboratory will be provided with a copy of the completed checklist at the conclusion of the audit. Explanations of checklist items and guides to achieve compliance will be available on the DES website. Department Chairs will be provided a summary report of the findings for the laboratories within their areas and will be asked to provide DES with a plan to correct deficiencies. The results of the audit are for internal assessment only and will not be provided to regulatory agencies or posted for public viewing.

Do our peer institutions conduct laboratory safety audits?

Yes, each of the five peer institutions as well as many other universities we have polled conduct laboratory audits. Some institutions use a combination of self-audits along with centralized auditing which is usually conducted by the environmental health and safety department. The use of laboratory audits is considered to be a best practice component of an effective laboratory safety management program.

Where can I get more information on this Initiative?

If you have further questions or need additional details, please contact DES Director Maureen Kotlas at 53960 or visit the DES website at http://www.des.umd.edu

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University of Maryland Department of Environmental SafetyLaboratory Safety Audit Initiative 2005-2006