In an effort to improve safety measures in science laboratories across campus, UCLA’s Environment, Health and Safety office is conducting unannounced inspections throughout the year to ensure lab workers are wearing the required protective equipment and complying with a new safety policy.
The first round of inspections occurred in late August, when officials visited the chemistry and biochemistry labs, because those contain the largest volume of hazardous chemicals. Chancellor Gene Block, along with the dean of physical sciences, accompanied staff inspectors on the daylong session.
“I think the fact that the chancellor and dean were there certainly is a strong indication to the people who work in a lab that safety is a very important thing,” said Kendall Houk, professor of organic chemistry who oversees a lab. “And having unannounced inspections keeps everyone on their toes.”
During the next year, officials will inspect all remaining laboratories on campus. There are roughly 3,500 laboratories on campus. This move comes partly in response to findings by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health in 2009 that lab workers were not wearing proper safety attire.
It has not been decided whether the department and university heads will accompany Environment, Health and Safety inspectors for all of the sessions.
While regular inspections take place annually, these unscheduled checkups will focus mainly on ensuring lab workers are wearing full protective gear that covers exposed skin and eyes. Inspections will occur once or twice every month, until all the labs on campus have been covered, said Colin Dimock, Environment, Health and Safety manager of research safety.
These increases in safety inspections come on top of a December 2008 incident in which a 23-year-old research assistant caught on fire and later died. She was not wearing a flame-resistant lab coat while handling dangerous chemicals, Dimock said.
“We had observed that a lot of the labs were not following protocol, so we needed to get everyone on board,” he said.
The solution was to put together a policy in April 2010 that addressed the equipment problems reported by Cal/OSHA and specifically defined which materials were considered hazardous.
Jonathan Kuo, a third-year chemistry student, said all lab workers are required to take multiple safety classes before working with any chemicals, and they are aware of any hazards.
“When it comes down to it, safety is a personal choice,” said Kuo, who works with highly flammable materials in a chemistry lab. “We know the risks, and if we (don’t follow safety rules), we’re essentially assuming liability for our own (injury).”
During the summer assessments, inspectors made sure that proper safety measures were taken, and they informed principle investigators of any problems.
In accordance with the new policy, if labs are found to have minor infractions, researchers have 30 days to fix the problem. If inspectors notice a “critical deficiency,” such as a lab worker not wearing all the appropriate safety gear, then the correction has to be made within 48 hours, Dimock said.
If the issue is not resolved, then the report is forwarded up the chain of command, potentially up to the vice chancellor of research. If necessary, disciplinary action will be taken.
Dimock said most of the laboratories are making improvements and following the new policy.
“These sweeps were really a test of that new policy,” he said. “And we have seen a significant increase in compliance.”