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Chemistry Department Safety

Our goal is to provide you with easily accessible tools to make safety a component of everything you do. By developing good safety practices, they will become an automatic part of your laboratory routine and may keep you or a lab mate from getting harmed. Good safety practices are important for future careers in chemistry.

PennState's Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is responsible for the development and implementation of environmental and all occupational health and safety programs throughout Penn State's multi-campus system.  EHS has five areas of responsibility: Environmental Protection, Laboratory and Research Safety, Workplace Safety, Radiation Protection and Hazardous Materials. For more information about EHS see their website: ehs.psu.edu.

Safety Requirements and Building Access

Safety and security in the Chemistry Building are very important and a responsibility that all of us need to take seriously. The Chemistry Department requires each and every person working within research labs to complete safety training prior to gaining access to any lab space. For further details regarding Chemistry's Safety Requirements and Building Access see the Department's Sites Page. 

No one should enter labs without an invitation/escort (and the proper PPE!) including salespeople or flower delivery people.  No one should be sleeping in the building overnight.  If you encounter someone in the building who doesn't appear to belong, is unknown to you, or who does not identify him/herself, please ask the person for some identification or reason for being in the building.

If you are uncomfortable talking to someone, find a lab mate, faculty member, or administrative person to be with you.  If you don't receive an acceptable answer, call Penn State police at 863-1111.  If you ever feel there is a threat or concern of any type, call 911.  The police have told us numerous times that they would prefer to be called unnecessarily than to not be called when there is a real emergency.  The 911 number should also be used for emergencies such as fires and obtaining an ambulance.

Emergency Phone Numbers

 
Department Phone #
Police, Fire, Ambulance 911
Chemical Spill 911
University Police 814-863-1111
Physical Plant
(after hours)		 814-865-4731
Penn State Escort Service 814-865-WALK
(814-865-9255)

 

Non-Emergency Phone Numbers

 
Department Phone #
Environmental Health and Safety 814-865-6391
Building Problems - Business Hours
(heat, electric, water)		 814-865-2149
Chemistry Administrative Office 814-865-6553

Lab Injuries

If someone is injured in the lab, an Accident Report as well as Workman's Compensation paperwork must be completed. If the injury occurs after standard business hours (M-F:8a-5p) or if the sustained injury requires immediate medical attention, please call 911 or have the injured person taken to the Emergency Room of the Mount Nittany Medical Center. The injury will then need to be reported the next business day.  
 

IN THE EVENT OF A SERIOUS EMERGENCY, PULL FIRE ALARM AND LEAVE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY. 

In the event of a minor fire, explosion or accidental release of a hazardous material call University Police at 911.

For situations that are immediately controlled and appear to be "over" University Police (863-1111) must still be notified. Examples include a small fire that has been extinguished, a chemical spill that has been cleaned up, an explosion without any apparent structural damage, or a chemical exposure requiring medical attention.

Should the fire alarm sound please follow the Evacuation Plans posted on each floor. The designated meeting site for a Chemistry Building Evacuation is the
Ticket Window of Eisenhower Auditorium.

 

 
 
 

 

 Learning Experience Resource/Safety Moment Slides

We want to help each other learn from our mistakes.  If you have an incident or observe an incident that could be a learning experience for others would you please use this template to report the incident: what happened, root cause, and what could have done differently to prevent the incident. Keep it confidential as we plan on sharing these with the department. Send the report to Dr. John Asbury jasbury@psu.edu, chair of the Safety Committee. The person sending the report does not need to be the person involved in the safety incident.
Use this template to indicate chemicals, hazards, and safe shutdown procedures for reactions that you are running.  You might want to laminate/put the form in a sleeve so you can reuse it for similar reactions. 
 
 
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