Ensuring a safe environment for all employees and students
A safe environment
The School of Life Sciences health and safety team advocates for safe and healthy learning and working environments by promoting a positive and integrated culture for students, faculty, visiting researchers, staff and guests.
The team is available to provide resources and consultations for laboratories, offices, events, field work and other learning and research settings.
Contact: sols-safety@asu.edu
Training
Principal investigators are responsible for providing training initially, annual refreshers and as tasks change. Training records must be retained for five years after the date of training completion and be made available per ASU requirements and authorized requests. Complete the interactive training determination tool to build a customized curriculum.
Reporting incidents and injuries
Arizona State University's policy on incident reporting and investigations requires that all incidents resulting in an injury to an ASU employee, student or visitor, or damage to ASU property in excess of $500, must be reported to ASU Environmental Health and Safety.
For the purpose of this policy, an incident is defined as an occurrence or event that interrupts normal procedures or precipitates a crisis resulting in any of the following:
- Injury or illness to ASU employees, students, and visitors
- Events that were likely to cause potential injury or illness to an ASU employee, student, or visitor (potential incident)
- Damage to ASU property in excess of $500
Report incidents and injuries as soon as possible:
- Review Workplace and Community Safety Guidelines
- Email a brief synopsis to sols-safety@asu.edu
Additional reporting guidelines
Outside of ASU business hours Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., or holidays, call the ASU Police Department for assistance at 480-965-3456.
For life-threatening incidents, call 911 immediately.
When an ASU employee is injured or becomes ill from a work-related incident, the Arizona Department of Administration requires for two forms to be completed in order to process workers' compensation claims:
Inspections and consultations
Inspections and consultations should be expected on a regular basis and by any ASU or governmental regulatory body such as ASU Environmental Health and Safety and the Fire Marshal. Governmental inspections could include the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Department of Occupational Safety and other local entities from the state, county or city. SOLS Safety is available to help prepare for upcoming inspections and consultations, can attend during, and help with reporting after. Please send invites to sols-safety@asu.edu and a team member will attend as available. Feel free to forward reports and other emails requiring assistance as well.
Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 6th Edition
Prudent Practices in the Laboratory (National Academy of Sciences)
Laboratories that work with recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules must have training and a copy of the NIH Guidelines Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules available.
Laboratory and hazardous materials space and registrations
All laboratories and spaces where hazardous materials or biologicals are used or stored on campus must be registered with ASU Environmental Health and Safety.
Principal investigators, or their designee, are responsible to update registrations annually, at a minimum, and as changes occur, to ensure emergency contact information is current and inventories are accurate in the ASU CEMS online system at: cems.unh.edu/asu/CEMS.
PIs, or their designee, are also responsible to update their chemical inventories annually, at a minimum, and as changes occur, by updating the "Last Evaluation Date" on the inventory record for each item.
ASU EHS will provide a placard and other signage to communicate the hazards to be posted outside the laboratory or door to the space containing hazardous materials. The information is used in the event of an incident or emergency when ASU or other response personnel must enter the lab or contact lab staff.
Volunteers and youth on campus
SOLS Safety works with SOLS HR and ASU Risk Management to support the principal investigator or designee to on-board volunteers. The PI, or designee, as the most knowledgeable about the work, is the designated person responsible for the oversight, training and implementation of safety for all researchers. SOLS Safety has been designated by the SOLS Director to review and sign the volunteer registration forms with the PI, however, the PI is responsible for completing the process and maintaining all records. If online training is required, the PI will need to contact SOLS HR to request access credentials. To begin this process, complete the volunteer request form.
ASU students who are receiving course credit for the work performed cannot also be volunteers at the same time. ASU students or alumni who are not receiving course credit for the work can apply to be a volunteer.
Website: cfo.asu.edu/volunteer-insurance-services
Youth on campus or in labs may also be volunteers but fall under a separate policy and approval process. For youths in the lab, PIs will need to review the ASU minors on campus requirements at: cfo.asu.edu/minors-campus and complete the Request for Minor Access to ASU laboratories: https://www.asu.edu/ehs/forms/minors-in-lab-request-fillable.pdf.
SOLS Safety does not administer the youth on campus process except for advising the PI on training requirements on request or other safety-related inquiries. All questions should be directed to ASU Risk Management.