Laboratory Safety

Welcome to the Laboratory Safety page. On this page you will find links to relevant guidelines, documentation, forms and online resources that have been established to promote the health and safety of all persons who are required to visit, work or learn in the many different types of laboratories and associated facilities at the University of Western Sydney.

• Laboratory Safety Guidelines
• Laboratory Safety Documents and Forms
• Radiation Safety Guidelines
• Ethics and BioSafety
• Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods
• Biological Safety Cabinet - Video
• More Information

Laboratory Safety Guidelines

The UWS Laboratory Safety Guidelines (Word, 1.4Mb), developed in 2005 and revised in 2006, have been produced in consultation with technical and academic staff to provide practical OH&S guidance on laboratory safety management for all who are required to visit, work or learn in UWS laboratories or associated facilities. The guidelines are intended to complement the following:

• Australian Standards
• WorkCover NSW publications and codes of practice
• CCH Laboratory Safety Manual
• other legislative documents applicable to safety within laboratories.

The UWS Laboratory Safety Guidelines are not intended as a replacement for these documents, but rather as a guide for the safe management of laboratories and associated facilities. They provide information and advice about:

• areas of risk management that are not covered in the CCH Laboratory Safety Manual and relevant Australian Standards such as accountabilities, experiment design, local practice etc.
• how risk assessments within laboratories and associated facilities will be undertaken by UWS
• emergency management at UWS
• a range of wider issues that impact upon safety within laboratories and associated facilities at this University.

The guidelines will be regularly updated as required to incorporate newly introduced or revised legislation and/or UWS policies and procedures. The UWS community will be advised of future updates to the guidelines.

In keeping with the spirit of the OH&S Act 2000 and to continue to facilitate the widest possible consultation within divisions, colleges and schools, ongoing feedback on the information and advice contained in the guidelines is welcomed and can be directed by email to the Technical Coordinators, Laboratories within the OH&S unit.

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Laboratory Safety Documents and Forms

• Biological Hazard Emergency Action Plan (MS Word, 38Kb)
• Checklist - Laboratory Environments (PDF, 202Kb)
• Dangerous Goods Diamonds (MS Word, 87Kb)
• Fieldwork Acknowledgement Form (MS Word, 28Kb)
• Guidelines for the use of Peroxide-Forming Chemicals (PDF, 36Kb)
• Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods Inventory Proforma (MS Excel, 18Kb)
• Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods Inventory Guidance Notes (MS Word, 45Kb)
• Laboratory Risk Assessment Form (MS Word, 459Kb) (Print Version)
• Laboratory Risk Assessment Form (MS Word, 747Kb) (Format enables completion in Word)
• Laboratory Safety Induction Checklist - Staff and Postgraduate Students (pdf, 49Kb)
• Laboratory Safety Induction Checklist - Undergraduate Students (Ms Word, 53Kb)
• Sample Laboratory Risk Assessments (LRA's):
  - LRA Form Hydrochloric Acid (staff) (MS Word, 422Kb)
  - LRA Form Hydrochloric Acid (student) (MS Word, 426Kb)
  - LRA Form Ladder (MS Word, 426Kb)
• Undergraduate Safety Checklist (MS Word, 34Kb)
• UWS General Laboratory Safety Rules (MS Word, 34Kb)
• UWS Termination of Laboratory Work Checklist (MS Word, 56Kb)

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Radiation Safety Guidelines

The UWS Radiation Safety Guidelines (PDF, 2Mb) have been developed as a guide for UWS staff and students involved, either directly or indirectly, with the use of ionising radiation or radioactive material in teaching and/or research. The guidelines will assist staff and students to achieve radiation safety compliance at UWS and as such are to be adopted by all divisions/departments, colleges and schools where radioactive substances and/or sources are used.

The guidelines contain specific responsibilities, procedures and information for specific applications, and provide general information about reducing the risks associated with work involving the use of radioactive substances and sources.

These guidelines are intended as a 'stand-alone' document so that a section(s) can be read independently of other sections. This means that in some cases information contained in one section may be repeated in another to avoid the need to refer to another section(s) of the guidelines.

Additional information about radiation, radioactive substances and sources can be obtained from the Occupational Health, Safety and Risk Management Unit (OHSRU) or the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO).

The guidelines will be regularly updated as required to incorporate newly introduced or revised legislation and/or UWS policies and procedures. The UWS community will be advised of future updates to the guidelines.

In keeping with the spirit of the OH&S Act 2000 and to continue to facilitate the widest possible consultation within divisions/departments, colleges and schools, ongoing feedback on the information and advice contained in the guidelines is welcomed and can be directed by email to the Technical Coordinators, Laboratories within the OH&S unit.

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Ethics and BioSafety

Please refer to the Ethics and BioSafety page for further information regarding any laboratory teaching or research, involving the use of the following:

• biologicals (e.g. human blood or tissues, recombinant DNA)
• ionising radiation
• human subjects
• animals.

Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods

Information about hazardous substances and dangerous goods is available from the following links:

• Planning to Work Safely with Hazardous Substances
• Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods Procedures (PDF, 369Kb) 
• Material Safety Data Sheets/ChemWatch website.

More Information

For any queries/questions, suggestions or feedback relating to laboratory safety or any other information provided on this page, please contact the Technical Coordinators, Laboratories within the OH&S unit.