Safety in Lab And Field
8. SAFETY IN LAB & FIELD
All Biology graduate students must complete WHMIS training at the start of their program, then do a refresher course at the start (Sept) of each academic year. WHMIS training is offered several times during the year, but primarily in September and just before the summer term begins. The departmental safety officer, can be consulted concerning the scheduling of WHMIS courses. The WHMIS course consists of a few hours of instruction about lab safety procedures, followed by a take-home exam that can be completed on-line. Upon successfully passing the exam, students will be issued a WHMIS certificate. Students may also be required to take other safety-related courses, such as those dealing with radioactivity, or specific chemical environments, depending on their research.
Other 2-day courses are also offered, in First Aid and CPR, by the University. Notification of these courses are circulated on e-mail.
Laboratory environments have several potential hazards, with which the student should be familiar. MSDS sheets on chemicals are available on-line and should be consulted whenever you work with any chemical. Open dialogue with supervisors, colleagues and other staff can help ensure a safe working environment. Students are expected to be familiar with the location and operation of safety features in the lab, such as chemical showers, eye wash stations, protective eyewear, footwear and other clothing, fire extinguishers etc.
Students should understand the safety implications of their work. Any student who feels at any time they are working in an unsafe environment must immediately identify the problem to their supervisor or other faculty member. Students have the right to immediately refuse any work or responsibility that is not safe.
All Field Researchers must take the Field Safety Courses offered once or twice per year. Check with Dr. John Smol for dates at smolj@queensu.ca
It is a university requirement that all field researchers fill out, in consultation with supervisors, the on-line FIELD RESEARCH SAFETY PLANNING RECORD. This record must be approved by your supervisor and the Head of Biology before any field-work is undertaken. This record must be submitted at least one week before leaving for the field or any other off-campus activity related to graduate work, like conferences. These forms can be downloaded from the web sites noted above.
Students working with vertebrates must take the Animal Care WebCT course offered by Animal Care. For further information on this, contact the Biology Graduate Studies Office @ biologygradassistant@queensu.ca.
Memorize the University’s Emergency number: 533-6111 (or 36111 from an internal phone).