Laboratory Safety Advocate for the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus. I am a Ph.D. chemical engineer and Certified Safety Professional with experience in industrial research, nonprofit management, and chemical safety consulting. My role is to promote a culture of safety at Homewood by working with faculty, staff, and students to bring safety expertise into the laboratory.
The US Federal Select Agent Program oversees the possession, use, and transfer of biological select agents and toxins. A list of Select Agents and toxins can be found here.
Although most of the Select Agents are serious human pathogens such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus and bubonic plague organism, the list includes some toxins used legitimately in biological research, such as ricin.
The American Chemical Society is in the forefront of laboratory safety, and it publishes the well-respected Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories books. There are versions for students and faculty/administrators.
Every student who handles chemicals, whether or not they are in a “chemistry” laboratory, should be familiar with the student volume, and their faculty advisors should read the complementary faculty volume.
Since 1964, Rockwell International has maintained this database of laser incidents. Although reporting is voluntary, the sheer number of incidents in the database gives one pause.
One of the fastest-growing areas of laser incident is the “aircraft illuminated with laser” event. Shining lasers at aircraft is illegal in Maryland, punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In the City of Ocean City on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, laser pointers are banned entirely.
A good general introduction to radiation hazards, both ionizing and non-ionizing, can be found on OSHA’s radiation page. It contains many radiation hazard and regulation links.
Among its other hazard information pages, OSHA has a basic list of laser resources that may prove useful to laser users.
If you are using electricity of any sort, OSHA’s electrical information page is an excellent place to start for hazard information.
OSHA maintains a page with laws, regulations, good practices, and links to further information, all covering work with compressed gases and equipment.
This booklet is standard-issue on every fire truck in the US. It’s a quick-reference to the hazardous properties of most of the major chemicals in commerce, and it’s very helpful as a fast way to find important information about common chemicals. It’s not as useful for the uncommon ones. Try the Safety Data Sheet instead.
The NIH guidelines for research involving recombinant or synthetic DNA molecules are the basis for JHU’s DNA project registration and review procedures. Molecular biology researchers should be intimately familiar with this document.
The Laser Institute of America is a very useful resource for laser users on campus. In addition to basic safety information, the LIA gives a variety of training courses, and they administer the American National Standards on laser safety.