University of Connecticut |Chemical Health & Safety News
Mercury Thermometers
In an effort to minimize the hazards from use of mercury thermometers on campus, Chemical Health & Safety has purchased 40 new non-mercury thermometers to be given out in exchange for your mercury-containing ones. The non-mercury thermometers have a range of -10°C-250°C. If you would like to exchange your mercury thermometers for non-mercury thermometers please send me an email with building and room # at Brent.Lewchik@uconn.edu . Please be aware that there is a limit of 5 thermometers per researcher.Laboratory Safety/Hazardous Waste Training
Intended Audience: New faculty and staff, new graduate students, new research assistants, visiting professors and researchers as well as all other laboratory personnel who have not received training at UConn. This training is required for compliance under OSHA and EPA regulations for people working with chemicals. Please register online.Laboratory Safety/Hazardous Waste Retraining
Intended Audience: Faculty, staff, graduate students, research assistants and researchers that have attended the initial training and are due for their yearly Retraining can register online for retraining.
ABOUT US: CHEMICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Chemical Health and Safety Section has a dual role: first, it serves the University in general as the source for chemical and hazardous waste removal, storage, and disposal; second, it offers, primarily the research community, a consultative resource for health and safety issues from a chemical and laboratory perspective. In both roles, Chemical Health & Safety staff are tasked with promoting University compliance with applicable OSHA, EPA, Connecticut DEP, DoT, and other employee/environmental safety regulations. The Chemical Health and Safety section provides this support and these services to a broad range of faculty and staff working in a variety of settings, including Facilities Operations, Researchers, food service, custodial services, farm services, Public Safety, and office and administrative areas. Chemical Health and Safety develops policies and procedures, conducts training, responds to chemically-related incidents, and performs laboratory inspections, hazardous waste audits, and accident/spill investigations. Issues that are commonly referred to Chemical Health and Safety include: hazard characterization; hazard assessment; waste determination; indoor air quality; reproductive hazards in the lab; lab design and set-up; engineering control evaluation (fume hoods); and personal protective equipment selection.
Staff:
Stefan Wawzyniecki, Manager 486-1110
- OSHA Lab Standard, general safety questions in laboratory settings.
- specialty areas: lab ventilation, exposure monitoring, hazardous waste issues
Denis Shannon, Health and Safety Specialist 486-3115
- Hazardous waste determinations, chemical recycling, Universal wastes, Connecticut Regulated wastes
Brent Lewchik, Health and Safety Specialist 486-4927
- Chemical Waste pick-up coordinator, fume hood evaluations, laboratory inspections
Mitchel Colgan, Health and Safety Specialist 486-2691
- Chemical Waste pick-ups, lab safety training, fume hood evaluations, lab inspections