Skip to main content

Laboratory Safety Manual

Purpose of This Manual 

The purpose of this manual is to supplement the basic regulatory requirements of the OSHA Laboratory Standard for the development of a Chemical Hygiene Plan and to provide laboratories with useful recommendations that can help achieve compliance with the intent of the OSHA Lab Standard. Throughout this document, areas where regulatory or University requirements exist will be clearly identified using words such as “must”, “required”, “shall”, and “it is the responsibility”, etc. All other information provided within this document are recommendations that Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) encourages laboratories to follow as best management practices.

Colleges, departments, other units, and individual laboratories are free to establish the guidelines found within this document as required policies for their units or laboratories. 

To take advantage of the Internet, this document is formatted to be a “front door” to other resources, including useful web links. Where appropriate, web links will be embedded within the document and identified as a hyperlinked word that can be clicked on to view the webpage. Please note, by clicking on these external resources you will be leaving the Laboratory Safety Manual and will need to click the “Back” button on your browser to return to the manual. For those internal hyperlinks, including the table of contents, you can move around the document by clicking on the back and forward hyperlink arrow buttons located in the upper left hand side of your toolbar. If this toolbar is not visible, then go to your menu command “View”, then “Toolbars”, and then select the “Web” or “Navigation” button to make the toolbar and hyperlink arrow buttons accessible.  You can search both the PDF and web-based versions of the Laboratory Safety Manual using the function CTRL-F. 

If you encounter a broken web link, please send an email to askEHS@cornell.edu and include the section and page number of the manual and the name of the link you were trying to reach. If you have any suggestions to improve this document, including sharing useful web links or would like to request a section or topic to be added, then please send an email to the Chemical Hygiene Officer. This Laboratory Safety Manual should be considered a living document and will be reviewed at least annually and updated with your participation, comments, and suggestions.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, CALL 911 from any campus phone or 607-255-1111 from a cell phone.
Book