44.104:  Hazardous Materials Management

Status:	Approved on September 7, 2005	Signatures and dates on archival copy
Effective:	when approved
Initiated by:	Charles Hart Director of Environmental Health and Safety
Reviewed by:	Herman ("Butch") Hill, Chair Policy and Procedure Review Committee
Endorsed by:	Larry Corrigan Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration
Approved by:	Kathy Krendl Provost

Purpose

The purposes of this policy are

1. to ensure that Ohio University complies with all federal, state, and local regulations regarding hazardous materials;

2. to minimize any harmful effects to persons and the environment by hazardous materials (e.g., explosions, fires, burns, disease, bioaccumulation, exposure to ionizing radiation, etc.);

3. to ensure that all hazardous materials handlers are properly trained;

4. to improve awareness of the locations of hazardous materials;

5. to ensure that hazardous material inventory is maintained accurately;

6. to minimize risks to the University community by minimizing the ordering and use of hazardous materials; and

7. to clarify areas of responsibilities.

Policy

Students, faculty, staff, and other employees will ensure that all activities that use hazardous materials at Ohio University, are conducted in accordance with procedures referenced by or stated directly in the Ohio University Hazardous Materials Management Manual. In particular:

No person on University property shall possess:

• licensed radioactive materials,

• infectious agent(s) of class 2 or greater (see the Procedures section, subsection I, sub-subsection B, below), or

• more than 1% of a lethal dose of any highly toxic chemical(s) (see the Procedures section, subsection I, sub-subsection A, below),

unless it is part of a research, academic, or administrative function under the control of a qualified faculty or staff member, without written permission from the Director of Environmental Health and Safety.

Procedures

I.  Definitions

A.  Toxic Chemical Categories

This policy uses toxicity and hazard definitions as found in the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, Appendix A.

B.  Infectious Agent Classes

See the "Ohio University Biosafety Manual" or the "CDC/NIH - Biosafety in microbiology & biomedical laboratories(BMBL)" linked from the Biosafety Documents page, http://www.ohiou.edu/ehs/general/program_docs.htm#bio to interpret infectious agent classes.

C.  Radioactive Materials

For radioactive materials, see the "Radiation Safety Manual" which is linked from the Radiation Safety Overview page, http://www.ohiou.edu/ehs/rad/rad_saf_handbook.htm#Htoc.

II.  Identifying Hazardous Materials

There are three primary tools used to determine if a material is hazardous and how it will be handled:

1. Specific written documentation, such as the Material Safety Data Sheet ("MSDS"), the container label, and shipping papers. (A MSDS is a regulatory document that is required to be provided by the manufacturer to the user; the sheet contains pertinent safety information.)

2. The specific listings and definitions of materials included in various regulations. These lists and definitions are contained in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Ohio Revised Code, the Ohio Administrative Code, all of which may be found at Alden Library.

3. Personal knowledge (an individual may have created the material, or know very specific information about the material's properties).

If hazardous material status cannot be determined, call Environmental Health and Safety and request a review by the Hazardous Materials Manager.

III.  Ordering Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials must be ordered as described in Policy 55.031, "Purchasing - Alcohol, Radioactive Materials, Narcotics, Hazardous Materials, and Animals."

IV.  Using Hazardous Materials Safely

To prevent this Policy statement from becoming outdated, it does not include detailed instructions; instead hazardous materials users are directed to the Hazardous Materials Management Manual, which will be updated with new information and management tools required to use hazardous materials safely, and to comply with laws and regulations.

General program scope, and in some cases specific program information, will be found in the Hazardous Materials Management Manual. The purpose of the manual is not to include every detail about hazardous materials, but to direct you to the resource that will give specific information (e.g., ANSI Standards or the National Fire Code). It is necessary therefore to address hazardous materials safety issues by:

1. referring to the Hazardous Materials Management Manual;

2. referring to the "Ohio University Biosafety Manual" linked from http://www.ohiou.edu/ehs/biosafety/;

3. referring to the "Radiation Safety Manual" which is linked from the Radiation Safety Overview page, http://www.ohiou.edu/ehs/rad/rad_saf_handbook.htm#Htoc;

4. using the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Web site; or

5. in some cases, by contacting the EHS office.

Reviewers

Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:

1. Policy and Procedure Review Committee

2. Faculty Senate

3. Director of Research Compliance

4. Vice President for Research

5. Director of Facilities Management

Forms

There are no forms that are specific to this policy.

Copyright © 2008 Ohio University. All Rights Reserved.

Dick Piccard revised this file (http://www.ohiou.edu/policy/44-104.html) on April 9, 2008.

Please E-mail any comments or suggestions to "policy@ohio.edu".