What to do in Emergency Events

Video courtesy of Texas Tech University, Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. College of Engineering, Marketing & Communications

Video Courtesy of the University of California, San Diego Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Video Courtesy of the University of California, San Diego Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

• Driving Chemical Safety Change: The First 20 Years
• Safe-Science Series
• TA Safety & Lab Leadership Workshop

• Emergency Information: Contact and Action Guide
• Designated Outdoor Safe Meet Areas Map
• Lab Forms
• Tools & Templates
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

View a department's safety plan by clicking on the department's name in the drop-down list below.

Select a Department Chemical Engineering Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering Computer Science Electrical and Computer Engineering Industrial Engineering Mechanical Engineering Petroleum Engineering

View emergency action plans for engineering buildings. Note: A valid eRaider username and password is required to access these plans.

Emergency Action Plans by Building

• Electrical Arc Flash Safety (Brandon and Clark Inc.)
• Machine Shop Safety Training
• Environmental Health & Safety
• Safety@TTU: Lessons Learned
• Online Training
• Safety Stories From EHS
• Chemical Inventory
• Lab Safety Checklist
• Dow Chemical Company Launches Dow Lab Safety Academy
• U.S. Chemical Safety Board Video
• Safety Concerns and Near-Misses (SCAN) – Form
• Responding to An Active Shooter

View Operating Policy PDFs by clicking on the OP's name in the drop down list below.

Select an Operating Policy 60.01 − University Health & Safety Program 60.02 − Hazard Communication Act 60.03 − Hazardous Material Spills 60.04 − Use of Laboratory Hoods, Biological Safety Cabinets and Special Exhaust Ventilation 60.05 − Respiratory Protection Program 60.06 − Lockout/Tagout Program 60.08 − Asbestos Compliance & Abatement Program 60.10 − Use & Disposal of Sharp Objects 60.11 − Procurement, Usage and Disposal of Radioactive Materials, Radiation Producing Devices, and Lasers 60.13 − Hazardous Materials Shipping 60.17 − Chemical Hygiene Plan 60.20 − Handling & Storing Explosives 60.23 − Compressed Gas Handling, Storage, & Transportation 60.25 − Procurement of Interlocks and other Safety Related Requirements for the Use of Lasers and/or X−ray Producing Devices 70.13 − Workers' Compensation Insurance 76.12 − Severe Weather Warning & Alert Systems

Depending on the question/situation, you may contact your departmental safety officer (list of officers can be found on the WCOE safety website: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/coe/safety/), the Whitacre College of Engineering safety officer Ms. Chijuan Hu (chijuan.hu@ttu.edu, or 806-834-4613), or TTU Environmental Health and Safety Department (806-742-3876).

Safety training requirement includes TTU online safety training and lab/shop specific training.

For TTU online training:

• Safety Awareness: even though TTU only requires TTU employees to take the safety awareness training, WCOE enforces a more stringent policy that requires everyone who works (including visiting students, visiting scholars, volunteers etc.) in the Engineering College must take the safety awareness training.
• For other Safety Training, the table of Training Matrix explains which safety training applies to you and when refresher courses are required: https://www.ehs.ttu.edu/ehs/ehshome/training. Also, discuss with your supervisor regarding what training is required.
• To enroll in the online training system and take the test, follow the instructions on the EHS training website: https://www.ehs.ttu.edu/ehs/ehshome/training

For lab/shop-specific training:

• Hands-on training from supervisor/senior lab mates
• Understanding the standard operating procedures (SOPs), work area safety plan (WASP), and safety data sheets (SDSs)
• Any safety course/seminar/exam required by the lab/shop

Even though TTU only requires TTU employees to take the safety awareness training, WCOE enforces a more stringent policy that requires everyone who works (including visiting students, visiting scholars, volunteers etc.) in the Engineering College to take the safety awareness training.

The answer is No. Food, drink, medicine and cosmetics are not to be stored or consumed in laboratory. Chemicals are not the only type of hazard present in the lab/shop. Per TTU Lab Safety Manual, the definition of "Laboratory" is a facility equipped for experimental or observational study in a science, or for testing, and analysis and that contains chemical, biological, mechanical, radiological and / or LASER materials / equipment for these purposes.

After an incident happens, report it immediate to your supervisor, the departmental safety officer, the departmental chair and EHS if possible. The college safety officer, Ms. Chijuan Hu (chijuan.hu@ttu.edu, or 806-834-4613), must also be informed at the earliest possible time.

• Workers' Compensation must be filed for an incident involving TTU employee's injury. Filing forms can be found here: https://www.texastech.edu/offices/risk-management/workers-compensation.php
• An incident report must also be filed through TTU Safety Concerns and Near Misses (SCANS) reporting system: https://www.ehs.ttu.edu/ehs/ehshome/home/IncidentReporting

No. If the bottles have never been opened, the chemical will NOT form peroxide and it is not required to test the peroxide concentration.

Yes. The date must be recorded on the waste label whenever the first amount of chemical is added into the container as waste.

The short answer is No. Storage in the hood must be minimized to avoid impairing its effectiveness. This will also simplify spill clean-up and reduce any complications from a fire, minor explosion, or other incident. Chemicals must be moved from the fume hood to their permanent storage place once the experiment is finished. Chemical waste must be stored in a proper location for waste pickup.

Yes. Closing sash saves energy, and the sash serves as a blast shield to contain chemicals inside the hood. Per A22.1.10 TTU Lab Safety Manual, the chemical fume hood sash must be fully closed when not actively manipulating materials inside the chemical fume hood.

TTU Lab Safety Manual Section A18 Respiratory Protection Program has relevant information. In short, respirator use requires a physical exam (Pulmonary Function Test), respirator online training, and fit test. Please note that N-series (N95, N99, N100), R-series (R95) and P-series (P95 & P100) respirators are considered as “disposable air-purifying respirators” which requires the tests and training. Please contact EHS at 806.742.3876 directly if you have any questions.

Per B.7.4.9 of TTU Lab Safety Manual, any sturdy, puncture-resistant, closable box may be used for glass disposal. Specific glass disposal boxes can be (not required) purchased from various laboratory product distributors and come in multiple sizes.

Depending on whether the glassware is contaminated or not:

• Uncontaminated broken glassware can be discarded into broken glass container directly. Once the container is full, tape it closed and dispose of it into the dumpster.
• Contaminated broken glassware must be decontaminated first: a). glass contaminated with chemicals can be triple rinsed and disposed of in the regular glass disposal box. The rinse water shall be collected and disposed of as chemical waste. b). biological contaminated broken glassware may be treated by either autoclaving or soaking in sodium hypochlorite solution or other applicable chemical disinfectant solution. (See TTU Lab Safety Manual B 7.4. 9.2 Contaminated Glassware Section for more details.)

Some restrictions of lab activities are applied to specific age groups. See TTU Lab Safety Manual A8 Minors in Laboratories for more details.

• All minors working in the lab as volunteers must complete and submit The Minor Volunteer Worker Application, Volunteer Worker Authorization Sheet and Volunteer Release Form. These forms can be found in TTU OP 70.21 Volunteer Workers: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP70.21.pdf
• Minors must be 14 years old at minimum to be employed by the university. The job assigned to the minors as described in the job description must strictly follow the policies per Section A8 Minors in Laboratories of TTU Lab Safety Manual and the Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation. Any questions regarding minors employees can be directed to Human Resources (806.742.3851)

Power strips and extension cords are allowed to be plugged directly into wall outlets, not into another power strip/extension cord. Serial connection of electrical cords (i.e. daisy chaining) is not permitted due to the potential overloading of power on the cord. Extension cords are only allowed to be used on a temporary basis.