For frequently asked questions, please check out the Compliance Guide.
For a limited database of Class 1 & 2 Chemicals, check out this spreadsheet.
This policy is available as a PDF here. For your convenience, it is also copied below.
Interim Policy-Posting Use of Class 1 & Class 2 Acutely Toxic and/or Corrosive Chemicals for Emergency Response
Approved by the Safety Committee for Research & Instruction 4/19/23
Revision 1, Approved by the Safety Committee for Research & Instruction May 16, 2023
Scope:
This interim policy covers those chemicals identified by their Safety Data Sheets (SDS’s) as having a rating of Class 1 or Class 2 for acute toxicity (all modes) and/or serious skin or eye damage/corrosion. It applies to all research labs, including shared lab spaces where research activities occur, and where the above categories of Class 1 or Class 2 chemicals are in immediate use. This policy applies to all faculty, staff, students, and visitors (“laboratory members”) when these identified classes of chemicals are in immediate use.
This policy does not apply to teaching (registrar) labs when classes are in session. It does not apply to chemicals in storage.
The Safety Committee for Research and Instruction (SCRI) will work with faculty to amend this policy, including procedures, with the approval of the Institutional Official (the Associate Provost).
The Chemical Hygiene Officer, Margaret Rakas, is responsible for technical information and coordination of policy implementation.
Purpose:
In the event of a laboratory emergency, such as a chemical exposure or spill, Smith College works with the Smith community and outside emergency responders to provide appropriate information. It is critical that laboratories where certain classes of hazardous chemicals are in immediate use have this information readily available at all times. This policy outlines a process to quickly identity the chemicals in immediate use which are classified as having the greatest health hazard in terms of acute toxicity and/ or eye/skin damage so that emergency response personnel are able to assist appropriately during a chemical exposure or chemical spill.
Definitions:
OSHA Class 1/Class 2 ratings for acute toxicity and/or skin/eye damage: The lower the number (1-4), the higher the degree of a particular hazard.
Immediate Use: A Class 1 or Class 2 chemical is currently in use at the present time (for a length of time between one second and many hours, depending on the process involved).
Storage: A Class 1 or Class 2 chemical is stored in the lab but is not in immediate use
Responsibilities:
Faculty and staff
Those faculty and staff whose research laboratories have or will have Class 1 and/or Class 2 chemicals as described in immediate use are expected to clearly identify those chemicals and the user(s) in a location outside of and close to the laboratory. All Class 1 chemicals and Class 2 acute toxins must be listed whenever in immediate use. Those chemicals in immediate use rated as Class 2 for eye/skin damage must be listed after 4 PM weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays, and may be listed during ‘business hours’ if the faculty member chooses.
Faculty and staff are responsible for educating their laboratory members on the importance of this information and their responsibilities, and to communicate the College’s expectations with regards to following this policy. Chemicals in storage are not required to be identified.
In Ford Hall, pillars outside each ‘wet’ lab main entrance will be the location for these magnetic spaces.
Sabin Reed, Burton, and McConnell labs will need to have the location for the magnetic board/contact paper identified on a case-by-case basis
Laboratory members
Laboratory members are responsible for following their lab’s accepted procedure in posting chemicals in ‘immediate use’ and keeping this information up to date.
IF A CHEMICAL EXPOSURE OR SPILL OCCURS WITH A CLASS 1 or CLASS 2 CHEMICAL
- Call Campus Safety Emergency (x5555,413-585-5555), give nature of the emergency and location, then STAY ON THE LINE until Dispatch has the necessary information.
- Any person called to assist in this situation (a laboratory member, nearby faculty/staff, etc.) should take a photo of the relevant posting with their phone, leaving the posting in place, and show it to the responding Campus Safety officer (413-585-5555 or X5555). If they are unable to take a photo, take the posting to the responding Campus Safety Officer.
Options for a Procedure. Labs may select either, or propose an alternative that is legible and portable.
Option #1
–Chemicals that are rated a 1 or 2 for acute toxicity (ingestion/dermal/inhalation) and/or serious eye/skin damage/corrosion by their SDS are the subject of this protocol
–Faculty review chemicals planned to be in immediate use over the next several months, and after consulting the SDS’s, develop a list of chemicals meeting these criteria.
–The list is forwarded to their departmental administrative assistant, along with the number of laboratory members expected to work with each chemical as each researcher will be given their own set of cards.
–Cards with the names of these chemicals will be in plastic write-on pouches with an attached magnet.
–The laboratory member will add their name with dry erase marker to a card/pouch and attach it to a magnetic board/contact sheet outside the lab while that chemical is in immediate use.
–As new chemicals are ordered by a lab or scheduled for use, an email request from the laboratory member or faculty to quickadmin@smith.edu will produce new cards
–Contact person for this Procedure is Margaret Rakas, mrakas@smith.edu
Option #2-the “Card”
Template given on page 4 of the linked document – this would be completed by the researcher. Could be a printout on paper attached with a magnet; or completed on pre-printed cardstock, placed in a plastic sleeve with a magnet attached, then posted.