I.           REFERENCES

 

A.       California Code of Regulations, Title 8, General Industry Safety Orders

 

B.       American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygiene (ACGIH) Threshold Limit            Values (2010)

 

II.          POLICY

 

All processes or activities under the control of UCSD faculty, staff, or students shall be conducted in a manner that reduces, as completely as possible, environmental exposure of employees, students, or visitors to potentially hazardous substances or conditions. Preventive or control measures shall be designed to reduce or eliminate adverse health effects of these hazards. In no case may personnel exposure exceed the Permissible Exposure Levels (PEL), the Threshold Limit Values (TLV), or other recognized safety standards. It is University policy to achieve the lowest possible concentrations below these limits. In addition to inhalation route of entry, other hazards associated with skin absorption, injection, and ingestion will be evaluated in an attempt to reduce/eliminate exposure.

 

The Office of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) provides industrial hygiene services which will help assess and mitigate potential assaults to human health or the environment. These services include providing consultation and conducting surveys to monitor, evaluate, and control biological, chemical, and physical agents.

 

III.         PROCEDURES

 

If there is a potential for employees to be exposed to occupational health stressors at levels above the allowable PEL, TLV, or other recognized safety standards, EH&S should be contacted for assistance. Refer to the UCSD Blink website “Occupational Health Services” for further details. An Industrial Hygienist will review the process and evaluate the health risk. If applicable, the stressor may be monitored to determine if appropriate control strategies are needed to reduce employees' exposure levels. Control strategies may include engineering, administrative, and/or personal protective equipment.

 

A.       Recognition - Observation of the work process to identify health stressor.

 

B.       Evaluation - Determination of health risk via hazard properties of the stressor, concentration levels, process duration, process location, ventilation, etc.

 

C.       Controls - Methods of reducing exposure levels:

 

1.      Engineering - Ventilation (laboratory fume hood/biosafety cabinet), tools, assistive devices, etc.

 

2.      Administrative - Modification of work methods, substitution of the health stressor with a less hazardous substance, reduction of employee's exposure time, medical surveillance (PPM 516-21), employee training, etc.

 

3.      Personal Protective Equipment - Respirator (PPM 516-24), hearing protection devices (PPM 516-15), gloves, goggles, safety glasses, face shields, protective clothing, boots, etc.

 

IV.         RESPONSIBILITIES

 

A.          Departmental

Deans, department chairs, managers, department safety coordinators or equivalent staff shall be responsible for departmental observance of campus health and safety regulations and the provision of a safe and healthy environment. Department will provide recharge number to cover possible associated fees for sample collection and laboratory analysis.

 

B.          Environment, Health and Safety

The Office of Environment, Health and Safety is responsible for general surveillance of laboratories, shops, and other operations having potential occupational hazards.  EH&S is responsible for reviewing and analyzing situations and plans, establishing general safety and industrial hygiene surveillance, and providing consultation services. EH&S has the authority to issue cease and desist orders for any operations which are deemed unsafe.

 

C.       Principal Investigators/Supervisors

Each Principal Investigator or supervisor is responsible for the safety of facilities under his/her jurisdiction and operational procedures of personnel supervised. The Principal Investigator or supervisor will provide or secure consultation and/or training as necessary, and will enforce personnel compliance with established campus safety procedures and legal requirements. The Principal Investigator or supervisor is responsible for informing each person of the potential hazards they may be exposed to and for complying with the provisions of the Hazard Communication/Employee Right-To-Know policies as described in PPM 516-13.

The Principal Investigator or supervisor is responsible for health and safety surveillance throughout his/her area.

 

D.       Individuals

An individual shall not perform any function or operation which is deemed or known to be hazardous before consulting with his or her supervisor, or some higher level of authority, as to the safe manner of procedure. Communicate to supervisor when the use of health stressor increases and/or work condition changes, resulting in employee exposure levels. An individual shall comply with the established health and safety policies and procedures.