Chemical Hygiene Plan - Queensborough Community College ...

10.1 Standard Operating Procedures
The OSHA Laboratory Standard requires that Chemical Hygiene Plans include specific elements
and measures to ensure employee protection in the laboratory. One such element is the
establishment of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) “relevant to safety and health
considerations to be followed when laboratory work involves the use of hazardous chemicals.”
SOPs can be stand-alone documents or be supplemental information included as part of research
notebooks, experiment documentation, or research proposals. The requirement for SOPs is to
ensure that a process is in place to document and addresses relevant health and safety issues as
part of every experiment.
At a minimum, SOPs should address:
• The chemicals involved and their hazards.
• Special hazards and circumstances.
• The use of engineering controls (such as fume hoods).
• Required PPE.
• Spill response measures.
• Waste disposal procedures.
• Decontamination procedures.
• A description of how to perform the experiment or operation.
While the OSHA Laboratory Standard specifies the requirement for SOPs for work involving
hazardous chemicals, laboratories should also develop SOPs for use with any piece of equipment
or operation that may pose any physical hazards. Examples include:
• Safe use and considerations of LASERs.
• Use of cryogenic liquids and fill procedures.
• Connecting regulators to gas cylinders and cylinder change outs.
• Use of high voltage equipment
SOPs do not have to be lengthy, and it is perfectly acceptable to point laboratory personnel to
other sources of information. Some examples of what to include as part of SOPs include:
• “To use this piece of equipment, see page 4 in the operator’s manual (located in
file cabinet #4)”
• “The chemical and physical hazards of this chemical can be found in the MSDS
located in the MSDS binder. Read the MSDS before using this chemical.”
• “When using chemical X, wear safety goggles, nitrile gloves, and a lab coat.”
Your EHS Office can assist laboratories with developing SOPs. Due to the variety of research
and the large number of laboratories throughout the QCC system, it is the responsibility of each
laboratory, department, and college to ensure that SOPs are developed and that the practices and
procedures are adequate to protect lab workers who use hazardous chemicals.
It is the responsibility of the P.I. and laboratory supervisor to ensure that written SOPs
incorporating health and safety considerations are developed for work involving the use of
hazardous chemicals in laboratories under their supervision and that PPE and engineering
controls are adequate to prevent exposure. In addition, P.I.s and laboratory supervisors must
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