Chemical Hygiene Plan - Queensborough Community College ...

PURPOSE OF THIS MANUAL
The main purpose of this manual is to address all Federal, State, and Local regulatory
requirements that pertain to laboratory safety with which the City University of New York
system is mandated to comply. Chief among these is the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.1450, "Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories”, or what is commonly referred to as the “Laboratory Standard.” The
Laboratory Standard requires the development of a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for each
laboratory workplace which is capable of protecting employees from health hazards associated
with hazardous chemicals in the laboratory and capable of keeping exposures below OSHA
Permissible Exposure Limits. The New York State Plan for Public Employee Safety and Health
(PESH), by authority under Section 27(a) of the New York Labor Law, is responsible for
promoting the health and safety for State and Local government employees. The PESH Program
has adopted all Federal OSHA standards and regulations in regards to laboratory safety with the
exception of the Recordkeeping Rule, 29 CFR 1904. 1 The New York Department of Labor has
been designated as the agency responsible for administering the plan throughout the State. The
Commissioner of Labor has full authority to enforce and administer all laws and rules adopted by
the PESH Program.
Throughout this document, areas where regulatory requirements exist will be clearly identified
using words such as “must”, “required”, “shall”, and “it is the responsibility”, etc. All other
information provided within this document are recommendations that the Environmental, Health
and Safety Officer (EHSO) Council encourages laboratories to follow as best management
practices. Colleges, departments, other units, and individual laboratories are free to
establish the recommended guidelines found within this document as required for their
units or laboratories.
To take advantage of the Internet, this document is formatted to be a “front door” to other
resources, including useful web links. Where appropriate, web links will be embedded within
the document and identified as a hyperlinked word that can be clicked on to view the webpage.
Please note, by clicking on these external resources you will be leaving the Laboratory Safety
Manual and will need to click the “Back” button on your browser to return to the manual. For
those internal hyperlinks, including the table of contents, you can move around the document by
clicking on the back and forward hyperlink arrow buttons.
This Laboratory Safety Manual is considered a living document and will be reviewed at least
annually and updated with your participation, comments, and suggestions.
*This manual is not intended to supersede any specific operational rules or procedures that have been adopted by the University to comply with
health, safety or other regulations or policies. It is a compilation of ideas from various sources. We would like to extend a special thanks to
Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College for their particularly helpful contribution.
1 New York promulgated and adopted an alternative approach to recordkeeping requirements under 12
NYCRR section 801 and administrative instructions 901.
8