The UI Department of Chemistry is committed to providing a safe working environment for all personnel working in research and teaching laboratories. We strive to provide safe facilities by following regulations provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the University of Iowa’s Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHS), and the chemistry department’s safety committee.

Everyone is responsible for maintaining a safe work environment. Depending on the nature of your research, specialized safety training (EHS training or site-specific training) is required of each individual. Annual review of these important safety items is often required. EHS provides access to on-line chemical inventories for each research group. To enhance overall departmental safety education efforts, the department’s Safety Committee leads a department-wide annual safety seminar which is required for all faculty, students, postdocs, and staff.

Finally, each research group has a student liaison for sharing important safety information to the groups in a way that will complement the faculty advisor’s direct safety training. This liaison group also provides a conduit for key lab safety concerns from those actually performing the research.