III. EH&S Departments and Programs

This section contains a brief description of EH&S departments and programs. It is intended to give you an overview of the services they provide. If you need assistance in any of these areas or believe your department should be participating in a particular program, contact the appropriate department below.

Biological Safety

The department is responsible for programs concerning the safe use of infectious agents, recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids and human derived materials at UK. This includes training, auditing, and consulting with researchers and laboratory personnel concerning compliance with the federal and state laws, regulations and guidelines in these areas. The Biological Safety Officer is the liaison between researchers and

the Institutional Biosafety Committee, which reviews protocols dealing with infectious agents and/or recombinant or synthetic nucleic acids.

Environmental Management

The department is responsible for the review and interpretation of environmental regulations as they apply to UK. It has primary responsibility for management of UK’s hazardous waste, including waste pick-ups and central waste storage. This unit handles hazardous materials spills and releases, biohazard wastes, chemical recycling and provides assistance for shipping hazardous materials. It also focuses on environmental

compliance and activities that could affect the quality of the air, soil, surface water or groundwater. This unit also handles asbestos testing and abatement, underground storage tank compliance and removal, lead and PCB testing, environmental site assessments and contaminated site remediation.

Occupational Health and Safety

The department is responsible for all OSHA-related programs, such as respiratory protection, hearing conservation, bloodborne pathogens, hazard communication, laboratory safety, and many others. The department also conducts fume hood inspections, indoor air quality investigations, ergonomic assessments,

accident investigations and assists units with general safety procedures, such as ladder safety, chemical storage safety, electrical safety, and construction safety.

Radiation Safety

The department is responsible for all aspects of radiation use at UK. The radiation protection program includes radioactive materials user authorization, film badges and bioassays, survey meter calibration, radiation safety training, radioactive waste handling, and purchasing of radiation sources. The unit is also

responsible for x-ray and laser safety programs.

University Fire Marshal

The department handles fire prevention and training, fire suppression systems, fire extinguisher inspection and maintenance, life safety audits, emergency evacuation planning, and building code compliance. The University Fire Marshal has the delegated authority for plan review and approval of in-house construction and renovation projects (i.e., non-capital projects costing less than $1,000,000). All in-house renovations must be

approved by the Fire Marshal’s office prior to beginning construction.

EH&S has developed a number of model programs to help provide for the health and safety of UK employees. Many of these programs are mandatory to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. The following are some of the programs and safety manuals available:

• Biosafety Manual
• Bloodborne Pathogens Program
• Confined Space Entry Program
• Emergency Plans
• Hazard Communication Program
• Hazardous Waste Manual
• Hearing Conservation Program
• Laboratory Safety Manual (Chemical Hygiene Plan)
• Laser Safety Manual
• Lockout/Tagout Program
• Radiation Safety Manual
• Respiratory Protection Program
• Select Agent Program
• Powered Industrial Equipment
• Autoclave Verification Program

For copies of these manuals or model programs, contact the appropriate department. These and numerous other safety resources are available on the EH&S web site.