Department of Chemistry

Safety Training Policy

Government safety regulations (OSHA, NYS) require that students working in both academic and research chemistry laboratories receive safety and annual hazardous waste disposal training. This training is normally provided for student groups by qualified designated safety personnel. For the Chemistry Department, a student's primary resource is their Research Faculty Advisor/Lead Professor.  The current designated Safety Trainer is Daniel Jacques, Instructional Support Specialist.

Policy:

All students needing safety / hazardous waste disposal training sessions must adhere to the following policy proposed by the Department Safety Committee and adopted by Chemistry Department Faculty:

1a. For trainings involving Research Labs, if the student cannot make the Department Hazardous Waste Training sessions as listed for the current semester in the Training Sign-Up Webform, the student must contact their Research Faculty Advisor/Lead Professor in person or by email to discuss scheduling a training session at a date and time agreeable for both the trainer and student.  Immediate "on-the-spot" training requests will not be honored.

1b. For trainings involving Hazardous Waste Disposal or Academic Lab safety lecture, the student must contact their Research Faculty Advisor/Lead Professor and the current designated safety trainer through the Chemistry Department webpage at https://www.geneseo.edu/chemistry/safety-training, in person, or by email to discuss scheduling a training session at a date and time agreeable for both the trainer and student.  Immediate "on-the-spot" training requests will not be honored.

1c.  For Academic Laboratories, each student must complete and submit the associated Student Safety Questions form(s) by the second scheduled laboratory session attended by a student, for each course and section the student is enrolled.  Without an appropriately completed Student Safety Questions form(s) on file, students may be dismissed from the associated laboratory course

2. The student is responsible for showing up for training at the agreed on date and time. If the student cannot make this training session, they MUST contact the appropriate safety trainer for possible re-scheduling.

3. A student will be allowed only ONE re-scheduling.

4. If the student does not show for the initially scheduled training session AND does not contact the safety trainer, the trainer reserves the right to cancel the session and not re-schedule.

5. Once the above cancellation occurs, the student will be denied access to academic and research laboratories within the Department for the remaining balance of the semester. To avoid this outcome, the student may obtain training from their Research Faculty Advisor/Lead Professor only if the faculty member agrees to and is qualified and documented by the College's EHS Department to provide this training. Lack of access to laboratories will mean that the student must withdraw from the classes or research for which he/she needs access.

6. The student's Research Faculty Advisor/Lead Professor will be notified regarding the student's training status.

7. This policy (and/or a reference to the policy with associated online link location) will be incorporated into the syllabus for an academic laboratory and a directed study course, and into the contracts of students hired by the department.