Laboratory Inspection Checklist - Short

1. Record Keeping: Findings identified on previous self-inspections have been corrected and corrections have been documented?

2. Record Keeping: Lab members roster is up to date; members have completed requisite EH&S and LabSpecific safety training?

3. Record Keeping: Lab’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Assessment is complete to reflect current hazards in the laboratory.

4. General Safety: Areas around fire extinguishers, pull alarms, and emergency eyewashes/showers clear and accessible?

5. General Safety: All objects stored at least 18 inches away from fire sprinklers?

6. General Safety: Cabinets, furniture, and equipment taller than 4 feet braced or anchored?

7. General Safety: Lab floors, aisles, and adjacent hallways unobstructed?

8. General Safety: Floors dry and free of slip hazards?

9. General Safety: Extension cords only used temporarily, and power strips not daisy-chained together?

10. General Safety: No exposed wiring or damaged electrical cords?

11. General Safety: First aid and chemical spill kits available?

12. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Workspaces (e.g., benchtops, fume hoods, biosafety cabinets) organized and clean?

13. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Containers, including for non-hazardous chemicals and water, legibly labeled with the full chemical or trade name? (Note: abbreviations/formulas are not adequate.)

14. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Flammable liquids (including flammable waste and glacial acetic acid) stored in flammable storage cabinets?

15. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Flammable materials requiring refrigeration are placed in explosion-proof or flammables refrigerators only?

16. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Food and drinks stored and consumed away from toxic materials?

17. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Hazardous chemicals and oil pumps stored in adequate secondary containment?

18. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Hazardous materials near sinks or drains in secondary containment?

19. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Secondary containers clean and free from spilled material?

20. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Lab practices minimize volatilization (e.g., traps used, open-container procedures minimized)?

21. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: “Chemical Waste Compliance” poster is posted in the location where hazardous waste is accumulated?

22. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Chemical containers and hazardous waste containers are clean, structurally sound, and closed when not in use?

23. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Chemical containers and hazardous waste containers properly segregated according to hazard class?

24. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Hazardous waste containers labeled with completed waste tags?

25. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: All hazardous waste in lab is less than 9 months old?

26. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Sharps placed in a designated sharps container and the container is no more than three-quarters full?

27. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Biohazardous waste in red bags in hard-sided container which is labeled with Universal Biohazard label on the top and lateral sides (must be labeled on all 4 sides and top)?

28. Hazardous Materials & Wastes: Life Safety Box has current emergency contacts, chemical storage maps, and chemical inventories?

29. Compressed Gasses: Compressed gas cylinders are listed on the chemical inventory in ChemTracker, positioned so the label is visible, and stored in a dry, well-ventilated location protected from heat sources?

30. Compressed Gasses: Cylinders over 26 inches tall secured to a rigid structure at 1/3 and 2/3 height with metal chains, and a maximum of 2 cylinders used per pair of chains (one restraint for cylinders ≤26 inches and dewars)?

31. Compressed Gasses: Cylinder valves closed and valve caps in place when cylinders not in use?

32. Other safety concerns