Information for Supervisors, Staff, PhD and Honours Students
Workplace Occupational Health and Safety

Responsibilities
Supervisors
The supervising academic has an overall responsibility for the safety of their staff and students. Supervisors are expected to provide equipment (including lab coats and safety glasses), training and adequate supervision to ensure that the environment in which their staff and students work is safe. This includes ensuring that they are provided with written protocols for all equipment, chemicals and procedures used. This also includes spill and emergency procedures.

Supervisors need to ensure that risk assessments are being done prior to any work with hazardous materials, and subsequently ensure that all known hazards are being managed and any waste generated is also being handled in a safe manner. This is best done by recording all risk assessment outcomes/recommendations in the written experimental protocol (see Risk Assessments document). It is the academic supervisors responsibility to ensure that all OH&S guidelines are adhered to. "Due care" must be exhibited.

Supervisors should read all the relevant documents on the BoZo web site to ensure that they are passing on the current information to students.

Staff and Students Working Under Supervision
While the overall responsibility for safety rests with the supervisor it is important that staff and students cooperate with their supervisor to undergo training, develop and follow guidelines, read relevant MSDS’s (Material Safety Data Sheet) and make their own assessment of risks. They must bring their supervisors attention to any item of defective equipment, and wear appropriate personal protective equipment at all times.

If you are a contributor to an accident you may be held equally responsible and if unfortunate enough to be injured yourself any contributory negligence may well be considered if compensation is claimed.

http://info.anu.edu.au/policies/Policies/Human_Resources/ohs/Legal_Liability_in_Relation_to_OHS.asp

Managing Hazards- Risk Assessments
For all procedures, in both teaching and research, you must evaluate the hazards and provide written documentation on how the identified hazards are to be managed. See document Risk Assessments for more help.

A written protocol should be available for all experimental procedures, and the risk assessment outcomes for each hazardous chemical should be included in the text. A written protocol should also be available for correct use of each piece of equipment.

Supervisors should help new staff and students to complete the form Project Risk Assessment prior to commencing any field or laboratory work. Upon completion these forms should be submitted to the HTO for approval/advice on ways to decrease any potential risk involved. Risk Assessments should also be carried out for each hazardous chemical prior to use.

It is also your responsibility to maintain a list of all the hazardous chemicals in your laboratory. A copy of this should be held in the RED folder provided in each lab along with a current MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for each of these chemicals (available from the manufacturer or through the ChemWatch program).

Immediately notify the HTO if you own or intend to use a chemical which requires the use of health monitoring or if it is a Restricted Carcinogen and needs a permit to be held.

Information sources include the ANU Chemical Safety Manual, Attachment A.

Laboratory safety
Training for New Staff and Students
The School offers an in-house 1-day training course which covers many aspects of working within a laboratory (see Laboratory Skills Course for details of course contents). Both theoretical and practical skills are covered which will enable users to improve their safe and effective use of chemicals, equipment, and protocols.

The course is generally held in March and August-to coincide with Honours students starting their projects. All new staff, PhD and Honours students are expected to attend the next available course. Existing staff and students are also encouraged to attend to update their knowledge. Please contact Ginny Sargent (Ginny.Sargent@anu.edu.au) to put your own, staff or students name down for the next course or to get a copy of the manual.

Laboratory Safety Equipment
It is the academic in charge’s responsibility to ensure that all the staff and students under their direction are equipped with the necessary personal protection, and that they are informed how to use them correctly. Positive role models help immensely with this.

Refer to Use of Personal Protective Equipment Policy

Lab coats should be worn in the lab at all times. Safety glasses should be available at all times and used whenever there is any risk of splashes or other injury. Approriate gloves should be worn when required. Open shoes should not be worn in the lab. Necessary safety equipment should be listed in your Experimental protocols.

Storage of chemicals
Chemicals and solvents fall under the: ACT Dangerous Goods Act; Hazardous Substances Act and; ACT Poisons Act. Acids and solvents must be stored separately. Acetic acid is flammable and should be stored with the flammable solvents. A maximum of 8 Winchesters (total solvents and acids) is allowed in any one lab and no large solvent storage containers (greater than 4 litres) can be stored in the lab. The bulk solvent and acid store, in the animal house compound, should be used for storage of excess chemicals (ensure that they are well labelled with the date and contact) and of chemical waste. Winchesters should be stored in trays in case of breakage. Poisons, carcinogens, oxidising agents and peroxides require special storage arrangements. See HTO.

All bottles of chemicals on shelves should be correctly labelled.

Waste Disposal
Arrangements for the disposal or recycling of chemical waste should be considered in your Experimental Protocol. Chemicals to be disposed of should be stored in appropriate containers and labelled with the date, room number, and details of contents. Advise the HTO when there is material to be disposed of.

See documents

You should immediately report the accident/near miss to the HTO 6125 3068 or the School’s administrator 6125 2866. There is also an online reporting system which, in the case of an accident must be completed within 24 hours (http://info.anu.edu.au/policies/Procedures/Human_Resources/OHS/Incident_Reporting.asp). This provides not only documentation if you later want to make a claim for compensation but is also important in helping to prevent a repetition of that incident.

At any time if you have concerns about potential hazards we encourage you to contact the HTO.

Emergency procedures
There are specific emergency procedures for evacuation in the case of fire, chemical spill and arising from a bomb threat. You and your staff need to be familiar with all of these procedures.

EEO
Supervisors have a responsibility to ensure that EEO principles are applied in their work areas. Refer to http://www.anu.edu.au/equity/eopol.html

After hours work
Staff and students are not allowed to work using hazardous procedures and chemicals outside normal work hours without the presence of an experienced co-worker.

Security
Essential to providing a safe work place is maintaining security in the building. Supervisors need to impress this on new staff and students. Supervisors should also make sure they are not exposed to additional risks when leaving the work place. ANU Security will escort staff to their vehicles. The Security contact is 52249.

Theft
While not specifically an OH&S matter there are a few guidelines that might be helpful.

You must consider the safety of staff and students as a priority. Contact security (52249) and the HTO (53068) immediately you suspect there is an unauthorised person in the building. You should not approach anyone acting suspiciously if you do not feel confident in doing so. However you can ask that person what their business is in the building and if there is not a good answer you, as an officer of the University you are empowered to ask them to leave.

Field work
Fieldwork is covered by the ANU Fieldwork Policy and BOZO Fieldwork Policy. Staff undertaking fieldwork must have read and understood these policies. Supervisors have a particularly important role in ensuring that the staff and students have the skills, equipment and physical fitness to undertake their tasks. The Travel Proposal and Project Risk Assessment forms must be completed and submitted to the HTO at least one week prior to commencement of field work.

As a supervisor or participant you need to be aware that, on occasions, peoples assessment of their own ability generally relates to working in good weather with few problems. Contingencies needs to be made for worse case scenarios

Vehicles
Vehicles are one of the areas of greatest risk to health and life.

You need to make sure, particularly with honours students, that they have the required driving skills when deciding on a project.