Chemical safety training

All staff and students who work with chemicals require sufficient knowledge and training in their safe use, handling and disposal. There are no set list of courses that are required, as this is dependent on the type of work being undertaken. However, below are a list of course that may be applicable and useful. You must also check with your local School Safety Adviser for any School or Department requirements.

Basic courses

Risk Assessment

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)

Manual handling

First aid

Specific courses available from the Health and Safety Department

Liquid nitrogen

Laboratory Gas safety

Respiratory Protective Equipment (if required as part of your risk assessment)

Animal allergens (if also working with animal allergens)

Biological safety (if also working with biological substances) - NB this link takes you to the Biosafety website

Radiation safety (if also working with radioactive substances) - NB this link takes you to the Radiation protection website

Courses available from other areas of the University

The Health and Safety Manager for CMVM has published the training slides from his training courses that he provides. You can view these training slides online or contact him if you wish to attend his training in person, Lindsay.Murray@ed.ac.uk. Although these training slides are geared towards health and safety at Edinburgh BioQuarter, their main content is applicable to all who work with that equipment or substances.

Practical training

In conjunction with any online or in-person training on specific subjects, staff and students should also be provided with suitable in-person training within the laboratory to ensure they are competent to work with the substances and equipment required for their work or studies. This must be provided and recorded locally.