Are you new to Bowdoin?
If you will be working in a lab as a Professor, Researcher, Lab Instructor, Lab Tech, or Visiting Professor, then you will need to complete at least TWO trainings: Initial Hazardous Waste Management Training and Laboratory Safety Training. These trainings are required by OSHA and EPA and each training must be repeated annually. If you will be working with live animals you may need additional training. Contact the Animal Care Supervisor (Marko Melendy 725-3517, mmelendy@bowdoin.edu ) for further information and to schedule a training.
Are you a student participating in an Honors Project or Independent Study?
You will need to complete at least TWO trainings: Initial Hazardous Waste Management Training and Laboratory Safety Training. These trainings are required by OSHA and EPA and each training must be repeated annually. If you will be working with live animals you may need additional training. Contact the Animal Care Supervisor (Marko Melendy 725-3517, mmelendy@bowdoin.edu) for further information and to schedule a training.
Are you a student Lab Assistant or are you doing glassware washing or other peripheral work in a lab?
You will need to have a blue card showing completion and currency of the full Laboratory Safety Training or of the abbreviated Lab Safety Awareness Training. Lab Safety Awareness Training is a short, self-paced training that involves viewing a Powerpoint and completeing a short quiz on paper. This abbreviated training is not suitable training for those students doing normal lab work in research labs. You may complete the training on your own and bring the completed paper quiz to the Office of Laboratory Safety to receive a blue card. Click here to get the Powerpoint and Quiz .
Do you need to renew your training?
Look at your Training Certification Card (or “Blue Card”) to see when your current trainings expire. If your training expiration date is approaching you will need to renew your training. Most laboratory workers will need to repeat at least TWO trainings: Hazardous Waste Management Training and Laboratory Safety Training. These trainings are required by OSHA and EPA and each training must be repeated annually. If you will be working with live animals you may need additional training. Contact the Animal Care Supervisor (Marko Melendy 725-3517, mmelendy@bowdoin.edu) for further information and to schedule a training.
How do I access these trainings?
Initial Hazardous Waste Management Training, Hazardous Waste Management Training, and Laboratory Safety Training are available on-line. To access Laboratory Safety Training, go to the LAB SAFETY page. To access either Hazardous Waste Management trainings go to the WASTE MANAGEMENT page. When finished with the on-line trainings, visit the office of Laboratory Safety, 41A Druckenmiller Hall, to get a Training Certification Card (or “Blue Card”).
What is "Laboratory Specific Training?
Some labs have specialized hazards that necessitates workers in that lab to have training specific to that lab's hazards. If you are a student working in these areas, you must obtain this training from the professor responsible for that lab. The nature of this training must be documented and the date of completion and type of Lab Specific training should be indicated on the Training Certification Card (or “Blue Card”)
What is the "Laboratory Training Certification Program"?
The Laboratory Training Certification Program was developed in an effort to manage and document each individual laboratory worker’s compliance with their particular training requirements. The program applies equally to faculty, staff, and students who work in the labs as the regulations apply to all lab workers. The program allows each individual to: a) know what trainings are required for the lab they are working within and; b) keep track of their own compliance with respect to required training.
Program Details
There are two parts to the Laboratory Training Certification Program. The first part involves a responsible person determining and clearly displaying what training is required to work in a particular laboratory. The second part involves individual lab workers documenting and clearly displaying proof of their up-to-date training. Each part of the program involves displaying the information on a standardized form.
Part One – Laboratory Training Requirements Card
Each Faculty or Staff member responsible for a laboratory space will determine, based on the Lab Hazard Analysis, what specific types of training are required to work in their lab space. This information will be indicated on a standardized green “Lab Card” (Fig 1), and displayed on the laboratory door near the pink Emergency Information Card visible from the hallway (Fig 2).
Part Two – Individual Laboratory Training Certificate
Each individual working in the lab will affix on the inside of the lab door their Laboratory Training Certificate, also known as their “Blue Card” (Fig 3). These Blue Cards will be clearly visible from inside the lab (Fig 4). These certificates will be signed and dated by each trainer at the time of the individual’s training, and will indicate the nature of the training, the date the training was successfully completed, and the date that the training will expire. Faculty or Staff persons responsible for the lab will be responsible for ensuring that all lab workers in their lab have completed the required training and that each lab worker’s training is current (has not expired) before allowing them to work in the lab.
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*Additional training may be required per the terms and conditions of grants that fund lab activities, research, and/or fellowships.