Environmental Health & Safety has launched the new EHS Assistant (EHSA) system. To ensure ease of adoption and understanding, it is rolling out in phases. During each phase, EH&S will contact and arrange an orientation followed by access to the system. Access to the system will not be granted until orientation is complete. For questions, contact EH&S at EHSASupport@uab.edu
Mission Statement: The Campus Emergency Management Committee (CEMC) is the multidisciplinary group comprised of representatives from Administration, Police, Emergency Management, Risk Management, Student Services, Facilities, and other leaders from departments across UAB as well as community partners. It is responsible for the development and periodic review of emergency response plans, planning and evaluation of drills, and the evaluation of response efforts following an actual event with recommendations to Administration for improvements.
Chair Name: Eddie Coar
Committee Contact Person: Eddie Coar
Phone number: 205-934-7415
Email address: recoarjr@uab.edu
Committee Objectives:
- Provide a structure for the mitigation, preparation, response and recovery related to emergencies that may impact the UAB Campus.
- Identify the potential hazards, threats, and adverse events, and assess the impact on the faculty, staff, students and visitors.
- Adopt an all-hazards approach to emergency management to address a range of emergencies regardless of cause.
- Evaluate, exercise, and revise as appropriate emergency planning and response documents.
FEMA training: https://training.fema.gov/nims/
Alabama EMA: http://ema.alabama.gov/
Personal preparedness: http://www.ready.gov/
Meeting Frequency:
Meets Quarterly
EHSA is an online tool to manage functions within your work environments.
Functionality includes:
- Manage your:
- Chemical inventory
- Controlled substances
- Lasers
- Radioactive material inventory
- X-Rays
- Hazardous waste pickup
- Lab registration
- Lab safety visits
- Reviews & approvals for Research Safety Committees (IBC, CSEMC, RRSC, SCHU, LSAC)
The EHSA Handbook provides instructions on how to navigate/utilize the system to perform various tasks.
Additional resources include a built-in “Help” button within EHSA and directions for contacting UAB EHS staff for assistance.
Cold Rooms are generally used for cell and bacterial culture, storage of biological reagents, and sometimes as work area for temperature-sensitive experiments.
Cold rooms for labs consisted of insulated boxes without any ventilation. Since there is no ventilation, they are not suitable for the storge of hazardous chemicals, compressed gases, or dry ice. Chemicals vaporizing into the air can accumulate and pose inhalation exposure to personnel or create an explosion hazard.
Another hazard associated with cold rooms is mold growth. Storage of cellulose containing materials (cardboard boxes, paper etc.) is one of the leading causes of mold growth in cold rooms. Mold growth can contribute to health problems caused by inhalation of the spores as well as contamination of research materials.
To learn more about how to use cold rooms safely at UAB, refer to Guidelines for the Use of Cold Rooms document.