Washington State University
Environmental Health & Safety Implementation of the Chemical Hygiene Plan

Implementation of the Chemical Hygiene Plan

  • In order to meet the requirements of the Laboratory Safety Standard, a written Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) must be developed and implemented for each Washington State University laboratory. The Chemical Hygiene Plan must contain:
    • a.    standard operating procedures (SOPs) for use of hazardous chemicals;
    • b.    designated area provisions;
    • c.    descriptions of or provisions for fume hoods and other protective equipment;
    • d.    provisions for employee information, training, and medical monitoring and examination;
    • e.    evaluation criteria the employer will use to reduce exposure;
    • f.     prior approval provisions for special laboratory projects;
    • g.    a designation of the chemical hygiene officer (CHO) and other person(s) responsible for implementation of the CHP; and
    • h.    any extra protection provisions.
  • The Chemical Hygiene Plan must be readily available to all employees and students in the laboratory. The term “readily available” means accessible to all laboratory staff at any time during the work period, day or night. It must also be available on request to Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) staff and Washington State Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) representatives.
  • The area for which the Chemical Hygiene Plan is written may be adjoining rooms, a single room or an area within a room as long as the definition of “readily available,” as stated above, is met. The spatial definition of a “laboratory” is left to the discretion of the individual who will ultimately take responsibility for the safety of all employees who work within that area. This individual should be a Principal Investigator (PI) or a laboratory supervisor.
  • Environmental Health and Safety has provided the basic elements of a “generic” or “core” Chemical Hygiene Plan, represented by the online Laboratory Safety Manual (LSM). Included in the LSM are the established policies of Washington State University and various regulatory agencies.
  • Each laboratory must provide additional information to make this the CHP laboratory specific. The Chemical Hygiene Plan Guide document contains questions or prompts that must be filled out by the Principal Investigator or laboratory supervisor. There is not a prescribed way to fill out these pages. If there is information already written concerning the questions, or if this information is available on a computer, attach copies or originals to the CHP guide document. This information will be unique to the laboratory and is an integral part of the Chemical Hygiene Plan. The pages that must be completed are contained in the Laboratory Specific Chemical Hygiene Plan Guide.