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Environmental Health and Lab Safety

MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is committed to maintaining a safe environment by working cooperatively with the MIT Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Office. The MIT EHS Office is responsible for the management and delivery of services that promote environmentally responsible practices at MIT, reduce MIT’s impact on the environment, and protect the health and safety of the community at the operational level.

EHS Training

(Prepared by Stephen Rudolph)

Before gaining access to your lab and start working, you must register and receive all training required for the lab. MIT’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) office manages training through the Atlas Learning Center. Follow the instructions below to register and complete your required training.

  • Go to the MIT Atlas Learning Center. (Certificates are needed to access the Learning Center)
  • Select My Profile (upper right).
  • Select Create EHS Profile if you are new or UpdatePI/Activities if you are returning.
  • If the PI responsible for the lab you will be using is not listed as your PI, select your PI.
  • Click Continue.
  • From the list, select the activities that you will be involved with in the lab. As a minimum, select Use potentially hazardous chemicals in a laboratory.If your lab is rated for biohazards (BL1 or BL2) select Use biological materials requiring BL1 or BL2 containment. Suggested activities based on the PI you selected will be highlighted. Select the activities specified by your EHS Representative. Additional selections will give you additional training requirements so only select those that apply to you.
  • Click Submit.
  • Select My Training Needs.
  • Complete your required training before working in the lab.

Note: if you will also be using the lab of another PI, go back and select that PI as well (the system will allow you to select multiple PIs).

 

Below is a typical list of requirements if only Use potentially hazardous chemicals is selected.

Note: not all training requirements are fulfilled in same manner; follow the instructions below in CompletionMethod. Web-based training completed through the LearningCenter should be credited immediately. In-person, digitally signed, and classroom training may take a few days to be credited.

Course

Description

Completion Method

EHS00100

General ChemicalHygiene

Web-based throughLearning Center

EHS00501

Managing HazardousWaste

Web-based throughLearning Center

EHS00111

Review of DepartmentChemical Hygiene Plan

In the CEE Training section below, review thePlan and sign the online form.

EHS00110

Lab Specific Chem.Hygiene Training

Training is provided in person by the EHS

Representative of your lab

If you selected biohazards you will also have the following training requirement

EHS00260

General Biosafety forResearchers

Web-based throughLearning Center

Any questions may be directed to your lab’s EHS Representatives or EHS coordinator (gdevera@mit.edu).

CEE Training

Depending on the requirements generated by your Training Needs Assessment; you may need to undergo some department-specific training. The instructions below are related to that training. If you have any questions, please contact either your EHS representative or our EHS Coordinator, Glen de Vera.

Chemical Hygiene Plan and Signature
Researchers and lab supervisors must read this plan and sign the acknowledgment page certifying that they have read it. Please complete this acknowledgment form after reading the plan.

Chemical Hygiene Plan (pdf)

Acknowledgement Form (online form)

Lab Specific Chemical Hygiene Training
Request this training from your lab’s EHS representative. Contact Glen de Vera for more information.

EHS Representative Tools

EHS Representative Orientation

EHS Representatives should attend EHS0760c-A: EHS Representative Orientation.

EHS Representative Notebook

EHS on Atlas
Space registration, training reconciliation, inspections and training reports.

Training Reports
EHS reps can run a principal investigator (PI) training report by choosing Report 3: Report on all registered users under a PI or supervisor.

Level I Inspection Checklist: completed weekly, no record needed.
Level II Inspection Checklist: completed twice annually by EHS team.

Useful EHS Links