Environmental Health and Safety

Chancellor's Memorandum


CM-59 - Safety and Environmental Policy and Responsibilities

To: LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Faculty, Students, and Staff
From: LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Chancellor

February 10, 2014

Purpose

This document provides the Chancellor's safety and environmental policy statement, and sets forth responsibilities associated with these programs.

Policy Statement

The LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all faculty, staff, students and visitors; and conducting its mission in compliance with all applicable environmental health and safety laws and regulations.

As Chancellor, I am responsible for ensuring that the Health Sciences Center operates safely to minimize health hazards, reduce the risk of injury, and maintain environmental compliance.  Senior leadership and all supervisors share in this responsibility with me, and will ensure that all activities under their control are performed safely and in accordance with current policies and guidelines.  A primary role of the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Department is to oversee the safety and environmental programs, and provide consultative services; contact EH&S if you require assistance for any aspect of your safety and environmental programs.

Maintaining a safe and healthy environment requires the involvement of all faculty, staff and students.  All members of the Health Sciences Center community are responsible for their own safety and shall set a personal example of safe practices for other members of the community.   Your commitment to safety and environmental compliance plays a critical role in support of the Health Sciences Center's mission to provide world-class education, research and public service.

Responsibilities

Vice Chancellors, Deans, Directors and Department Heads shall implement the safety and environmental programs in their areas of responsibility and are accountable through their respective administrative channels for the control and reporting of accidents and hazardous exposures in the work environment.  They are responsible for the safety and environmental compliance of the personnel and programs under their supervision.

Supervisors are also responsible for the personnel under their supervision and will:

  • Incorporate safety as an integral aspect of all operations.
  • Train employees in the safe use of equipment and in safe work practices specific to the workplace. Ensure new employees and employees who are assigned new tasks are trained on safety procedures before starting work.  Ensure training is properly documented.
  • Inspect their work areas for compliance with safe work practices and identify potential hazards.
  • Correct any unsafe acts and unsafe conditions.
  • Report and investigate accidents.
  • Provide timely responses to questions or concerns about environmental health and safety issues.
  • Hold personnel accountable for failure to comply with safe work practices, rules and regulations.

Individual personnel are responsible for their personal safety and will:

  • Follow prescribed safety rules and regulations.
  • Immediately report safety hazards to their supervisor.
  • Report to the supervisor all incidents/accidents, including “near misses”, and any change in health status if it may be due to a job-related activity.
  • Seek guidance from their supervisor if there is any uncertainty on any issue that may impact workplace safety.

The EH&S Department is the principal provider/coordinator of all LSUHSC safety and environmental requirements, and will:

  • Provide resources to assist with identification, evaluation, and control of hazardous situations.
  • Provide assessments for research laboratories and shops working with potentially hazardous chemical, biological, or physical agents.
  • Provide general safety training.
  • Provide hazardous waste disposal.
  • Develop and issue rules and procedures.
  • Assess safety performance and accident trends.
  • Check for compliance with applicable safety laws and codes.
  • Plan and direct a regular program of safety inspections.

Five oversight committees bring together members of the Health Sciences Center community to work collaboratively with EH&S to assess the safety and environmental programs and recommend/implement improvements.

  • The Executive Committee for Environmental Health and Safety assesses prior year accomplishments and the coming year goals of all oversight committees and EH&S, and provides guidance and advice on program improvements to enhance safety readiness.
  • The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews, approves and oversees research using rDNA to ensure compliance with NIH guidelines.  The committee also reviews all research for biological safety issues.
  • The General Safety Committee assesses accident/incident trends, fire safety, driving safety, and building/grounds safety.
  • The Chemical Safety Committee reviews issues related to the safe receipt, use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials.
  • The Radiation Safety Committee is the governing body for all aspects of radiation protection, including all affiliated research, clinical, instructional and service units that use ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

 

Larry H. Hollier, M.D. Chancellor