Lab Safety Awareness Week!

Lab Safety Awareness Week is an event held in February that recognizes the successes of laboratory health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep our faculty, staff and students safe.

Why Participate?

Successful laboratory safety awareness and programs can help identify and manage laboratory hazards before they cause injury. 

Topics for 2026 Lab Safety Awareness Week

1. Peroxide Former Safety

2. Compressed Gas Safety

3. Weekly Lab Habits (Checklist!)

4. Annual Lab Safety Tasks (Another Checklist!)

5. We are all in this together

Details on Activities:

Participate in the Lab Makeover Photo Competition 2026 (ALL WEEK)

• Send submission to: lindsah@pdx.edu
• Submissions are due by noon on Thursday, February 12th, 2026
• Criteria:
  • Submit a “before” photo of an area in your lab that needs attention, and an “after” photo once lab housekeeping has taken place
  • Can be any area in lab (benchtop, fume hood, chemical storage, waste area, etc.)
  • Call out anyone who assisted in the cleanup
• Prize for winner will be announced at the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Party on Friday, February 13th at 1pm in SRTC 357 

Meet your Environmental Health & Safety Team (Monday-Thursday)

• Do you have questions about how you can improve the safety in your lab or field work? Bring your inquiries to one of the tabling events taking place Monday-Thursday in both the Engineering Building (9-11am) and SRTC (12-2pm) (refreshments provided).
• Cameos from the Chemical Hygiene Committee will be sprinkled throughout the week's tabeling events!

Attend Working Safely in the Lab Training (Friday 10-12pm)

• Registration is required and can be done through this safety training submission form.

Attend the Lab Safety Response Demo Session (Friday 12-1pm)

• Open to all and no registration is required (demo session is required for attendees of the monthly lab safety training)
• Demos will include:
  • Fire extinguisher hands-on training
  • Spill response (spill chemicals on purpose!)
  • Pull the safety shower
  • Test a fume hood
  • Learn about all of the fun air quality gadgets EHS has to offer!

Join us for a Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Party (Friday 1-2pm)

• The Chemistry Stockroom will be dishing up all your favorite flavors of liquid nitrogen ice cream! Stop on by, grab a cup and catch up with some of your research community.
• Winner of the Photo Makeover Challenge will be announced!

Archive from Years Past

Topics for 2025 Lab Safety Awareness Week

1. Greenhouse Safety

2. Makerspace Safety

Greenhouse Safety

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Greenhouse Safety poster, please select the link above.

Makerspace Safety

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Makerspace Safety poster, please select the link above.

Topics for 2024 Lab Safety Awareness Week

1. Chemical Storage

2. Engineering Controls

Chemical Storage 

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Chemical Storage poster, please select the link above.

For more information on PSU's current guidelines on proper chemical storage, please visit the PSU Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Engineering Controls

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Engineering Controls poster, please select the link above.

For more information on PSU's current guidelines on engineering controls and equipment guidelines, please visit the PSU Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Topics for 2023 Lab Safety Awareness Week

1. Personal Protective Equipment and General Lab Attire

2. Lab Housekeeping

3. Safety Equipment in the Lab

4. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

5. We're All in this Together!

6. Meet Your EHS Team

Lab Safety Awareness Week In-Person Event!

Please join us Friday, February 17th to celebrate the culmination of this week!

There will be an in-person spill response demo starting at 12pm in SRTC 355, followed by donuts and coffee in the 3rd floor SRTC Student Lounge. Also, our local Fisher Scientific Representative, Nick Fischer, will be tabling. Stop by with questions about any lab equipment or supplies needs.

Personal Protective Equipment and General Lab Attire

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Personal Protective Equipment a General Lab Attire poster, please select the link above.

For more information on PSU's current guidelines on proper lab PPE and attire, please visit this section of the Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Lab Housekeeping

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Lab Housekeeping poster, please select the link above.

For more information on PSU's guidelines to proper lab housekeeping, as well as other best laboratory practices, please visit this section of the Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Safety Equipment in the Lab

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Safety Equipment in the Lab poster, please select the link above.

More information about lab safety equipment and emergency response can be found in this section of the Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

For a downloadable and printable copy of the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment poster, please select the link above.

Please find more resources and information on how to perform a proper risk assessment in this section of the Chemical Hygiene Plan.