AeroAstro Environment, Health, and Safety

AeroAstro is committed to providing a safe environment. Together with the Environment, Health, and Safety Office, we promote environmentally responsible practices, reduce our environmental impact, and protect the community's health and safety within our workspaces.

To that end, there are requirements, including prior training, for everyone in the department — students, faculty, and staff — who participates in workspace activities or has contact with potentially hazardous materials or activities. Your AeroAstro laboratory has an EHS representative who can guide you through the training process. If you don't know your EHS rep, contact AeroAstro EHS coordinator Dick Perdichizzi for more information. You should begin your EHS training by completing the Training Needs Assessment. This will generate training requirements based on your research activities. Most of the required training is provided by EHS both online and in a classroom setting. However, the Chemical Hygiene Plan signature and Aero-Astro-specific Chemical Hygiene Training are provided by AeroAstro. See the instructions below to complete these training requirements. If you have any questions about your training, please contact your EHS rep or Dick Perdichizzi.

EHS Training

Training Needs Assessment: MIT requires training before beginning work with any potentially hazardous materials or activities in an MIT laboratory. All principal investigators, graduate students, UROP students, postdocs, and other researchers working in a laboratory must complete TNA. Go to TNA.

Chemical Hygiene Plan, signature form: Researchers and lab supervisors are required to read this plan. They must certify that they have read the plan by completing and signing the online form.

• Chemical Hygiene Plan (.pdf 961K)
• Signature form (complete after reading above plan)

Aero-Astro-Specific Lab Chemical Hygiene Training

Required biennially for AeroAstro trainees. Contact AeroAstro EHS coordinator Dick Perdichizzi for training schedule and information.

Roles and Responsibilities

Principal Investigator or Laboratory Supervisor

• Register space and potential hazards (implied licensure)
• Appoint an EHS rep or function as their own EHS rep
• Complete Training Needs Assessment
• Perform weekly inspections of SAAs or appoint someone from lab to
  perform this function

EHS Representative

• Provide lab specific chemical hygiene training to lab members
• Disseminate EHS information to lab personnel
• Perform weekly Level I inspections of laboratory
• Attend meetings arranged by Aero-Astro EHS coordinator
• Complete descriptions of EHS roles & responsibilities can be found in the Aero-Astro Chemical Hygiene Plan

Tools for AeroAstro Environmental Health and Safety Representatives

• SAPweb: Environmental Health and Safety: Space registration, training reconciliation, inspections, training reports.
• Training Reports: EHS reps can run a PI training report by going to Training Reports (MIT certificate required) and choosing "Report 3: Report on all registered users under a PI or supervisor."
• Checklists: Level I Inspection Checklist (.pdf 20K) to be completed weekly, no record needed; Lab Personnel Checkout List (.pdf 84K) Departing researchers should complete this form before leaving a lab.

Contacts

• Dick Perdichizzi, AeroAstro EHS coordinator, (617) 253-4924
• Dan Herrick, EHS coordinator, (617) 253-2338
• Professor David Miller, AeroAstro chemical hygene officer, (617) 253-3288
• Marilyn Hallock, EHS lead contact, (617) 253-0344
  

Environmental Health and Safety Links

• Materials Safety Data Sheet
• Chemical waste pickup
• Order signs and stickers