Department of Science Safety

The purpose of this page is to assist USM personnel in maintaining compliance with the state and federal environmental and OSHA regulations. It serves to help the University of Southern Mississippi's goal of providing a superior university education in a safe and healthy environment and to protect the environment of the university and surrounding community. The University of Southern Mississippi has over 150 working teaching and research laboratories, many of them handle potentially hazardous material on a daily basis. The Department of Science Safety historically has taken a leading role in maintaining laboratory safety however; each individual must also exercise good judgment and common sense in the operation of the laboratories.

This page is a single source of information and an operational guide for those responsible for the safe operation of the laboratories. Using the information contained in the provided documents, those responsible for the laboratories should produce an overall management and safety plan that institutes prudent safety practices to be integrated into the day to day operations of the chemical and biological laboratories. The intent of the laboratory management plan is to create a laboratory specific written safety program insuring safe use of chemical, biological, and radiological materials in the laboratories.