Health and Safety Programs
Biosafety Program
The university is responsible for establishing specific policies and procedures to be applied in all laboratories working with biohazardous materials or infectious agents. The university's Biosafety Program is designed to ensure safe work practices are being followed in conformity with generally accepted Biosafety standards and guidelines and legislative requirements under the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Biosafety Committee is the regulatory oversight committee for the program and ensures compliance through risk assessments of proposed work, reviewing applications for work with biological agents, designating appropriate levels of containment for facilities and recommending operational best practices and procedures.
Chemical and Laboratory Safety
The university is responsible for ensuring the proper management and safe use of hazardous materials in research and teaching laboratories. The operation of laboratories exposes workers to a wide range of hazards and risks, including physical hazards and chemicals. The Chemical and Laboratory Safety programs set out the minimum standards and requirements in establishing procedures and controls to eliminate or minimize those risks. These include, but are not limited to, outlining responsibilities and general safety rules, training, selection of personal protective equipment, laboratory design requirements and the safe handling, use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials.
Emergency Resource Management
The management of health and safety is an integral part of management and supervisory activities. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure employee emergency resources have been trained and properly assigned to university buildings as an essential component of an effective emergency preparedness plan, and to meet any applicable legislated requirements. Employee emergency resource members have the opportunity to be trained in being a First Aid/CPR Responder, Fire Warden and/or Defibrillator Responder.
Noise Control Program
The university is responsible, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, for identifying and controlling workplace hazards for the protection of workers. The Regulations for Industrial Establishments (Regulation 851) set out minimum requirements for the control of noise. The Noise Control and Hearing Conservation Program is designed to identify and control all noise hazard areas and protect workers and students from developing noise-induced hearing loss. The university's standards are adopted from the current recommendations of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and represent a current consensus of good occupational hygiene practice.
Radiation Safety Program
The university's Radiation Safety Program is designed to protect all faculty, staff, students and the public from the hazards associated with exposures to ionizing radiation, like radioactive materials and X-rays. The program is developed to conform with the legislative requirements as set out in the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, applicable Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulations, and the X-ray Safety regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Radiation Safety Committee is the regulatory oversight committee responsible for administering the Radiation Safety Program, as well as the Laser Safety Program, based on the American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers (ANSI Z136.1).
Hazardous Waste Management Program
Ontario Tech University is committed to the proper management of hazardous waste. This will minimize risk to employees and students and ensure compliance with Environmental regulations.
This program applies to all laboratory and other operations which generate hazardous waste in the form of:
- Chemical
- Biological
- Radioactive
- Sharps
The objective of this program is to provide information and instructions to safely and in an environmentally responsible manner, handle and manage all the hazardous waste generated within the campus.
The basic elements of the Hazardous Waste Management Program are:
- Waste minimization
- Packaging requirements
- Labeling requirements
- Storage requirements
The associated waste handling procedures are mandatory when preparing waste for disposal. Waste not prepared in accordance to these procedures will not be accepted for disposal.
