UNE Research Compliance

Research compliance staff work with various compliance committees such as the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) and the Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to help ensure both the ethical conduct of research as well as the protection of the rights and welfare of humans and animals in research conducted at UNE. For more information, please visit UNE Research Compliance.

EHS Lab Chatter Newsletter

EHS Lab Chatter is a monthly newsletter distributed by UNE EHS in collaboration with several other departments across the campuses. This newsletter focuses on laboratory safety issues and lab management to assist the UNE lab community with safety compliance and management skills. The newsletter contains information about new regulations and UNE policies and highlights positive safety efforts in labs across UNE. Lab staff can contact EHS to receive the publication via email, and individuals can access the newsletter on the EHS publications page. If you would like to contribute a topic or article for the newsletter, please contact jtyre@une.edu.

UNE Chemical Sharing Program

As part of our commitment to minimizing waste at UNE, the EHS department has created the UNE Chemical Sharing Program for all laboratories on campus. Often, labs will mistakenly purchase more of a chemical substance than they need or cannot buy an item in a small quantity for their purposes. This results in the lab ending up with unused product that is still viable. Instead of sending the substances out as hazardous waste, which can be costly and harmful to the environment, lab staff can post their unwanted chemicals in our monthly newsletter which is distributed to the UNE lab community by EHS. If a lab sees a substance on the list that they are interested in obtaining, they simply email an EHS staff member who will then fill out a transfer form and update the chemical inventory system accordingly. This program is also used for laboratory equipment or glassware that a lab would like to donate to another lab on campus. If you are interested in participating in this program, please watch for the monthly issues of EHS Lab Chatter on the UNE EHS website. You can also contact EHS to be added to the email list.

Lab Safety SubCommittee

The UNE Lab Safety Sub-Committee was formed as a sub-committee of the University-Wide Safety Committee. This committee, which was formed specifically to address lab-related safety issues, meets monthly during the fall and spring semesters on both campuses. Members include EHS staff, chemical hygiene officers from all colleges, Human Resources, and Research Integrity staff. We dissect common safety issues in labs and come up with innovative solutions that all departments can use effectively. The group has been successful in achieving its objectives and has greatly enhanced the safety culture in our laboratories. If you are a professional staff member and are interested in learning more about the Lab Safety Sub-Committee, please contact EHS.

Lab Moves and Renovations

Lab moves and renovations are a serious undertaking and there is a lot to consider when you receive funding for these projects. Several different departments at the University are involved in the planning process of lab updates. It is very important to keep safety in mind when these projects take place. Here are a few examples of safety considerations:

  • You must budget for safety items that may be needed for new equipment or new lab configurations. 
  • You will want to make sure you have access to electrical outlets when you do the renovations so that extension cords are not used, as this is against compliance.
  • If you are installing large equipment such as a fume hood or biosafety cabinet, you want to make sure that you are prepared for proper ventilation and spatial constraints as well as safety alarms and flow meters. 

These are just a few of the many things that need to be considered in a lab move or renovation. Please use UNE EHS as a resource to help you plan your space and make sure all your needs are met safely. We will help to ensure that there are no forgotten costs in the planning stage that may appear later in the process. You would like a nice, updated space that suits your needs and we are here to help so that it remains compliant with all regulations and policies.