General Lab Safety
- Emergency eyewashes and showers should be available in all work areas where faculty, staff or students are exposed to a potential hazard that may cause injury to the eyes or skin.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor and unit head to ensure that the emergency eyewashes and showers are available, where required.
For additional details, see the Emergency Eyewashes and Shower Program document located at www.drs.uiuc.edu/eyewashes/.
- Know the location of your emergency eyewashes and showers.
- Know how to operate the emergency eyewashes and showers.
- Keep the area around the emergency eyewashes and showers free of clutter to allow easy and unobstructed access.
- Do not substitute emergency eyewashes and showers for the use of personal protective equipment (goggles, gloves, aprons, etc.).
- Do not use portable squeeze bottles as primary emergency eyewashes.
- Test the emergency eyewashes on a weekly basis to ensure water flow and quality. This helps clean out any rust, scale deposits or bacteria that may accumulate.
- Test the emergency showers at least once on an annual basis (monthly is recommended).
- Ask the Division of Research Safety for FREE tags to record the test.
