The Standards
The OSH Act of 1970
Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), the General Duty Clause, requires that:
- "Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees."
This means employers are responsible to protect employees from all workplace hazards they recognize, not just specific hazards or hazardous operations.
Applicable OSHA Standards
There are several specific OSHA standards that apply to laboratories as well as other OSHA standards that apply to various aspects of laboratory activities.
- The 29 CFR 1910.1450, Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, standard was created specifically for non-production laboratories that use relatively small quantities of hazardous chemicals. (See the next section for more discussion of this topic.)
- Additional OSHA standards provide rules that protect workers in laboratories from chemical hazards as well as biological, physical and safety hazards.
Employers must be fully aware of these standards and must implement all aspects of the standards that apply to specific laboratory work conditions in their facilities.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-1. Which of the following is the category of laboratories to which OSHA's Laboratory Standard 1910.1450 applies?
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