Health, safety and environment (HSE) in the lab

Mandatory HSE Courses

Overview of mandatory courses offered by UiO for all staff working in the lab:

Online courses:

• Online courses in English for safe handling of chemicals and gas safety.
• Online courses in Norwegian for safe handlings of chemicals, gas safety and how to use the chemical registry (stoffregister) Eco online.

All relevant online lab safety courses must be completed before you start working in lab.

Classroom courses:

• Basic Safety in the Laboratory → For all staff working in the lab.
• Radiation safety → This course is given regularly in Norwegian (Brukerkurs i strålevern for arbeid med åpne radioaktive kilder), but is given in English upon demand.

The classroom courses must be completed within your first year of employment.

UiO keeps a register of who has attended which course. If you can prove having taken a similar course from another institution, you can send documentation of this to UiOs unit for HSE for approval and registration.

HSE in the laboratories

MIK want to maintain a healthy and safe working environment. For this, we need the participation of all employees.

Chemicals

Chemicals and chemical waste must be handled properly, so that they do not pose an unacceptable risk to health or environment. If there is a choice, always use the least dangerous substance.

• General information about chemicals at MIK, UiO.
• UiO Chemical registry (stoffregister) → Eco online Contact the HSE coordinator for login information for Eco online.
• Chemical waste → Contact the HSE coordinator.

GMO/GMM

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and GMMs (genetically modified micro organisms) are microorganisms, plants, animals where the genetic composition is altered using genetic engineering techniques. This also applies to bacteria transformed to work up plasmid DNA.

• GMM in research - guidelines and instructions
• Acts and regulations
• GMO-waste
• GMO approved locations

Other HSE items

• Freezers and freezer alarms → To ensure that all valuable samples and supplies in freezers are maintained properly the ultra freezers and nitrogen tanks are connected to an alarm system.
• Gases → MIK has several types of gas and all gases have to be handled with great care.
• Protective equipment → To ensure the safety of all employees, MIK provide a range of protective equipment/gear.
• Radiation → Information about the center's labs, types of isotopes, guidelines and contact information.
• Waste management → We have different routines for handling waste such as hazardous waste, GMO waste, EE waste, paper, metal and glass.
• Working with blood and blood products → Infection safety is an important consideration when working with blood, blood products, biopsies and other bodily fluids.