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Workers’ Compensation benefits are available to any employee who suffers disability through accident or occupational disease arising out of, and in the course of, his or her employment, according to the provisions of the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act.

To obtain authorization to procure and use radiation sources, a prospective Authorized User must complete and submit applicable Schedules of the Laboratory Safety Plan. For help in completing the radioactive materials portion of the Laboratory Safety Plan, please reference “Characteristics of Commonly Used Radionuclides”.

The determination of the correct classification of worker as employee or independent contractor is significant to the University.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gives priority to permanent employees on Workers’ Compensation Leave to affect an early return to work. To facilitate an early return to work and to identify potential rehabilitation and/or training needs, EHS Workers’ Compensation Manager will request regular updates from the primary treating physician.

Although risk of laboratory infection from working with cell cultures in general is low, risk increases when working with human and other primate cells, and primary cells from other mammalian species. There are reports of infection of laboratory workers handling primary rhesus monkey kidney cells, and the bloodborne pathogen risks from working with primary human cells, tissues and body fluids are widely recognized.

Leave Without Pay may be granted to an employee for various reasons, including family and medical leave, extended educational purposes, vacation, illness, workers’ compensation, military service, or personal reasons. At the end of the approved leave, the employee is reinstated to his/her prior position, or one of like seniority, status, and pay.

A Laboratory Safety Plan must be prepared for each campus laboratory by the Principal Investigator and submitted online to the Environment, Health and Safety Office. The purpose of the Laboratory Safety Plan is to provide safety information specific to that laboratory for the benefit of the laboratory workers and for emergency response planning.

Employee incident reporting is a critical element of UNC Health Care’s Hospital Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Environmental Health and Safety/Workers’ Compensation Program. The purpose of completing incident reports is to document the nature and cause of the incidents. Monitoring incidents allows steps to be taken to develop methods for reducing and eliminating occupational accidents, illnesses, and exposures.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a standard (29 CFR 1910.1048) to ensure proper protection of all workers exposed to formaldehyde. The standard applies to all forms of formaldehyde including gas, aqueous solutions, solids, and materials that can release it.

Bone densitometers will be surveyed by the Radiation Safety staff at each source loading to ensure that anticipated exposure rates are not exceeded. All individuals using the devices will be registered with EHS as Radiation Workers. A trial period of personnel radiation monitoring may be put into effect.

The use and storage of hazardous chemicals potentially pose threats to the environment, health and safety of employees and citizens at large as evidenced by events such as the methyl isocyanate gas release in Bhopal, India. The threat is especially great for fire and emergency response workers and potentially severe for employees and citizens in the vicinity of bulk storage facilities.

The health and safety of workers and building occupants is the most important factor to consider in laboratory work. In addition to these health and safety concerns, compliance with OSHA, Radiation Protection, and EPA regulations is also important because of the severe financial consequences, especially related to EPA hazardous waste regulations.

This chapter describes basic strategies for decontaminating surfaces, items, and areas in laboratories to eliminate the possibility of transmission of infectious agents to laboratory workers, the general public, and the environment. Factors necessary for environmentally mediated infection transmission are reviewed as well as methods for sterilization and disinfection and the levels of antimicrobial activity associated with liquid chemical germicides.

This policy is to establish requirements for the safety of UNC employees while working in close proximity to machinery with hazardous moving parts. The purpose of machine guarding is to protect the machine operator and other employees in the work area from hazards created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks. There are as many hazards created by moving parts as there are types of machines. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from needless injuries.

This chapter supplements previous chapters by giving specific extra precautions, postings, training, and protective equipment necessary when working with reproductive hazards. These include chemical, biological, or radiological substances that can affect the developing fetus, or the reproductive health of the male or female parents. This chapter also outlines the UNC conceptus protection policy for laboratory workers who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy.