Chemical safety at IFA

Each laboratory that works with chemistry must have a laboratory manager responsible for the chemical safety. At the entrance to the room, you will find information about who the laboratory manager is. The laboratory manager must ensure:

• That those who are to work with chemicals have received the correct instruction
• That chemical are labelled and stored correctly
• That the necessary personal protection equipment is available
• That safety data sheets (SDS) are available for the all chemicals being used in the workspace
• That a chemical risk assessment is available
• Correct information has been provided regarding the disposal of used chemicals
• That information is provided regarding first aid and firefighting measures and well as possible physical or chemical incidences

It is the responsibility of the Chemical Safety Committee to advise and approve compliance with the above.

We advise and help implement safety procedures for new or already used chemicals. Please contact us if you need help, advice or guidance. We find that it is often more time-consuming than you might think to initiate new procedures. We therefore encourage you to contact us in well in advance, preferably 3-4 weeks before you start.

What to do in practice:

Please write to us at  kemisikkerhed@phys.au.dk. Tell us which chemicals you want to work with, please attach safety data sheets. Tell us which chemical mixtures you want to work with. How these mixtures are produced. Please  provide as much information about the entire process as possible from the outset, in order make our work process easier and to help us to provide with quicker and more precise advice. You should also be aware of any waste chemicals that need to be disposed of afterwards. We will receive your case and will issue questions within two weeks. When all of the information is in position, we create your chemicals and chemical processes in our chemical database. Via a web interface, you can pull all the information necessary to maintain a high level of security. You will be able to find:

• Safety data sheets
  • Clarity about known risks
  • Clarity about the types of personal protective equipment to be used
• Chemical risk assessments
  • Clarity about known risks
  • Clarity about the types of personal protective equipment to be used
• Labels for termination of enrolment
  • Correct labelling of your own mixtures
• Information about waste management
  • Packaging and labelling.

From 2021, we will be transitioning to a new chemical security software called Alpha Omega. In the course of 2021, Alpha Omega will replace Kiros at IFA. This requires a little extra work from all of us. On the other hand, we will have a system where we can very easily comply with the applicable legislation in the area, and which will give us easy access:

• Safety data sheets
  • Clarity about known risks
  • Clarity about the types of protective equipment to be used
• Chemical risk assessments
  • Clarity about known risks
  • Clarity about the types of protective equipment to be used
• Labels for termination of enrolment
  • Correct labelling of your own mixtures
• Information about waste management
  • Packaging and labelling.

For two good reasons, we would like to centralize the procurement of chemicals. One is that AU'S Procurement policy stipulates that we should buy in together. The other is that, as a safety organization, we can ensure that chemical safety is top notch before you get the chemical in hand. In practice, this means that we can prepare all the security documents that are necessary while you are waiting for the chemical to be delivered.

You can make your order for chemicals here.

There are strict requirements for the disposal of chemicals, both with regard to transport and, not least, packaging and labelling. It is therefore very important that you contact us before you begin the disposal of chemicals. We would like to make sure that packaging and labelling are correct from the outset, as this reduces our work and ensures that everything is done as the law prescribes. If you have chemical waste, please contact us and we will provide you with labels and correct packaging.