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EHS is always available to provide assistance. If you need to contact us for any reason, please refer to our staff directory. In addition, we can be reached by using the information below.
Environmental Health and Safety Weill Cornell Medical College
402 East 67th Street
Room LA-0020
New York, NY 10065
Phone: (646) 962-7233
Fax: (646) 962-0288
ehs@med.cornell.edu
Create an EHS Incident to track your request. (more info)
Is Your Lab Prepared for a Biological Spill?
October 31, 2019As National Biosafety Month draws to a close, we want to make sure your lab is prepared to handle a biological spill. Here are a few things you can do to be ready:
Read the updated Biological Spill Planning and Response Manual on the EHS website
The updated and revised Biological Spill Planning and Response Manual includes:
- How to prepare a biological spill kit for your lab
- When you must report a biological spill to EHS and the IBC
- Improved spill cleanup procedures
Display vital spill response procedures
Ensure you and your colleagues can easily access the information you will need in the event of a biological spill. Resources are available at the EHS website.
Contact EHS for copies of the following posters:
- Biological Spill Response (recently updated)
- Lab Exposure and Spill Response Guide
- Medical Assistance Map
Review your Biological Spill Kit
Your kit should contain:
- Mucous membrane protection for eyes, nose, and mouth
- Fluid resistant disposable lab coats or tie back gowns
- Nitrile gloves in various sizes
- Water-resistant shoe covers
- Small dustpan, small broom, and forceps for cleaning up broken glass
- Large and small autoclavable red Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) bags
- Disinfectant appropriate for all pathogens in use in the lab (e.g., household bleach)
- Absorbent material (e.g., paper towels)
- Copies of the spill response posters listed above
Contact us
If you have any questions or need assistance with training or equipment, please contact EHS at 646-962-7233 or ehs@med.cornell.edu.
FDNY Weekend Lab Inspection on Saturday, October 19
October 10, 2019The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) will conduct an off-hours laboratory inspection on Saturday, October 19, 2019.
While the inspection will mainly focus on the presence of an FDNY C-14 Certificate of Fitness (COF) holder when someone is working in the laboratory, the FDNY can issue violation(s) to the laboratory for any issues that they observe during the inspection. The FDNY requires that a C-14 certificate holder be present in the laboratory at all times when the laboratory is in operation.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact your Safety Advisor or the EHS office at 646-962-7233 or ehs@med.cornell.edu.
Now Available: Salute
October 1, 2019Environmental Health and Safety is pleased to announce launch of Salute, a new system that allows principal investigators, lab managers, and other staff to manage their lab safety needs in a single, easy-to-use web portal. EHS designed and developed Salute based on decades of experience helping the Weill Cornell Medicine community foster a culture of safety. Learn more.
FDNY Weekend Lab Inspection on Saturday, September 14
September 4, 2019The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) will conduct an off-hours laboratory inspection on Saturday, September 14, 2019.
While the inspection will mainly focus on the presence of an FDNY C-14 Certificate of Fitness (COF) holder when someone is working in the laboratory, the FDNY can issue violation(s) to the laboratory for any issues that they observe during the inspection. The FDNY requires that a C-14 certificate holder be present in the laboratory at all times when the laboratory is in operation.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact your Safety Advisor or the EHS office at 646-962-7233 or ehs@med.cornell.edu.
Hazardous Waste Label Change Effective July 1
June 18, 2019Who this message is for:
All members of the WCM community who generate hazardous chemical waste or radioactive waste.
What is happening:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently changed hazardous waste regulatory policies for academic laboratories. The new rules aim to help generators improve their management of hazardous waste, as well as protect the environment. To comply with these updated federal regulations, Weill Cornell Medicine will implement new hazardous waste labeling procedures effective July 1, 2019.
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) has designed new labels for hazardous waste and hazardous radioactive waste, which include OSHA’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals(GHS) pictogram as hazard indicators. These new labels will replace the old yellow hazardous waste and hazardous radioactive waste labels.
All faculty, students, staff, visitors, and contractors at WCM who generate hazardous waste must follow the new procedure for labeling waste containers.
What you need to do:
- Start using the new labels immediately after receiving them. Safety Advisors will distribute new red and white labels and provide additional information to each Weill Cornell Medicine lab in the coming weeks. You may also download and print fillable labels from the EHS website.
- Discard old labels. Once you receive the new labels, destroy all old yellow labels, or return them to EHS to ensure they are no longer used.
- Follow the new labeling procedure. When completing labels, make sure to check the appropriate box(es) indicating the hazard(s) associated with each component. Detailed labeling instructions are available on the EHS website.
Contact us:
For more information on the new labeling policies, or on the management and disposal of hazardous waste, please visit the EHS website.
If you have any questions or need additional labels, please contact EHS at 646-962-7233 or ehs@med.cornell.edu.
Mission Statement
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is responsible for developing, maintaining and promoting policies, procedures, training and educational programs necessary to maintain a safe and healthy environment for our students, faculty, staff and visiting public. We are committed to developing a culture where safety and health are core values, and provide high-quality services that facilitate Weill Cornell Medicine's education, research and clinical missions.
EHS serves as the WCM biological, chemical and radiation safety office, coordinating comprehensive hazardous material and workplace safety programs. EHS takes appropriate steps to ensure that problems are identified and resolved in a timely manner. We coordinate reviews and responses to external agencies, many of which have the authority to cite, impose civil penalties, restrict or rescind operations, and remove or disapprove accreditation. EHS provides an emergency response for college situations that may include exposure to or the release of hazardous materials, and fire scenarios. We implement programs and services to minimize injuries or illnesses, and reduce safety, health and environmental risks in a manner consistent with fiscal and environmental stewardship. Read More
Emergency Information
Requesting Assistance & Reporting a Problem
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Information Resources
Safety Data Sheets
Chemwatch: a database of > 20,000,000 SDSs, obtained directly from manufacturers, suppliers and other chemical safety databases
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Cornell Hotline
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