By Diane Colabello, Senior Health and Safety Specialist
EHS has been working with a new FDNY inspector since the summer of 2025 to complete our annual laboratory permit inspections. While no violations have been issued, some common findings have emerged during the EHS Pre-FDNY Inspections. Please be on the lookout for these common safety issues in your lab and take the actions described to maintain safety and compliance.
Missing Ceiling Tiles
Drop tile ceilings offer easy access to Facilities if routine or emergency maintenance is required for the building’s infrastructure. Occasionally, a ceiling tile may become damaged or left open due to the nature of the work. If a tile is damaged to the point that it leaves a hole or if a tile is not replaced, this will negatively impact the fire safety features of the laboratory. In the event of a smoke condition or fire, a gap in the ceiling tiles will let smoke and heat rise past smoke detectors or sprinkler heads. It will take longer for these devices to activate and ultimately delay emergency response.
The solution is simple. If you notice a missing or damaged ceiling tile, please place a work order with Facilities and Campus Services to have it replaced.
Chemical Segregation
The proper segregation and storage of chemicals is an important safety measure because accidentally mixing incompatible chemicals may cause fires, explosions, or the production of toxic gases. Your lab’s Salute Chemical Inventory and the EHS Update: Chemical Storage and Segregation are great tools to help labs maintain the safe storage of chemicals.
Salute makes chemical segregation easy by assigning each chemical a Storage Group. Chemicals with the same Storage Group can be safely stored together. The schematic below from our EHS Update shows which storage groups may be stored on the same shelf with proper secondary containment.
A. Compatible Storage Group Classification System showing which chemical Storage Groups may be safely stored in the same area.
B. Improperly stored chemicals. Hydrochloric Acid (Group F) was found stored in the same bin as Ethanol (Group L). Additionally, the ethanol is stacked. It should be positioned flat on the shelf or within the secondary container.
Keep your chemical storage areas safe by:
- Storing all containers upright,
- Separating incompatible Storage Groups,
- Never stacking containers, and
- Asking Questions! You can contact EHS with any chemical storage questions, ehs@med.cornell.edu.
For a more extensive list of common laboratory violations, visit the EHS Update: Common FDNY Hazmat Violations.