Safety, Health, Environment, and Risk Management

Welcome

EHS Main Office 713-500-8100
EHS Hotline 713-500-5832
For Emergencies dial 911

Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management’s (SHERM) mission is to work in conjunction with the UTHealth community to ensure that education, research, and health care service activities take place in conditions that are optimally safe and healthy for all students, faculty, staff, visitors, surrounding community and the general public.

Put simply, we exist to help people go home as healthy and safe as they arrived.

Our main office is located at the Operations Center Building (OCB 1.330) and we can be reached at 713-500-8100 or Fax 713-500-8111.

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As we move to the cold weather season it is now more important than ever to continue to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.  But do all the different types of masks and face coverings protect the individual from droplets, particulates, and aerosols?  Do those same masks/face coverings protect others?  These were some of the questions we wished to answer when we teamed up with Employee Health, Student Health, Infection Prevention, and the School of Public Health to create a summary of all the popular style masks, face covering, as well as N95 Respirators and the half face elastomeric respirator P100 filter.  The goal is to provide our community with information that can help them make an informed decision on their level of protection.  Our findings can be found here as well as external resources from the CDC and WHO.  For any questions please contact Environmental Health and Safety at 713-500-8100.

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“Due to reduced demand and enhanced supply, starting on October 23, 2020, the N95 mask reprocessing center will be suspended until further notice. In an effort to maintain strong supply of masks in the event of a surge, we ask that all facilities maintain the restricted distribution of N95 masks to only those necessary and per the terms outlined in the previously distributed packets (position, unit and utilization). In addition, please distribute Moldex 1510 XS and 3m 1860 S for Sterile Environments only (Operating Room distribution). The last day of pick up will be Thursday 10/22 and delivery from TMC on 10/23. Note, in the event of a surge or unforeseen disruption to our supply chain, the system still has the ability to restart reprocessing for the system.

We thank the TMC staff and all of you in your efforts to stretch our PPE supply through these unprecedented times.”

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Important update regarding N95 respirators at Harris Health facilities - October 2020 update

We have been informed that effective on October 6, 2020, Harris Health has moved away from Cardinal brand N95s and will now be utilizing 3M 1804 and 1804s N95 respirators.  UTHealth EHS has obtained supplies of these respirators and is now available for fit testing any providers who will be working in a Harris Health facility (e.g. LBJ hospital) that require N95 protection.  You should be fit tested on a 3M 1804 or 1804s N95 respirator prior to wearing it in the workplace if you have never been fit tested on this make/model in the past.  Please contact EHS at 713-500-8100 to schedule your fit testing at a time convenient for you.

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For the safety of our community and in alignment with current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UTHealth has moved to universal masking for anyone entering UTHealth buildings, clinics, and the Harris County Psychiatric Center, effective Monday, April 6.

Here are answer to common questions and concerns you may have about universal masking. For additional information, please contact Environmental Health and Safety 713-500-8100.

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Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) and Facilities, Planning & Engineering (FPE) have partnered to help educate research staff on the safe and energy efficient use of chemical fume hoods within our UTHealth laboratories.  Here is why we care about the chemical fume hood sash height:

For safety:

When using a fume hood, keeping the sash height at the designated height (which is clearly indicated by a bright yellow sticker) helps protect users from potentially dangerous chemical fumes and splashes.

For energy conservation:

Fully closing the fume hood sash when not in use, or at the end of the day after use, helps to save a considerable amount of energy.

Did you know?

• A single open fume hood consumes as much energy as 3.5 residential homes!
• Closing the fume hood sash helps to reduce the amount of air exhausted out of the building, therefore reducing the amount of air that must be conditioned within the lab space by the building’s HVAC system.
• Energy savings = cost savings for UTHealth!

We now have the capability to remotely monitor chemical fume hood performance, so don’t be surprised if you see a friendly EHS or FPE staff member coming by your laboratory to provide a reminder about keeping the fume hood sash closed when not in use.

Thank you for doing your part to work safely and energy efficiently!

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Reminder about PPE use:

This is a reminder to all research personnel that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should not be worn outside of the laboratory setting. Recently there have been instances of people observing researchers wearing in public spaces, specifically using gloved hands to open doors or push elevator buttons. After all, do you really know where that glove has been? 

Please do not wear gloves or other PPE outside of the laboratory, especially on elevators, in hallways, or in break rooms.

If it is necessary to transport items between labs on the same floor, one hand may be gloved, while the other hand remains without a glove to open the doors between labs. Gloves should never be worn in the elevator or break rooms. Ideally items should be transported using carts and secondary containment, especially when transporting items between floors.

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Insider Threat Awareness at UTHealth

Reporting behaviors of concern is vital to protecting the University's intellectual property, it's safety and future.

Last year, the Office of Auditing and Advisory Services performed an internal audit at UTHealth on "insider threats".  Insider threats are a real risk to any organization and individuals at UTHealth should remain vigilant of any potential insider threats.  Based on the findings of the internal audit, the best way to do this is through awareness.  UTPD and Environmental Health and Safety have committed to helping raise awareness of insider threats by providing the following information.  Remember, if you see something, say something!

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Initial Lab and Bloodborne Pathogen's Safety Training Online only every Monday* at 1:15 pm UCT 1505C * Unless the University is closed

Annual Lab and Bloodborne Pathogen's  Training Online only

Basic Radiation Safety Training October 14 & 15, 2020 9:00 am - 12:00 pm WebEx

Infectious Substance Shipping Training Online only Please contact Biological Safety at 713-500-8170 regarding questions about this training UTPhysicians Training

Questions regarding training or University Online Learning platforms? Contact Stephen David at 713-500-5858 or contact our main office at 713-500-8100 For quick access to University Online learning platforms: Safety Assistant LMS  Available to all University Student's, Resident's, Employee's, and UTPhysicians Employee's. Learn2Succeed Available to all University Employee's and UTPhysicians Employee's.