The mission of the Chemical Safety Program is to ensure that people working with hazardous chemicals on Auburn University’s campus are properly trained, have appropriate safety equipment, and have an on-campus resource for chemical risk assessments. This program is a resource for proper management of hazardous chemicals i.e. inventory tracking, labelling, storage and disposal.
Chemical Inventory:
Auburn University has implemented a mandatory Chemical Inventory Management System (CIMS) for research and teaching laboratories. The ChemTracker system is used for inventory and Campus Optics is used for waste procedures.
ChemTracker can be found in your lab profile in BioRaft.
Principal Investigators or RMS must assign lab managers, staff and students to the appropriate lab. In many cases, your supervisor may have already assigned you to the appropriate lab. Once these steps have been completed, you will be able to manage your chemical inventory.
Chemical Inventory Reconciliation
RMS performs annual physical inventory audits to ensure that all chemicals are properly barcoded and entered into the ChemTracker database and stored by hazard class. The PI or designee is responsible for correcting any unbarcoded containers, or other inaccuracies identified during the audit. RMS has staff dedicated to helping all users with the transition to the Chemical Inventory Management System, and providing ongoing technical support and consultation.
Chemical Storage
Chemicals should be stored according to hazard class while carefully considering those with dual hazards. Use the Chemical Segregation and Storage Table as a guideline for proper chemical storage or refer to the Chemical Storage Compatibility Chart. Time sensitive chemicals should be labeled with “Date Received” and “Date Opened” for proper management. The Chemical Storage Area signs can be used for chemical storage labeling needs.
