Environmental Compliance Unit & Industrial Hygiene Unit

Of all the units in EH&S, Environmental Compliance (EC) and Industrial Hygiene (IH) are the most multifaceted. These units are involved in every part of the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä campus. ²ÊÃñ±¦µä includes a large number of people working inside of a relatively small area that includes numerous buildings and complex research operations making the job for the EC and IH so unique and challenging.

The Environmental Compliance (EC) unit and the Industrial Hygiene (IH) unit work closely with the Hazmat unit to help keep laboratories and other areas of campus that utilize hazardous materials safe and compliant.

The Environmental Compliance unit supports initiatives that serve to protect our ecosystem through environmentally sound policies and programs. The EC unit monitors its environmental impact of the University of Colorado and has become a leader in environmental responsibility. These programs include monitoring activities connected to the following permits or registrations:

  • Hazardous Waste
  • Air Quality
  • Wastewater Discharge
  • Storm Water

Responsibility for ensuring compliance with these permits lies with Environmental Health and Safety. These programs are intended to comply with local, state, and federal wastewater, stormwater, air quality and hazardous waste regulations.

Industrial hygiene is the science of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling workplace conditions that may cause workers’ injury or illness. The most common areas of concern from faculty and staff members involving industrial hygiene are odor, noise and lead exposure issues.

The EC unit and the IH unit also maintain numerous regulatory permits designed to protect our environment in which we live and work and support healthy workplaces by investigating indoor air quality problems and by performing exposure assessments. 

Services Provided

Services provided by the EC and IH units include:

  • Occupational safety programs
  • Event and food service approvals
  • Pollution prevention and spill prevention
  • Experimental protocol reviews
  • Project and plan reviews
  • Facility inspections
  • Regulatory compliance and permits
  • Occupational safety training and resources
  • Indoor air quality
  • Sanitation reviews
  • Industrial hygiene training
  • Ventilation surveys and hazard assessments;
  • Laboratory safety and design requirements
  • Water quality and permitting

Education & Training

Annual training is required by federal, state, and local regulations, as well as University policy. Hazardous waste generators should contact their hazardous waste proctor or EH&S for training. EH&S presents monthly classroom training sessions that are open to new generators.

View upcoming monthly classroom sessions or take the annual refresher training online. Laboratory safety and TA training are available upon request.

Online Training Through BioRAFT

  • (Web)

Safety Resources

Find safety data for the chemicals you have in your lab with Material Safety Data Sheets and maintain and update your chemical inventory through our Chemical Inventory Management site. In addition to training, you can use our library of resources to stay on top of safety and compliance. Additional resources include: