OESO Frequently Asked Questions

If the injury or illness is serious, go to the ED for medical care.  Employees should tell their supervisor as soon as possible.  All injuries should be reported within 24 hours using the on-line reporting system on the HR website – there is a link to this page on our "Take Me Too..." Menu.

Employees should go to Employee Occupational Health and Wellness (EOHW - in Duke South) for medical care for most injuries/illnesses and for follow-up care if they went to the ED.  Supervisors will need to fill out a supervisor’s report of injury/illness. The supervisor should get an email with a link directing them to the appropriate page; if not, they can get to it through the same link the employee uses. 

If you are wearing the mask for protection against TB and other airborne pathogens, view our Upcoming Fit Test Sessions page or Call 919-684-5996.

If you work in the pharmacy, ED or for Duke Police, or if you are wearing a respirator for protection against airborne pathogens (TB, SARS, etc), you can download the medical clearance form on-line by clicking on the “Respirator Medical Clearance” link under your required training (the link will be under “Employee Health Activity”, listed below the training).  

Other employees should contact Occupational Hygiene and Safety (OHS) to get a medical clearance form tailored to their work area (919-684-5996).

If the required respirator training mentions “Airborne Pathogens” in the title, the person should talk to OESO Biological Safety (919-684-8822) about whether or not respirators are required.

If the required training does not mention “Airborne Pathogens” in the title, the person should talk to Occupational Hygiene and Safety (919-684-5996) about the requirement for respiratory protection.

OESO's Environmental Programs (EP) provides chemical waste pick-up/disposal service for all labs on the Duke University/Medical Center Campus.  The lab must first register online using the Waste Pickup Request System.  After registration, they will be provided with the necessary labels and forms to request a waste pick-up.  Chemical wastes are collected Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

OESO’s Environmental Programs (EP) provides a radioactive waste pick-up/disposal service for all labs on the Duke University/Medical Center Campus.  The lab must first register online using the Waste Pickup Request System.  Upon registration, they will be provided with the necessary labels, forms and containers for collection of the radioactive waste.  Radioactive wastes are collected Monday through Friday from 8am - 5pm.

You can order them through the Waste Pickup Request System.  We will mail them to your lab.

This Practice defines procedures for generators of chemical wastes, including container labeling and marking, container management and proper laboratory storage procedures.  Specific roles and responsibilities for Principal Investigators (PIs), Laboratory Waste Managers, and OESO personnel are also defined.  A copy of the practice can be found on the Chemical Waste Disposal page.

To find out more information, click here.

Biological waste (human blood, bacterial and viral cultures, sharps) must be managed appropriately to ensure proper protection of personnel and environmentally sound disposal.  Waste generated in patient care areas is placed in biohazard containers and collected by Environmental Services' Biomedical Waste Division and ultimately incinerated.  To request a pickup, call 919-681-2727.  Research lab waste may be decontaminated by autoclaving according to procedures outlined in the Lab Safety Manual, section 1.

All individuals involved in the process of shipping a biological material through a commercial service (e.g., FedEx) must be trained at least every two years.  "Shipping Biological Materials" is an on-line training offered through the OESO web site.  Click for the training supplement guide. 

Communicate with OESO as soon as possible (prior to arrival if possible) to ensure regulatory compliance. Once notification is received, an OESO representative will contact the Principal Investigator to schedule an on-site visit to discuss all applicable safety policies and procedures.

View our Lab Start-up, Close-out, or Relocation page.

Assure proper transfer and/or disposal of hazardous materials during a laboratory closeout. These closeout procedures apply both to researchers permanently closing out their labs and those that are closing out their current lab space to relocate to a different location on the Duke campus. More information on lab closeouts/relocation can be found here.

A biosafety level is an assigned containment, which involves a combination of lab practices and techniques, safety equipment and laboratory facilities.

Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) containment is typically assigned for work involving agents that pose moderate hazards to personnel and the environment.  Such agents may be spread via percutaneous injury, ingestion and/or mucous membrane contact.

In Duke Labs, work at BSL2 requires the following:

• Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic agents and are supervised by scientists competent in handling infectious agents and associated procedures. To assist with the documentation of agent-specific training, The Biological Safety Division has created a BSL2 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Template. The online training module “Biosafety Level 2 Training” is required (this is found on the on-line training section of OESO’s site). If working with human blood and body fluids, the online training module “Bloodborne Pathogens Training” is required and the employee(s) must be offered the Hepatitis B Vaccine through Employee Health (919-684-3136).
• Access to the laboratory is restricted when work is being conducted.
• All procedures in which infectious aerosols or splashes may be created are conducted in BSCs or other physical containment equipment.

For more information regarding work at BSL 2 visit Section IV of the current edition of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories.

Notify OESO Biological Safety (919-684-8822) or Employee Occupational Health and Wellness (EOHW - 919-684-3136).  Your name will be added to those who will be provided with follow-up as to whether the patient ruled in or out for TB.  If the patient ruled in, EOHW will offer you the appropriate follow-up care.

Place a surgical mask on the patient as soon as TB is suspected.  Isolate the patient in an enclosed room with the surgical mask on, until the patient can be relocated to an isolation room.  The patient will wear a surgical mask during transport.  If relocation will be delayed, order a PAPR (a respirator that does not require fit-testing) and a portable HEPA from Equipment Distribution (919-681-2727).  Order the disposable PAPR hoods from Material Services through SAP.  Contact OESO Biological Safety (919-684-8822) with questions.

Safer sharps devices are those needles and sharps used on patients or in laboratories that work with human blood or body fluids and tissues to help reduce the incidence of needlesticks or sharps exposures.  They are engineered to provide a safer means of use by providing either a sheathing or push-button mechanism to cover a used sharp.  OSHA requires that safer sharps devices be evaluated and used wherever work with human material occurs.  Sometimes, however, they cannot be used for specific procedures for clinical reasons (ex. the needle size is inappropriate and the correct needle size does not come in a safety version).  These situations must be reported to the Biological Safety Office (919-684-8822) to be recorded in the Duke University Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Program. 

Visit the Duke Ergonomics Division website to complete the necessary steps for submitting an online request.

Ergonomic services are also available for accommodating employees with disabilities, returning previously injured employees to work, evaluations for multiple employees and laboratory evaluations.

While there are no charges for the services, it is the responsibility of the employee's department to purchase any recommended items.

Recommendations which will assist employees with accommodations to allow them to work safely and productively, and avoid re-injury if the injury was work-related.

Contact OESO at  OESOAnimalProtocols@duke.edu

Training requirements are set based on federal, state and Duke regulations and recommendations (i.e., OSHA, EPA, NRC, Joint Commission, CMS, Durham Fire Marshal).

Assigned exposures are based on your job responsibilities and potential exposures.

Most all safety training is available online.  If a training course is not available on-line and it is listed under your required training, you will see a number to call to set up the “live” training session.  Most of the training not offered on-line is the training that is required to be “hands-on”, such as fire extinguisher training, respiratory protection and forklift operator training, and there are also items listed under your required training that are activities rather than training, i.e.  PPD skin testing, respirator medical clearance.

Email notifications, from safety@mc.duke.edu, go out 30 days and 7 days in advance of a training due date, and 1 day after the training due date has passed (if the training has not already been completed).  After that, an email notification goes out once/month, on the first of the month, until the training has been completed.

You can print out your “Training History”, which is a link on the left-hand side of the page once you’ve logged into the OESO training site.

You can access Online training here. You will be prompted to enter your Duke NetID and password in order to log in (if you don’t know your Duke NetID and/or password, you can call 919-684-2200 (OIT Help Desk) or 919-684-2243 (DHTS Help Desk)).  

A welcome page will come up, with your name and your assigned training.  For all of the training that is available on-line (it will be noted as “available online”), you can click on the course link to access this course.  When you go through the course and pass the quiz at the end, your training record will automatically be updated.  If you want, you can print the “Congratulations! You passed the quiz for….” page to keep this documentation in your file.  This is the case for any course you complete, even if the course is not a requirement for you (you can see the entire list of courses which are available by clicking the “Courses Available On-line” link).

The date next to each course listed under your "Required Training" is the date the training is due.

Once you have logged in, to the top left of your training requirement screen is a link – “Check Employee Training”.  When you click on this link, you will be prompted to enter an employee’s Duke Unique ID (this can be found on the back of an employee’s ID badge).  Doing so will bring up the required training and due dates for the employee. From here, you can also check the employee’s training history by clicking on the “Training History” link to the left. 

The instructions are posted on-line.

The instructions are posted on-line. 

Emergency Assembly Point - a department's meeting place outside of the building if they are required to evacuate.

The clearance needs to be 36" wide, 36" deep, and 78" high; this needs to be clear working space.

No – you cannot leave a vehicle unattended for any period of time in the fire lane.

No - Maintenance needs to evaluate the situation.  If the heat cannot be supplied within the appropriate range, Maintenance will supply an approved heater. 

No.

No - Extension cords are only intended to provide temporary power, and may not be used as a substitute for installing a receptacle where it is needed. 

Pregnant radiation workers may voluntarily notify Employee Occupational Health and Wellness (EOHW) of their condition. EOHW will arrange for a confidential consultation with Radiation Safety staff to discuss specific precautions and concerns.

See the Radiological Exposures and Spills page for more information.

For a radiation worker, the occupational dose limits are as follows:

• 5 rem (50 mSv) per calendar year to the whole body
• 15 rem (150 mSv) per calendar year to the lens of the eye
• 50 rem (500 mSv) per calendar year to the skin or extremities
• 0.5 rem (5 mSv) during the period of gestation for the fetus of a declared pregnant radiation worker.

We must issue a dosimeter to an employee if they are likely to receive an occupational dose in excess of 10% of the applicable limits.  When someone requests a dosimeter, even if they are unlikely to reach the 10% threshold, it may be prudent to provide for monitoring in some cases. Decisions on whether or not to issue dosimeters are made on a case-by-case basis by the Radiation Safety Officer.  

Dosimetry badges are ordered from Radiation Safety either by using an on-line form on the OESO-Radiation Safety web site or by calling the Radiation Safety Division (919-684-2194).

Complete the “Radioactive Material Shipment Request” form on the OESO-Radiation Safety web site and send it to us via email at radsafety@dm.duke.edu. Radiation Safety staff will contact you to assist in preparing the shipment in compliance with the applicable regulations. Do not attempt to ship the material yourself – strict US and international regulations govern the shipment and transport of radioactive material, and specific radioactive material licensing regulations may also apply. Transfers of radioactive material between Duke labs is subject to approval by the Radiation Safety Officer.