Environmental Health & Safety

The Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) works to assure safe and healthful environments for all segments of the campus population through programs of information and education, review and monitoring, technical consultation and provision of direct services. OEHS is also responsible for developing programs to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal health, safety, and environmental regulations and campus policies on environmental health and safety.

Areas of responsibility include hazardous materials, environmental management as well as injury and illness prevention as highlighted in the USNH Policy on Environmental Health and Safety (see the Board of Trustees Property Policies and the Administrative Board's Property Policies for more information). The protection of human health, and compliance with applicable regulations are essential conditions for the successful operation of research, conduct of instruction, and provision of public service by the University.

Click here to find the state and federal health, safety, and environmental regulations. Click here to find Environmental Health and Safety services, programs and informational resources for the UNH community.

Committees & Boards

Art Safety Committee

Art creation and study are traditionally viewed as non-hazardous occupations. Unfortunately, this common misconception fails to show that an artist may encounter many of the same hazardous materials and operations that are found in industrial applications including solvents, dusts, fumes, mists, dyes, and a variety of physical hazards including machinery with moving parts, noise, sharp objects and extreme heat.

Chemical Safety Committee

The charge of the Chemical Safety Committee (CSC) is to assure the safe acquisition, use and disposal of all hazardous chemicals at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). It is the responsibility of the Committee to establish appropriate health and safety policies in accordance with federal regulations and guidelines that cover chemical safety and evaluate research being conducted at UNH for chemical safety considerations.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

UNH acknowledges its responsibility to provide a program for the handling, storage and disposal of biological agents, to provide emergency response to incidents involving biological agents, and to educate the UNH community about the safe use of biological agents in research, teaching, and public service activities.

The UNH Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) has been created to develop policies and procedures to ensure the health and safety of all faculty, staff, students, patients, and visitors at UNH and to ensure all federal, state and local regulations are followed.

Occupational Safety Committee (OSC)

The University of New Hampshire is firmly committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all of its employees. To help achieve this goal, UNH has created an Occupational Safety Committee (OSC) to ensure that all students, faculty, staff, and visitors are provided a safe environment on campus. This committee serves as an advisory group concerned with safety, health, and environmental protection. Its purpose is to assist in the identification and control of workplace hazards. The OSC meets on a quarterly basis. The Committee makes recommendations to the UNH Environmental Health and Safety Committee for addressing hazards and improving safety.

Radiation Safety Committee (RSC)

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is committed to a Radiation Protection Program (RPP) of the highest quality. Likewise, UNH commits to full and complete compliance with all relevant requirements in New Hampshire Rules for the Control of Radiation. The Radiation Safety Committee and the Radiation Safety Officer control operations conducted at UNH that may result in the potential exposure of UNH personnel, members of the general public and/or the environment to ionizing radiation. UNH is committed to the fundamental principle that levels of radioactivity to be used, and exposures to all sources of ionizing radiation, are to be maintained As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA).

UNH Manchester Safety Committee

The safety and well being of the students, faculty, staff, and guests of UNH Manchester is the institution's highest priority. We are committed to working with all members of the campus community to sustain the safety and security of our campus. Student safety and security is a shared responsibility at UNH Manchester and is embedded in the work of many student development departments at the college.

University Environmental Health & Safety Committee

The Mission of the University Environmental Health and Safety Committee (UEHSC) is to support the University of New Hampshire's mission of excellence in teaching and learning, research and discovery, outreach and public service by providing leadership and services to assure a safe and healthy environment for all members of the University community. The University Environmental Health and Safety Committee promotes a safe campus environment by coordinating programs and services to reduce safety, health and environmental risks to the University of New Hampshire community in a manner consistent with responsible fiscal and environmental stewardship.