The members of the Chemical Safety Committee and its Chairperson(s) are appointed by the President of the University. The Chemical Safety Committee is a subcommittee of the Committee on Safety and Environmental Health which meets the requirements of membership and serves the charge of the committee as defined in University of Kentucky Administrative Regulations 6.9.
The Chemical Safety Committee (CSC) provides leadership, advocacy, and guidance for the chemical safety programming at the University of Kentucky. The CSC and its subcommittees, via coordination with representatives within Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), evaluate and ensure effectiveness of chemical safety programming, procedures, training, and other initiatives promoting safety and compliance regarding the acquisition, safe use and disposal of hazardous chemicals at the University. The Committee functions within the context of established external regulations, University policies, and recognized standards for the safe conduct of operations.
Revision approval by the Chemical Safety Committee December 17, 2024
In construing these By-Laws, the following words shall have the meaning herein given, unless a contrary intention clearly appears.
2. Name
The name of this Committee shall be the University of Kentucky Chemical Safety Committee
3. Location
The Committee shall be located in Lexington, Kentucky. The mailing address shall be:
Chairperson, UK Chemical Safety Committee
Department of Research Safety
1081 Veterans Drive
Lexington, KY 40536
4. Purpose and Authority
The Committee’s charge, as established in UK Administrative Regulation 6.9, is as follows:
1. Review and recommend chemical safety policies and procedures;
2. Review annually the University's Institutional Chemical Hygiene Plan as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations;
3. Maintain confidentiality as appropriate; and
4. Maintain written minutes of meetings and prepare reports as requested for the University
administration.
The Committee may recommend changes to the Committee charge by submitting recommendations to the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Health and Safety for approval and forwarding to the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration (EVPFA) for review and approval.
5. Membership Provisions
Composition and Appointment
The Committee is appointed by the President of the University and membership composition is as follows:
i. Members
Members of the Committee are appointed by the President of the University of Kentucky. These are selected University faculty and staff who collectively have experience and expertise in laboratory use of hazardous chemicals and the capability to assess the safety of research and identify any potential risk to public health or the environment. These members have full voting privileges.
ii. Chairperson(s)
The chairperson(s) of the committee shall be an appointed member of the committee. The Committee is appointed by the President of the University. The chairperson will be selected by vote of the committee and the elected chairperson’s name forwarded to the Office of the President for appointment. The Committee may select a Vice Chair who may perform all duties in the absence of the Chairperson.
iii. Ex Officio Members
These are nonvoting members and shall include representatives from the relevant entities within the Division of Environmental Health and Safety:
iv. Nonvoting Participants
Administrators or other members of the University community may participate in the Committee meetings as nonvoting members, as deemed necessary. Non-voting participants are also encouraged to participate in subcommittee work as deemed appropriate by the committee.
v. Community Observers
When possible and consistent with the protection of privacy and proprietary interests, the Institution is encouraged to open its committee meetings to the public. In the event of an exchange of proprietary or personnel information, community observers may be asked to leave the room. Minutes of the Committee meetings are available to the public upon request.
b. Eligibility
To ensure the competence necessary to review and approve chemical safety guidance and programming, the Chemical Safety Committee will include persons with expertise in the technology, handling, and containment of hazardous chemicals.
c. Terms of Office
Appointed members shall have staggered 3-year terms to ensure institutional memory.
d. Resignation
A member may resign at any time upon written notice to the President, with a copy forwarded to the Committee Chairperson(s) at least 15 days prior to the effective date of resignation.
Upon resignation, the committee will determine a suggested replacement, and the Chairperson(s) will forward the suggested replacement to the Director of EHS to send to the President for approval.
e. Removal
Members who miss four consecutive meetings without notification will be asked to resign, and
the Chairperson(s) will send the name of a suggested replacement to the President. A reminder will be sent to members after missing three consecutive meetings.
6. Organization
The Committee reports to the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Health and Safety and maintains an advisory relationship to the Director of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). The Committee and, if applicable, its subcommittees shall be composed of appointed and ex officio members, but may also involve representation of faculty, staff, student, fellows, and visitors in meetings or subcommittee work.
The Committee may make changes to the Committee structure (e.g., adding or deleting subcommittees) or otherwise modify the Committee and subcommittee responsibilities by submitting recommendations for modification of Administrative Regulation 6.9 to the Environmental Health and Safety Committee for approval and to be transmitted to the Vice President for Fiscal Affairs for final disposition and authorized approval. In the same fashion, the Committee may recommend adding or removing ex officio members.
a. Officers:
An appointed committee member serves as the Chairperson and/or Vice Chair. The Chemical Safety Officer or designee shall serve as ex officio and as Committee administrator.
b. Subcommittees:
To ensure the Committee has adequate expertise or support to continue work between convened meetings, the Committee may designate a subcommittee subject to the following provisions:
i. With approval of the Committee, the Chairperson shall appoint members of subcommittees and shall designate subcommittee chairpersons. Chairpersons of all subcommittees shall be members of the Committee with full voting privileges. At the discretion of the Chair, non-members of the Committee may be appointed to subcommittees.
ii. Subcommittees shall have no separate substantive powers or authority, actions, or decisions not ultimately subject to the approval of the Committee.
iii. A quorum for the transaction of subcommittee business shall consist of a simple majority of its members unless otherwise directed by the Committee.
iv. The subcommittee may also call upon ad hoc consultants as deemed necessary.
7. Duties of the Officers
a. Chairperson(s)
The Chairperson or Vice Chair shall preside at all meeting of the Committee. They shall appoint membership of all subcommittees and shall designate the chairperson of said committees. They may assign such additional duties to other members of the Committee as deemed necessary to assist them in the conduct of the work of the Committee and which are not inconsistent or conflicting with the duties prescribed for those officers as indicated by these bylaws.
The Chair or Vice Chair will keep or cause to be kept in the Research Safety Department Chemical Safety Office, a file of approved minutes of all meetings of the Committee. Records shall be retained electronically for five years.
b. Chemical Safety Officer
The Chemical Safety Officer’s duties include, but are not limited to:
i. Periodic inspections to ensure that laboratory standards are rigorously followed.
ii. Reporting to the Chemical Safety Committee and the Director of Research Safety of any significant problems, violations of established regulations, and any significant research-related accidents or illnesses of which the Chemical Safety Officer becomes aware.
iii. Developing emergency plans for handling accidental spills and personnel contamination and investigating laboratory accidents involving hazardous chemicals.
iv. Providing advice on laboratory security.
v. Providing technical guidance to Principal Investigators and the Chemical Safety Committee on research safety procedures.
8. Meetings
a. The Committee shall meet once per quarter or whenever possible, and each existing subcommittee shall meet the necessary frequency to achieve its goals.
b. Time and Place of Meeting
Meetings shall be held upon due notice at such time and place as specified in the call of the meetings. In the absence of a meeting call from the Chairperson or Vice Chair, and if pending business of the Committee needs to be resolved, a meeting can be called by the Director of Environmental Health and Safety or the Chemical Safety Officer.
Each member of the Committee shall be notified in writing and sent via email of all regularly scheduled meetings. Members shall be notified of regular meetings and provided a meeting agenda at least one week prior to the date of the meeting. Once determined, the date, time and place of the meetings shall be posted on the research safety webpage for the Chemical Safety Committee. Adequate notice of the time and place of such adjourned meetings shall be made to the membership in accordance with these bylaws. Whenever possible, agendas and copies of any written recommendations will be provided to members in advance of regular meetings. Members may submit additional agenda items to the Chair for consideration at regular meetings
d. Rules of Order
All business meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, newly revised, unless inconsistent with specific provisions of these bylaws.
A majority of appointed voting members, not including ex officio members, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Committee as long as relevant expertise is adequately represented to conduct said business. No business shall be acted upon by the membership of the Committee at any meeting at which a quorum, as herein defined, is not present. This shall not preclude the Committee from discussing issues of business in the absence of a quorum provided that no action is taken on such items of business
Each appointed member shall have one vote. Approval of major Committee and subcommittee actions (policies, procedures and recommendations to the EVPFA) requires a majority vote of the total membership, excluding ex officio and nonvoting members.
At the discretion of the Chair, member votes may be obtained outside of meetings (in writing, by phone, online poll, or e-mail).
Shall be kept and will record therein the time and place of meeting, the names of Committee members present and absent, a record of votes taken, and any other relevant business of the Committee. Upon request, minutes shall be made available to the public. Portions which deal with proprietary issues may be redacted.
A copy of subcommittee meeting minutes shall be submitted to the Committee Chairperson(s). A copy of the Committee meeting minutes shall be submitted to the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Health and Safety. The Chair requests a file of approved minutes of all meetings of the Committee shall be kept in the Research Safety Department Chemical Safety Office. Records shall be retained electronically for five years.
8. Amendment of Bylaws
These bylaws may be amended at a regularly scheduled meeting by the affirmative vote of a majority of appointed full membership of the Committee, so long as consistency with all applicable University regulations regarding Chemical Safety Committee constitution and operation is maintained. Recommended amendments may be submitted by subcommittees or by members.
9. Conflict of Interest
A member with a conflict of interest on an issue will be allowed to participate in the discussion of the issue but shall not be permitted to make any formal motions or to cast a vote concerning the topic at hand. The member shall be asked to leave the room during any vote pertaining to the conflict of interest.
Approved by a majority vote of the University of Kentucky Chemical Safety Committee on December 17, 2024