IAB Safety Office

The IAB safety officer provides technical advice and services related to environmental health, regulatory, and related safety concerns for institute faculty, staff, and students in coordination with the UAF Fire Marshal and UAF Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management. The safety officer also coordinates training in field safety and hazardous materials handling, storage, and disposal. Services are provided to ensure compliance with applicable regulations while not impeding research and teaching activities.

Email: UAF-IAB-Safety@alaska.edu

Daniel Uliassi

Daniel Uliassi

Safety Coordinator; Research Professional

dduliassi@alaska.edu | 907.474.5455

410A Irving 1

Office hours 7:30 am to 4:30 pm
Schedule is reduced during Aug-Sep, Dec, Feb-Apr

 

Training requirements for the Institute of Arctic Biology (updated January 8, 2024):

The Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) requires all personnel (employees, students, volunteers, and others) to complete a series of safety trainings. You may have completed many of these but we need a record of them at IAB. Please forward Dan Uliassi the completion certificate or quiz result you receive after completing each training and let him know if you have any questions. You can reach Dan at dduliassi@alaska.edu or 474-5455.

Training requirements:

  1. All personnel must review the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and take the associated quiz for any building they work in. These are found under the Safety Tab on the IAB website. This training is required annually and is valid for one year from the date of completion.
  1. All lab personnel are required to take three basic trainings found on the EHSRM training webpage (not the similarly name trainings in myUA):
    1. UAF Lab Safety
    2. UAF Chemical Hygiene
    3. UAF Hazardous Waste Management (Refresher training is required annually)
  1. All personnel need to complete the two trainings found under the tab labeled "basic UAF safety trainings required for all employees" on the training page of UAFs EHSRM website. These are required every three years.
    1. Combined Employee Safety Orientation
    2. Hazard Communication
  1. All personnel must complete the UA Safe Title IX Training annually. More information and linkes to the training are found on the UAF Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability's training page.
  1. Protection of Minors:
    • If you are not working directly with minors (not an “authorized adult”) complete: Protection of Minors for Non-Authorized Adults found under the tab labeled "other required trainings for all employees" on the training page of UAFs EHSRM website. 
    • If you are an "authorized adult" (working directly with minors), review the protection of minors page on the EHSRM website and CONTACT THE PROTECTION OF MINORS MANAGER (474-5487 or UAF-EHSRM@alaska.edu) OR YOUR SUPERVISOR FOR GUIDANCE.
  1. Employees need two additional trainings found in myUA (Log into myUA, click My Community, then Learning library, select Type, and then Tier 1: UA Employee Required Training.) UA’s statewide administration may change these requirements without notice.
    1. Workplace harassment prevention (not required if you have completed Anti-Bullying in the Workplace)
    2. Behavior based safety (not required if you have completed Hazard Communication and Injury and Illness Prevention)
  1. If you are a student in the UA system, you need to complete all mandatory trainings found on the mandatory student training page of the UAF Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability (currently this is just the Title IX training, but is subject to change).
  1. You may need additional training depending on your answers to the following questions:
    1. Are there any hazardous chemicals or procedures you will be working with, particularly procedures with a standard operating procedure (SOP)? Trainings are mandated before using specific chemicals and substances. These include methylene chloride, phenol, benzene, chloroform, formaldehyde, silica, and hydrofluoric acid. There are additional trainings available for understanding safety data sheets and working withlab sharps that you may like to take.
    2. Will you be working with any blood borne pathogens or other biohazards? If so, you will need to have trainings arranged through Tracey Martinson, UAFs Biosafety Officer and head of EHSRM (tamartinson@uaf.edu) or UAFs chemical hygiene officer, Emily Reiter (reiter@alaska.edu).
    3. Will you be using a biosafety cabinet? If so, please contact IABs Safety Officer (dduliassi@alaska.edu) to arrange trainings.
    4. Will you be working with vertebrates? If so, you will need to have Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) trainings that can be arranged through the office of research integrity (474-7800).
    5. Will you be working with radiation? If so, you will need to have trainings arranged through Tracey Martinson, UAFs chemical hygiene officer (474-6771).
    6. Will you be working with humans? If so, you need Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Human Subjects Research training (https://www.uaf.edu/irb/training/). Contact the office of research integrity (474-7800) for more details.
    7. Will you be working with student educational records? If so, you will need to take the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) training available in myUA. This is found under Tier 2 – Position Required Training or by searching for the training using the search bar in myUA. Log into myUA, click My Community, then Learning Library, select Type, and then Tier 2 – Position Required Training.
    8. Will you work directly with minors? If so, it is very important to review the protection of minors page on the EHSRM website and contact the POM office (474-5487 or UAF-EHSRM@alaska.edu) or your supervisor for guidance.
    9. Do you need to drive a UAF vehicle? Please review the driver information section of the EHSRM website.
    10. Do you need field safety courses? Nanook Recreation organizes field safety courses for the University (https://uaf.edu/recreation/outdoor-adventures/classes-and-safety.php#safety). We may also be able to organize additional courses, such as bear safety, for IAB personnel. Please contact Nanook Recreation (474-5886) and the IAB safety office for more information (dduliassi@alaska.edu, or 474-5455)

Here are some search terms and tips that you can use to help locate training records in your email and your myUA account.

  • Quiz results from EHSRM should have "UAF EHSRM" and "quiz" in the subject line or body of the text.
  • For the Title IX training, use “Title IX” along with "certificate of completion"
  • For Protection of Minors trainings, search for "Shine a Light” or the appropriate name of the training you took.

You can also find a record of some trainings in myUA by clicking My Community in the dark blue bar across the top, and then clicking Learning Library.

DEAP training requires that you take and pass the quiz for each building in which you work. A score of 100% is required to pass. Please review the appropriate plan(s) from the list below and then click the button to take the quiz.

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UAF COVID-19 Information: https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/coronavirus/

IAB General COVID Mitigation Play, July 2020 (pdf)

Please allow at least 24 hours for request to be filled.

A surcharge of 20% will be added to the purchase price for non-IAB account numbers used to purchase ethanol from IAB.

Containers must be provided by the requester, and can be dropped off in 308A Irving I. Orders will generally be filled the next business day.

If ethanol is being purchased for transport off campus, it can only be dispensed into a container as outlined in the transport regulations. Questions? Call Dan Uliassi at 907-474-5455.

Current price: $16.24 per gallon or $4.29 per liter:

  • Price may change without notice.
  • Price is based on cost plus shipping from supplier.

An email will be sent to the requestor when the ethanol is available for pickup.

All requesters must have completed Laboratory Safety, Introduction to Hazardous Waste Management, and Chemical Hygiene Plan training.

Use this form to request liquid nitrogen from Murie (room 013) or Reichardt (room 100U2). Liquid nitrogen is not always immediately available. Please let us know your needs in advance so we can try to have liquid nitrogen available when you need it. We will coordinate a time for you to drop off and fill your dewar.

You must have appropriate liquid nitrogen safety training before we can fill your order. If you have not already done so, please complete the short liquid nitrogen safety training on myUA and send your training certificate to UAF-IAB-Safety@alaska.edu. We will provide in-person training if you do not have access to myUA. We are always happy to provide additional training and answer any questions you may have.

Liquid nitrogen presents a freezing and asphyxiation hazard. Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold (-196 degrees C) and rapidly expands to nearly 700 times its volume when it vaporizes. Always wear proper PPE. Vaporization will quickly displace oxygen and can cause asphyxiation and death. Do not transport liquid nitrogen, even small amounts, inside a vehicle (place it in the bed of a pickup or trailer etc.), do not work with liquid nitrogen in small unventilated spaces, and do not place liquid nitrogen in sealed vessels like a thermos or any container with a tight fitting lid. If liquid nitrogen spills, leave the area immediately.

Use this form to request key or Polar Express access to any IAB space, including labs and office areas. New employees, visitors, and collaborators should also complete this form in with the help of their supervisor or sponsor to outline expected job functions for assignment of safety training.

Some examples of when this form may be used:

  • New graduate students that need lab/building keys or Polar Express access to IAB spaces
  • Staff members needing keys or Polar Express access to IAB spaces
  • Volunteers/collaborators that need access and safety training

This form will NOT be used to request assignment of new lab or office space within IAB. To request new or additional lab/office space, please complete the request form at https://uaf.edu/iab/administration/space.php.

Submission of this form will send an email to the IAB Safety Office, the supervisor listed, and to the employee email address entered. This email will contain further instructions tailored to the specific group selected, and a list of safety training that may be required of the employee based on expected job functions.

Submit a Field Emergency Plan before leaving for the field.

Start this process early and please submit this plan at least two weeks before departure. Submit this plan four weeks before departure if your trip involves the use of firearms or explosives, ATV’s, snow machines, boats, or the participation of minors. The approval process and trainings, particularly for remote travel, and activities involving minors or unconventional modes of transportation, may take several weeks to complete.

This plan notifies IAB of intended field travel and should help you and emergency responders negotiate an emergency if one arises. The amount of detail required depends on the level of risk and remoteness of your trip.

Please fill out and contact Dan Uliassi, x5455, after the list is complete