Safety Documents
All project students are required to read and follow the STET General Risk Assessment . In addition, you may be required to complete the below before you commence practical work.
Risk assessments
You will need to complete a project/task specific risk assessment before you carry out any task that has any significant risks associated with it. All projects with substantial practical work will require this, and many projects may need more than one if there are several significant stages. Your risk assessment will need to be signed by your project supervisor. A risk assessment template is available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/healthsafetywellbeing/managingrisks/riskassess/
COSHH assessments
You should read a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for any chemical/substance you are planning to use, as it outlines the main health effects and emergency procedures to follow. MSDSs are produced by manufacturers, and many similar versions exist online for a substance. You will then need to complete a separate COSHH Assessment for any activities that use a hazardous substance that poses a significant risk. The MSDS should help you identify what controls to put in place and what personal protective equipment (PPE) to use. A COSHH Assessment may already exist for your activity. If it does, you may use its contents to inform your own COSHH Assessments. You can submit and search for existing COSHH assessments at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/local/hands/risks/coshh_assessment
Examples of substances that require a COSHH assessment:
- Ammonia
- Any chemicals (this includes all salts and solvents such as ethanol)
- Expanded natural graphite or carbon
- Phase change materials such as paraffin wax
- Heat transfer fluids including silicone oil