Rutgers Emergency Services (RUES) responds to chemical emergencies on the New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus 24/7, 365 days a year. These emergencies include spills in labs, spills and releases to the environment, odors, and any perceived hazard.  RUES will immediately notify Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety (REHS) of an incident involving a hazardous substance release in order to provide emergency response, containment, and clean up of Hazardous Material spills occurring on campus.

To report a Chemical Spill, Chemical Exposure, Gas Leak, Chemical Smell, or other emergency:

LEVELS OF RESPONSE
The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) HAZWOPER Standard (1910.120) prescribes requirements for emergency response operations for “releases of, or substantial threats of release of, hazardous substances without regard to the location of the hazard.” However, not all spills qualify as “an uncontrolled release.” Generally, campus incidents occur in a laboratory and involve small quantities that present limited risk and rarely require high levels of protective equipment such as self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Accidental spills of a material normally used in a laboratory do not necessarily qualify as an emergency unless the substance is an unknown, creates a flammable atmosphere, or highly toxic material creates an IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health) environment. Most laboratory spills may be cleaned up while wearing a full-face respirator following an assessment of the material and potential hazards. Such incidents would be defined as a “Clean-up Operation” rather than an “Emergency Response.” Those incidents presenting a more significant risk that may involve victim decontamination and evacuation would be managed at the much higher “Emergency Response” level in compliance with the OSHA standard. Each incident must be appropriately evaluated to determine the risk and proper response level.