Spotlight on Safety

Health and Safety News For The Princeton Community, November 2025

Thanksgiving Week Pickup

Holiday waste pickup for Thanksgiving week will take place Wednesday, Nov. 26. Please have all waste pickup requests in by Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. Requests submitted later will not be picked up up until Dec. 4.

EHS Office Hours take place Tuesday, Nov. 25. We have added the lower level of Lewis Thomas to our locations, so stop on by! Learn More »

Departmental News

Welcome to our new administrative coordinator, Vickie Harrelson. Vickie comes to us after six months with Facilities, where she was a temporary administrative assistant for the Organizational Effectiveness & Communications department.

Vickie grew up in Lawrenceville and her father was a longtime Facilities employee. "I grew up at Princeton University," she says. "Being back on campus brings back so many fond memories of my childhood!"

Hazardous Waste Label Update

In 2023, EHS introduced an updated hazardous waste label, replacing the previous "yellow" waste labels. Labs were encouraged to use any remaining old labels and transition to the updated label, which includes a hazard classification section.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, waste containers containing the older labels will not be collected from laboratories and will need to be relabeled prior to collection.

Updated waste labels may be requested from the EHS Safety Supply Store, including pre-made Waste Labels.

Learn More on the EHS Website

Policy Spotlight: PPE

The University Policy on Personal Protective Equipment mandates PPE for research facilities on campus. The policy includes minimum standards for protection from chemical, biological, radiological, and physical hazards in the laboratory. Separate standards are also published for radioisotope users.

Preventing Foodborne Illness

With the fall and winter holiday season approaching, now is a great time to remember the importance of safe food handling. The steps to illness prevention are simple and straightforward.

Learn More »

Follow EHS on social media:

Upcoming Trainings

Intro to Biosafety

Dec. 9, 1:15-2:15 p.m. LTL 003
Jan. 14, 1:30-2:30 p.m. TBA

Bloodborne Pathogens For Researchers

Nov. 3, 2:15-3:15 p.m. LTL 003
Jan. 14, 2:30-3:30 p.m. TBA

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Laboratory Safety at Princeton University (Online)

New researchers to Princeton University should complete the following steps as part of the online Laboratory Safety Training Sequence.

Complete the online components of the laboratory safety training: Fundamentals of Laboratory Safety 1-5 and Final Test, available at: https://putrain.learn.com
After completing the online components, sign up for and attend an instructor-led Laboratory Safety Training session.

Upcoming dates for instructor-led Laboratory Safety Training sessions:

Laboratory Safety at Princeton University

Dec. 5, 16
Jan. 13

To sign up for a training session, go to:

https://putrain.learn.com

Select Environmental Health & Safety under "Training By Department"

Contact the editor with any feedback or story ideas at js74@princeton.edu

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Princeton University

Environmental Health & Safety

262 Alexander Street

Princeton, NJ 08540

(609) 258-5294