Inspections

Environmental and safety regulatory agencies may make unannounced inspections of University of Maryland facilities from time to time. Inspections may be conducted for a variety of reasons, including: response to employee or community complaints, response to noncompliance activities, investigation of conditions related to pollutant discharge, records review, errors or violations in compliance reports, fact-finding in support of a permit application filed by a facility, periodic visits as mandated by Agency inspection procedures, etc.

ESSR is designated as the official liaison between UMD and external regulators, such as Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) or Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH). If you are contacted by an external regulator that is requesting an inspection, please contact 301-405-3960.

Fire Marshals conduct inspections of university facilities located on the College Park campus as well as facilities owned by the University System throughout the state. The purpose is to evaluate compliance with the Maryland Fire Prevention Code by identifying hazardous conditions and practices that could cause a loss or injury due to fire or explosion.

Types of Fire Inspections:

• Building – Routine regular inspection of the entire building
• Laboratory – Routine inspection of an individual laboratory space
• Event – Inspection conducted before and during a public assembly event
• Construction – Inspection conducted of a building or area under construction to evaluate if it conforms with approved plans
• Complaint -Inspection of a condition or area of concern
• Permit-Inspection to evaluate conditions relative to a permit, usually pyrotechnics

All ESSR research-related inspections are conducted using the SciShield (formerly BioRAFT) platform. All inspections for a given laboratory are housed on the Laboratory’s Inspection Dashboard.

The Laboratory Safety Group conducts routine Laboratory Safety Inspections which focus on chemical hygiene practices, hazardous waste management, process safety management, laboratory housekeeping, and a review of training records and required laboratory specific documentation. These inspections are generally scheduled so that a research group member can be present to answer questions about research operations. The research group will generally have thirty days to address any findings identified during the inspection.

The Biosafety Group conducts routine Biosafety Safety Inspections which focus on primary containment, proper waste handling, IBC compliance, laboratory housekeeping, and a review of training records and required laboratory specific documentation. These inspections are generally scheduled so that a research group member can be present to answer questions about research operations. The research group will generally have thirty days to address any findings identified during the inspection.

The Office of Research Safety conducts final walkthrough inspections after all research operations are completed to ensure no hazardous materials or conditions remain in a research space prior to a principal investigator’s departure. This should be requested by the PI after all hazardous materials and other materials are removed from the space. To request, please contact labsafety@umd.edu For laboratories with biological materials and/or radiological materials, sign-offs from the Biosafety and Radiation Safety Groups is also required prior to contacting the Laboratory Safety group. They can be contacted at biosafety@umd.edu and radiationsafety@umd.edu respectively.

Radiation Safety conducts audits and contamination surveys of authorized laboratory spaces on an ongoing basis.  Labs authorized to use radioactive material are surveyed for contamination quarterly.  These surveys include both meter scans of exposed surfaces, and wipe tests looking for both fixed and removable contamination.  Audits of authorized user's labs are conducted semi-annually.  Radiation safety staff visit the lab, and review paperwork: monthly wipe test logs, waste logs, and use tracking logs. We often observe experiments in progress, in addition we make sure that all users have their training up to date, and that material when not in use is stored securely.  Any contamination and/or audit findings that are identified during these visits are addressed as soon as possible working with the material users to correct the issue(s).

The Biosafety Group includes the Responsible Official (RO), which is the point of contact for the Federal Select Agent Program and the Maryland Biological Agents Registry. The RO and the Biosafety Group oversee regulatory inspections (annual, renewal, unannounced) in support of the UMD Select Agent Program. The Biosafety Group can also assist PIs in preparing for a USDA import permit inspection and/or attend if needed.

• Hazardous Waste Satellite Accumulation Area, Central Accumulation Area, Hazardous Waste Storage Facility Inspections
• Stormwater Inspections
• Oil Operations / Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan Inspections
• Combustion Analysis / Optimization
• Air Emissions Inspections & Testing
• Landfill Inspections

OSH performs inspections, monitoring, surveys and assessments to ensure the work environment and safety and health of employees and students are maintained in compliance with all relevant standards. Such inspections include:

• Asbestos – inspect for the presence of asbestos
• Lead – inspect for the presence of lead
• Silica – inspect for the presence of silica
• Lockout / Tagout – inspect energy control procedures
• Confined Space – inspect to ensure safe entry
• Fall Protection – inspect PPE and systems
• Heat Safety Monitoring – inspect for heat related hazards
• Crane Safety – inspect for specification compliance

OSH performs inspections on UMD Machine Shops to ensure the work environment and safety and health of employees and students are maintained in compliance with all relevant standards.