Welcome to the Department of Physics! I hope you partake fully of the research and educational opportunity the Department provides. Moreover, we are committed to the health and safety of our staff, students and visitors, and would encourage you to be cognizant of health and safety issues at all time.

For the McLennan Physics Laboratory a Joint Health and Safety Committee exists to identify and resolve these safety concerns within our working environment. The committee has representatives from the Physics Department, the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Centre for Entrepreneurship. To assist your understanding of our health and safety policies and procedures our Committee has developed this webpage. All new staff, graduate students, undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers who are associated with the Department (whether their work is within the building or not) are expected to review the material contained here before beginning work, and to continue working in a safe manner.

Safety is the responsibility of everyone in the Department but faculty (Supervisors) are directly responsible for safety in their laboratories and office space (accountable in law). They should therefore be pro-active in ensuring that many of the basic points identified in the annual inspections are dealt with promptly, e.g., removal of power cords from floors, disposal of empty cardboard boxes, prevention of obstructions etc. and in ensuring that students and postdocs handle chemicals and equipment appropriately.

The purpose of this site is to provide a reference point for use by Department of Physics students, staff and visitors. Please note that the Department offers a one-day safety-training seminar for Physics personnel in September. This seminar is mandatory for all students and visitors before undertaking research or work in our research environment. For information on the seminar, contact Phil Scolieri, Departmental Safety Officer, scolieri AT physics.utoronto.ca, or our Health and Safety Office, at joanne.wurster AT utoronto.ca, 416-978-2231, Room 302.

I thank those who have agreed to be part of the Committee to make sure we all work in a healthy and safe environment. In particular, I very much appreciate the active participation of faculty on the H&S Committee and their commitment to the rest of the Department. I strongly advise you to make use of the resources the Committee has provided to protect your interests. The names and phone numbers of the members of our Health and Safety Committee are contained on the website. Please do not hesitate to contact any one of them if you have any concerns, questions, and suggestions.

With best wishes,

Kimberly Strong
Chair