Persons with responsibility for the management of research laboratories, etc. are required to strictly adhere to various rules relating to chemical substances, and also to ensure the safety of their students and faculty members. In order to do this, such responsible persons must instruct individuals under their supervision to manage chemical substances according to the risk assessment and chemical management support system shown below, implementing risk assessments in regard to any substances subject to working environment measurements. In addition, if students are to conduct experiments, the responsible persons must provide them with safety education, including education on methods for implementing chemical management and risk assessment.

○Handling of chemical substances

When handling chemical substances, you must comply with the provisions of the Kyushu University Regulation on Chemical Substance Management and the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act. Some departments have their own internal rules concerning chemical substances, so you must also comply with these without fail. The specific provisions of these internal rules differ between each school, institute and faculty; please contact the coordinating department at the relevant Administrative Office for further details.

○Risk assessment

Due to the amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, it has been mandatory to conduct risk assessment on certain hazardous chemicals since June 1, 2016. A risk assessment identifies the risks and harmful effects of chemicals and drug products and estimates the level of risk of hazards and health problems for workers. This allows for the consideration of measures to reduce such risks. As of January 1, 2021, 674 substances are designated as requiring risk assessment. It will be expanded to about 2900 substances in the future. If you wish to use chemicals, please conduct a risk assessment following the implementation standards, guidelines, and manuals for risk assessment, which are prescribed by each department based on the Kyushu University Guidelines for the Implementation of Risk Assessment Concerning the Use of Chemicals, to check the level of risk and take risk reduction measures. In addition, please display the SDS and risk assessment results in a place that can be readily seen in your laboratory

○Chemical management support system

All chemical substances on the University premises are managed by the chemical substances management support system. When a department starts using chemical substances, request a reference number for laboratories through the administration of the department to the Center of Environment and Safety. Then, you can access the system using the reference number as a login ID. URL: https://chem.ofc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/iasor7/fw/FW0000/. Toxic substances and stimulants must be handled in strict adherence to legal requirements and University regulations. The reference number for laboratories can also be used as a registration number for chemical substance surveys and waste liquid processing requests.

○Management of pressurized gases

The High Pressure Gas Safety Act requires regulation of the manufacturing, storage and consumption of pressurized gases. Any experiments or research involving the extraction of pressurized gas from a cylinder at direct pressure of 1MPa or above, for example, are subject to the terms of the High-Pressure Gas Safety Act, which requires the submission of registration documents to the supervisory administrative agency. Please check the pressure of any gases you use in experimentation. In addition to this, experiments must be conducted safely and in consideration of the following seven points. (1) Full knowledge of the properties of the gas in use (2) Prevent leakage (3) Be aware of the pressure of pressurized gases (4) Open/close valves slowly (5) Do not use gas for any other purposes (6) Only use containers etc. (7) Keeping records of the usage

Furthermore, not only the manufacturer but also the consumer is responsible for the management of pressurized gas containers. It needs to be reported to the Governor of the prefecture if a disaster happens, if it went missing or if it was stolen.

The person who handles pressurized gas is required to manage it carefully.

The “pressurized gas container management policy“ of Fukuoka prefecture has been in effect since February 1st, 2017. According to this policy, Kyushu University is promoting the return of containers after one year in principle (maximum within five years).

○Measurement of working environment

The Industrial Health and Safety Act regulates that research laboratories using certain substances (organic solvents, designated chemical substances and dust), which are subject to measurement of the working environment, must undergo working environment measurement each year.

○PRTR (Pollutant Release & Transfer Register) Law survey

The University is required to collect and submit data regarding the quantities of all hazardous chemical substances that accumulate on the earth, when they are released (or transferred) into the atmosphere, wastewater supply, or as waste product, categorized by Campus. You must not flush even a small amount of hazardous substances down a sink. We test wastewater quality on an ongoing basis, and implement investigations to establish the cause in any case where standard values are exceeded.

○Proper management of mercury and mercury compounds

Because the “Minamata Convention on Mercury” was issued on August 16, 2017, the “Act on Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury” (Prevention Law of Pollution of Mercury) and the revision of related laws and regulations have came into force. These laws enforce regulations regarding the production, transportation, usage, and disposal of mercury products. It is an obligation to store mercury and mercury compounds following policies set by the nation, to report the amount of mercury stockpiled and transported from previous years, and to properly dispose of equipment containing mercury. It is necessary to properly manage mercury and mercury compounds by registering them with the Chemical management support system as well as by being aware of the stockpile and amount used. The amount of equipment owned that contains mercury, such as thermometers, its usage and storage location need to be managed properly.

• Note:
• 　Each year, additional chemical substances are newly categorized as narcotics or psychotropic drugs. Care is required to ensure that staff are aware of these categorizations, as well as in regard to uranyl acetate or other nuclear fuel materials, newly prohibited agricultural chemicals, or designated toxins that have been stored since before regulations came into force.
• 　Chemical substances should be recorded in the pharmaceutical management system, and checks should be implemented as appropriate.