Safety Program

Our ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe working environment, and to promote improved safety awareness by all NOAA employees and partners...

All NOAA employees are required to complete the NOAA Safety and Environmental Compliance Office (SECO) annual web-based NOAA Employee Safety Awareness Course.

CSD (formerly Aeronomy Laboratory) DSRC Chemical Hygiene Plan PDF file - Our CHP incorporates work practices and procedures required to protect employees from health and physical hazards at the David Skaggs Research Center (DSRC). It applies to all DSRC employees and visiting personnel operating within the DSRC and field facilities who work with hazardous chemicals.

CSD (formerly Aeronomy Laboratory) DSRC Hazard Communication Plan PDF file - Our safety program is designed to provide employee information and training on (1) the hazardous chemicals known to be in the workplace, (2) the methods that will be employed to protect workers, (3) the precautionary methods employees must follow to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals, (4) the detection of a release of hazardous chemicals and (5) emergency procedures to follow should there be a release of hazardous chemicals and/or employee exposure to them.

For Hazardous Waste Disposal, complete this Hazardous Material Collection Sheet XLS file and email it to Duane Lyda x5516. He will then contact you to schedule a pickup.

NOAA Safety Program Office

Regional Safety Manager:
Safety Technician:
Regional Environmental Compliance Officer:

CSD Safety Representative:
Rhonda Carpenter
Amy Riley
Mark George

Ann Middlebrook
(303) 497-3912
(303) 497-4486
(303) 497-3064

(303) 497-7324

CSD Chemical Inventory PDF file

CSD Radioactive Source History

NOAA ESRL possesses a materials license PDF file from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the use of three radioactive materials: Nickel-63, Hydrogen-3, and Polonuim-210. Of these, CSD is actively using Polonium-210 PDF file in some of our chemical ionization mass spectrometers and aerosol calibration equipment. This material is leased from the manufacturer and marketed as a "nuclear static eliminator" or "alpha-energy ionizer". The alpha particles emitted from Polonium-210 can travel only an inch or so in air and do not penetrate past a piece of paper or the upper layer of skin. The risk for exposure to these alpha particles is quite low since the Polonium-210 is sealed in a foil and encased in a stainless steel housing.