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Environmental Health & Safety

Web-Based Training

Overview

In order to be registered for online courses provided through this website you must provide your NU ID number. If you have not yet been issued an NU ID you may take the course, but your session will not be recorded until an NU ID number is provided to Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) by phone (402-472-4925) or email (ehs@unl.edu).

NOTE: If you do not have an NU ID or have not previously taken an online EHS safety course, you will be directed to a second page to provide basic information.

All web-based courses currently available are listed below with the entry links on the left. On the right information is provided as to who should take the course, approximate time to complete the course/module, and links to supplementary materials (if applicable). If a quiz with a specific score is required for successful completion of the course then that information is also provided. If you need to retake a course, click on the "Take Another Course" button. Do not use the "BACK" button.

NOTE: Do not use the browser "BACK" button/arrow during registration.

Contact EHS (402-472-4925 or ehs@unl.edu) if you would prefer to take the following, or other EHS-related training, in an instructor-led format within a class room setting.



Additional Training Needed

When certain hazards are associated with tasks the employee performs, specific training generally available through EHS, is required. Examples include: potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens, respirator use, forklift operation, ionizing radiation, confined space entry, etc. Additional guidance is available in the EHS document Training Needs Assessment for EHS-Related Topics.

Viewing Instructions

EHS web-based courses are accessible by using current versions of the following browsers: Firefox and Internet Explorer. If you have trouble accessing these courses, please update your browser with a more current version.





Session Description
Core Safety Orientation

Instructor-led Core Training is available quarterly. Training schedules are available online: /training/. An instructor-led session may be set up for your department upon request. Contact EHS by phone (472-4925) or email (ehs@unl.edu).

This course may be taken online as well and accessed using the links below and to the left. It is suggested that you take the modules in the order listed.

Required by all staff and faculty once during employment at UNL.

The Injury and Illness Prevention Plan module is required for all employees who get a paycheck from UNL. Some departments require a refresher.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
IIPP Program Document
EHS Virtual Manual
EHS Safe Operating Procedures (SOP)
Job Safety Assessments
Door Postings for Potentially Hazardous Locations
Instructions for Personnel Entering Laboratories Containing Radioactive Materials
Training Needs Assessment
Accident and Injury Forms
On-the-Job Injuries and Accident Investigations

Required by all staff and faculty once during employment at UNL.

The Emergency Preparedness module is required for all employees who get a paycheck from UNL. Some departments require a refresher.

NOTE: It is recommended that you complete this Emergency Preparedness module AFTER you have taken the Core-Injury Illness and Prevention Plan (IIPP) training module.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
EHS Virtual Manual
Training Needs Assessment
UNL Emergency Planning and Preparedness Web Site
UNL Alert Subscription Web Site
University of Nebraska Policies
Fire Safety - General Prevention and Extinguishers SOP
Pre-planning For and Responding To Chemical Spills

Asbestos Awareness

This course should be taken upon initial employment and annually thereafter by all employees who conduct custodial and light maintenance activities and operations that, if done improperly, could disturb Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM).

NOTE: This module is designed as an "awareness level" training only. It is not intended to provide sufficient instruction for the credentials needed to conduct any regulated ACM-disturbing activity.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA-29 CFR 1910.1001-Subpart Z-Terminology 1001b) Toxic and Hazardous Substances - Asbestos
Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department

This training is required of all persons who work with microorganisms and/or recombinant DNA at Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1), upon initial assignment to work in a BSL-1 laboratory at UNL.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Material:
NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (NIH Guidelines), National Institutes of Health
Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 5th Ed., Centers for Disease Control and NIH
UNL Biosafety Guidelines

Biosafety SOPs:
Preparing a Laboratory Biosafety Manual
Avoiding the Production of Biological Aerosols
Autoclave Operation and Performance Testing
Disinfectants for Biohazardous Materials
Spill and Exposure Response Procedures for Biohazardous Materials (including Recombinant Nucleic Acids).
Biosafety Cabinets
Biosafety SOPs (not listed bove)

Shipping SOPs:
Import and Transfer of Etiologic Agents
Importing Animals and Animal Products
Non-Genetically Engineered Plant-Related Articles Requiring APHIS Transfer Permits

This training specifically addresses Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) containment and is required of all persons who work with pathogenic organisms and materials requiring BSL-2 containment.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:

NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (NIH Guidelines), National Institutes of Health
Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 5th Ed., Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health
UNL Biosafety Guidelines
Biosafety SOPs
Office of Research & Economic Development: Research Responsibility

Required annually by all employees reasonably anticipated to have occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens through their job tasks or research.

See the UNL Exposure Control Plan for details about at-risk job titles and tasks.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Centers for Disease Control
CDC Hepatitis B FAQs for the Public
UNL Exposure Control Plan
OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
Special Requirements for HIV/HBV Laboratories
Declination and Other Bloodborne Pathogen Program Forms
Bloodborne Pathogens Safe Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Required by all employees who work with and may be exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals -- laboratory, shop, custodial, maintenance, and other employees who work with chemicals.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Chemical Safety SOPs
Working with Pyrophoric Reagents (produced by UCSD)
EHS Virtual Manual
Laboratory Safety Colloquium (Previous Sessions) - Chemical Safety: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You!
Interactive Learning Paradigms Incorporated Web Site
Toxicology and Exposure Guidelines Document
Chemical Container Labeling Guidelines Document
Personal Protective Equipment for Chemical Exposures SOP
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Eyes and Face SOP
Pre-Planning for and Responding to Chemical Spills SOP
Waste Management SOPs
Hazardous/Radioactive Material Collection Procedures SOP
Empty Container Disposal SOP

Confined Space Awareness

This "general awareness" training should be taken by any UNL employee who has access to areas that are or contain confined spaces. Employees such as, but not limited to maintenance & custodial employees, electricians, utility workers, groundskeepers, agricultural employees, and employees who work with confined animals in areas with deep pit systems.

There is a quiz following the module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) 29CFR 1910.146, Permit-Required Confined Spaces

Required of employees who may opt to use a fire extinquisher. Prior to taking this training you should have completed the "Core-Emergency Preparedness" training, a pre-requisite to this course.

This course may be taken as a stand-alone unit or as the first part of a two-part training session. Once you have completed the web-based training portion, you may participate in a supplementary hands-on training session. Contact Environmental Health & Safety for more information at (402) 472-4925 or ehs@unl.edu.

An instructor-led session including both parts of this course may be set up for your department upon request.

There is a quiz following the module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Fire Safety - General Prevention and Extinquishers SOP
UNL Emergency Planning and Preparedness Web Site

General Electrical Safety Awareness This 'general awareness" training should be taken by any UNL employee who is at slightly greater risk of occupational exposure to hazardous electrical energy as a function of their assigned job task. Employees such as custodians, carpenters, painters, some laboratory workers, agricultural and landscape workers, and others who work near or may inadvertently encounter live electrical systems while conducting their assigned tasks should take this training.

This training may be useful to all employees since electrical shocks in the home account for thousands of deaths and injuries per year.


There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
General Electrical Safety SOP
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA-29 CFR 1910 Subpart S, 1910.303-.355)
National Fire Protection Association Codes (NFPA 70 & 70E)

Required annually of all employees who are exposed to occupational noise levels in excess of OSHA's Action Limit, regardless of the number of days of exposure per year.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
UNL Hearing Conservation Program
Hearing Conservation SOPs
Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Occupation Noise Exposure (29 CFR 1910.95)

Laboratory Safety Training A variety of laboratory specific training sessions that were originally offered as part of the Laboratory Safety Colloquium Series are available for online review. Some topics may be applicable beyond a laboratory setting.

The following safety topics can be found on our Laboratory Safety Colloquium Series website under Previous Sessions:

  • Centrifuges: Research or Rocket?
  • Compressed Gas Cylinders
  • Cryogen Safety
  • Electrical Safety in the Laboratory
  • Exposure Control - Ventilated Hoods, Cabinets, & More
  • Flammable, Corrosive, & Toxic Gas Safety
  • Laser Safety: Hazards, Bioeffects, & Control Measures
  • Preventing Laboratory Fires
  • Pyrophorics (Air-Sensitive) Chemical Safety
  • Steam Sterilization Using Autoclaves
Note: Some modules are not available in video format.

Each module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete (video run times are noted). These courses do not require registration, do not require a quiz, and completion will not be tracked by EHS. If you wish to have a record that you viewed a module, you must keep your own record.


Additional Resources:
Chemical Safety Board - Experimenting with Danger Video
Chemical Safety Board - Case Study, Texas Tech University Laboratory Explosion
Chemical Safety Board - Webinar on the Texas Tech University Laboratory Explosion
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Laboratory Safety Guidance Publication
Lockout/Tagout (LO/TO) for Machines & Equipment

Training is required of all employees who operate, service, or repair equipment/machines that are associated with hazardous energy which must be controlled with LO/TO procedures/devices during maintenance, service, or repair.

Machinery/equipment is characterized by one or more forms of energy to accomplish work, such as cutting, pressing, boring, forming, shaping, moving matter (e.g., pumps), and so on. Examples of machines/equipment that may be encountered at UNL that are subject to LO/TO procedures include, but are not limited to: gas, water, and steam lines; HVAC equipment including air handlers and boilers; kitchen equipment such as slicers, mixers, dishwashers, trash compactors, cardboard balers and garbage disposals; woodworking and metalworking machines; printing presses; laboratory equipment such as centrifuges, cage washers, autoclaves, and high powered lasers; conveyors; motor vehicles; hydraulic lifts; elevators, etc.

During normal operation guards protect employees from coming into contact with moving or dangerous parts of machines/equipment that could lead to entanglement, amputation/laceration, pinching, pinning, crushing, etc. During maintenance/repair operations it may be necessary to remove protective guarding. When guarding is not functional or in place, LO/TO is REQUIRED.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 60 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.147, Appendix A (LO/TO Written Procedures Template)
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1928.57, Guarding of Farm Field Equipment, Farmstead Equipment, and Cotton Gins
EHS Virtual Manual - Hazardous Energy Section (LO/TO Written Procedures Template)
Lockout/Tagout for Machines & Equipment SOPs

Mobile Aerial Lift Training

Training should be taken by UNL employees who operate any type of mobile aerial platform/lift prior to hands-on instruction for the particular machine(s) to be operated.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Aerial Lift Safety SOP
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA-29 CFR 1910.67, 1926.451 & 1926.453)

NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules

Training is required prior to initiating research for all persons who conduct research with recombinant DNA (rDNA) in vitro and/or in vivo at all Biosafety Levels at the University of Nebraska.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines
Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 5th Ed., Centers for Disease Control and NIH
Biosafety in the BSL-2 Laboratory Web-based Training
Biosafety Basics Web-based Training

Biosafety SOPs
Recombinant DNA - IBC and Other Review Requirements
NuGrant IBC Protocol Form Instructions
Incident Reporting - National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidance
Spill and Exposure Procedures for Biohazardous Materials (Including rNA)
Security Advice for Biosafety Laboratories
Biosafety Training
Preparing a Laboratory Biosafety Manual
Biosafety SOPs (not listed above)

Portable Ladder Safety

Training is recommended for any UNL employee who uses a ladder in the course of their employment and may be useful for all employees since ladder use in the home is common.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Ladder Safety SOP
American Ladder Institute

Powered Industrial Truck Training

Required of all UNL employees who operate forklifts or other Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs).

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

NOTE: To earn UNL PIT Operator Credentials you MUST also successfully complete an on-site evaluation of driving competency, described within this formal training as "practical training" and "individual evaluation."

This module requires approximately 60 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29CFR 1910.178, Materials Handling and Storage. Appendix A: Powered Industrial Trucks
OSHA Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklift) eTool
EHS Forklift/Powered Industrial Truck Safety SOP
EHS Virtual Manual - Material Handling - Mechanical Aids (Powered Industrial Trucks including forklifts)

Required by all staff and faculty who work with radioactive materials or ionizing radiation generating equipment.

All required annual refresher training is web-based and may be accessed by clicking the link to the left. Sign in and select the specific training you are required to take.

Supplemental Materials:
Radiation Safety SOPs

Required of only those persons whom EHS has approved for access to certain specialized areas and who have completed a federal security authorization. Do not take this training unless you have been specifically advised to do so by EHS.

This module requires approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Required of only those persons possessing or having access to fire and life safety/police keys or unrestricted control of the Andover system. Do not take this training unless you have unlimited access potential to all UNL facilities.

This module requires approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Training

Required annually of all employees with responsibilities related to maintenance or operation of oil storage devices and those engaged in the filling of these storage devices at certain UNL facilities where large quantities of oil/fuel is transferred or stored.

There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. If your score is less than 80% your registration will not be recorded. You need to review the material and re-take the quiz until you pass in order for your session to be recorded.

This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Supplemental Materials:
Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) SOPs
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations (40 CFR Part 112)

To obtain a copy of your facility's SPCC plan call Environmental Health & Safety at (402) 472-4925.

Waste Accumulation Area Awareness

Required by all staff working in a secure area of the Environmental Health and Safety facility. Annual training thereafter or in the event of significant procedural changes or facility design changes.

This module requires approximately 10 minutes to complete.