Complex and sophisticated, laboratories and cleanrooms have unique requirements to protect the integrity of the working environment. Assuring predictable results and guarding against contamination are two top priorities when working in these types of conditions. As such, the lab is a workplace that presents a variety of safety and health challenges for workers.
While labs should strive to do everything possible to protect workers via engineering controls and by eliminating hazards, the fact remains that workers will still need to don and use personal protective equipment (PPE). And while there may not be absolutes to PPE usage in labs, OSHA's standard on personal protective equipment, 29CFR 1910.132, Subpart I, imposes several requirements relating to basic safety and health programs.