As previously stated, the purpose of this Plan is to protect laboratory employees, while they are
working in a laboratory, from harm due to potential exposure of hazardous chemicals. In addition
to employees who ordinarily spend their full time working in a laboratory space, for the purposes
of this plan "laboratory employee" also includes office, custodial, maintenance, and repair
personnel, and others who, as part of their duties, regularly spend a significant amount of their
time within a laboratory environment.
The Calvin Plan does not apply to all places where hazardous chemicals are used. Only
laboratories meeting the following four criteria are subject to the Calvin Plan:
- Chemical manipulations are carried out on a laboratory scale. That is, the work with
chemicals is in containers of a size that could be easily and safely manipulated by one person.
- Multiple chemical procedures or chemicals are used.
- Protective laboratory practices and equipment are available and in common use to
minimize the potential for employee exposure to hazardous chemicals.
- The procedures involved are not part of a production process whose function is to
produce commercial quantities of materials, nor do the procedures in any way simulate a
production process.
This fourth criterion would normally exclude quality control laboratories in industrial operations
because they "are usually adjuncts of production operations which typically perform repetitive
procedures for the purpose of monitoring a product or a process" [FR 55, 3312 (January 31,
1990)]. This criterion also would normally exclude pilot plant operations, which are typically
closely connected with production processes. However, if pilot plant operations are an integral
part of a research function for the purpose of evaluating a particular effect (for example, "the
operations do not proceed to production but remain part of the research activity"), then that pilot
plant operation may be covered under the Calvin Plan.
Some laboratories may also be required to meet the requirements of substance-specific federal
standards in addition to the Laboratory Standard. One set of such standards is contained in
OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.1000 - 1999.
Please refer to the Glossary for important definitions used in the
Laboratory Standard and this Plan.
Return to the Chemical Hygiene Plan Index.
Last updated by Brian K. Dokter on
May 12, 1997.
