A safety shower is a piece of equipment that is designed to provide more than 30 gallons of water per minute to a person who has spilled corrosive or toxic material on their body.

The University requires that you have a safety shower within a reasonable distance of your laboratory and that you ensure that access is not blocked. Death or severe injury because of the inability to rinse corrosive or toxic chemicals from the body may result from the lack of, inaccessibility, or the non-functioning of safety showers. 

Common findings relevant to the use of safety showers:

Safety shower unavailable: 

Contact your department administrator to request the installation of a safety shower in your work area. EHS can assist with selecting the proper type and location of the safety shower.

Safety shower inaccessible: 

Remove all material that blocks access to the safety shower.

Safety shower not tested annually: 

Contact Facilities Management at (410) 706-7570 to have the safety shower tested. Safety shower inspection logs must be maintained at or near the site of the shower.

No visible signage for safety shower: 

A sign identifying the location of the safety shower needs to be installed. Several vendors provide pre-printed signs for this purpose.