November 22, 2009
Lab Safety Programs Lab Safety Programs


Contact_Inventory.jpg
Program AreasChemical Inventory      
<H1>UNR Chemical Inventory Management Program</H1>

UNR Chemical Inventory Management Program

The University of Nevada, Reno uses the ChemTracker Chemical Inventory Management System to manage all laboratory chemicals on campus.  Authorized users will access their chemical inventory to make changes, corrections and updates, prepare inventory reports and obtain safety information on their chemicals, all from this system.

UNR has entered into a formal regulatory compliance agreement with Washoe County Air Quality Management Division, which issues UNR air emission permits to operate laboratory fume hoods. Regular use and updating of your chemical inventor is an essential part of the University’s efforts to comply with various local, state and federal regulations as well as to provide critical information to emergency responders entering an area where hazardous chemicals are present.

Please read this page thoroughly if you:

o       Are new to Chemtracker

o       Are having a problem with using Chemtracker

o       Have any questions about what you and Chemtracker can do

Ø      If you are already familiar with Chemtracker, go to the LINKS section below and go directly to the database.
ChemTracker Links ChemTracker Links
<BR>Did you acquire chemicals from ChemStores?<BR>Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
Did you acquire chemicals from ChemStores?
Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
 TitleCategoryModified DateSize (Kb) 
ChemStores chemical transfer formExcel5/23/200724.58Download
 
<BR>Were new chemicals delivered to your lab?<BR>Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
Were new chemicals delivered to your lab?
Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
 TitleCategoryModified DateSize (Kb) 
Chemicals Delivered from Central ServicesExcel5/23/200724.58Download
 
<BR>Did you donate, or receive chemicals from another research group?<BR>Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
Did you donate, or receive chemicals from another research group?
Use the form below to notify EH&S and ChemTracker will be updated for you
 TitleCategorySize (Kb) 
Chemical Container Transfer FormExcel22.02Download
 
General Information II Minimize
 

The Necessary Tools:

You will need either Netscape Communicator 4.5, Netscape Navigator 4.08, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later versions installed on your computer. The application will work on either Mac or PC, though PC is recommended. You will also need Adobe Acrobat 3.0 or higher to run and print some of the reports that are available.

Security:

In order to ensure the privacy of our chemical inventories, entry to the inventory system and to any particular chemical inventory is strictly limited.  All chemicals on campus belong to a CHEMICAL OWNER who is responsible for them, and only those owners can approve a person to be a USER and to have access to their inventory.  [Okay, there is one exception:  UNR EH&S has access to all inventories, for the purpose of emergency response, risk assessments, and generating regulatory reports.]

Two Software Versions:

There are currently two versions of ChemTracker available, both versions access, and edit the same data tables. Version 2 does not have all of the features of Version 1, but is more powerful and has more efficient data display.  You should use the versions as directed below:

Version 1 - Use this version to:

  • Change your initial issued password
  • Conduct queries by hazard category, search the built-in reference database
  • Identify storage compatibility codes
  • Download or print your inventory
  • You can add/modify/query/delete your inventory with Version 1, but Version 2 is recommended for these activities.

Version 2 - Use this version to:

  • Add/query/modify/delete items from your inventory
  • Obtain safety information for individual items in your inventory 
  • Access links to MSDS and on-line searches (Google) of specific items 
  • The following features are not yet available in Version 2, but are sheduled to be incorporate by mid to late 2007.
    • Change password
    • Conduct Hazardous of safety information queries
    • Identify Storage Compatibility Codes
    • Download or Print your inventory
A Special Note:

The Chemtracker system makes extensive use of “validation tables“.  Buildings, rooms, and names of chemical “owners“ (usually faculty principle investigators) have already been pre-entered into the database in a pre-determined format.  Therefore, in some browser/ platform environments it is necessary to “tell” the system you are ready for the next step by hitting the tab key (PC), or clicking the mouse button outside of the field in which you are entering data. This action tells the system that you are done entering information in the field and that it should validate what you have entered. This is particularly important when you go to save a record, because the save action will not execute until the validation step is complete.  Macintosh users must use the mouse to advance the cursor and may need to click the “LIST“ button in Version 2, or the “FIND VALUES“ button in Version 1 to validate data.
Print  
Training Documents Training Documents
Obtaining a ChemTracker User Account Obtaining a ChemTracker User Account

If you have never used the ChemTracker software before, you will need obtain an account and attend a training session.  To become a ChemTracker USER, please contact Luis Barthel-Rosa  at luisbr@unr.edu or 327-2270.  Please provide your name, e-mail address (UNR preferred), campus phone number, and the name of the Principal Investigator, Lead Researcher or Chemical Owner for your laboratory or work area.  This person must approve you to have access to his or her inventory.  Once you have been “created” as a USER, you will be provided with a temporary password for entry.  You must change this password on the Version 1 web site after you first enter, to one of your own choosing.  Remember, you will only be able to access the inventories of the Chemical Owner(s) you have been approved for.

Your account will be read-only until you attend a ChemTracker training session.  See the Training Schedule below and contact Luis Barthel-Rosa to sign-up for a class.  After attending a training class, your account will have full read/write privledges.
 
Logging In Logging In

To Log-in:

Launch Netscape (4.5) or Internet Explorer (5.0) or later version.  McIntosh users can use their Mac browsers.

Go to either Version 1 or Version 2 web site, depending on your needs (see SOME UP-FRONT INFORMATION section for recommended uses of each version)

Enter your ChemTracker user name and password in the USER ID and PASSWORD field.

It doesn’t work?  There are three possible problems: 

  • You forgot your password or got it wrong.  From Version 1, click on the “Send Me My Password“ and your password will be emailed to the address you provided when your account was set up.  The response is very quick on this.
  • You are using the wrong USER ID.  You must use the ChemTracker USER ID that was issed to you by EH&S.  Contact Luis Barthel-Rosa of EH&S (luisbr@unr.edu, 327-2270) to confirm your ID if you can’t find it otherwise.
  • You are not an approved USER for ChemTracker.  Only approved users may enter the ChemTracker system.  To become an approved user, see Obtaining a User Account, above.
UNR Bar Code Labels UNR Bar Code Labels

EH&S has incorporated bar coding containers into UNR's chemical inventory management system.  The purpose of using bar code numbers is to facilitate tracking containers from 'cradle' to 'grave'.  EH&S inventoried the UNR campus in 2004 and bar coded containers and will continue to do so annually.  However these visits are snapshots of an on-going, dynamic entity and there are plenty of containers that arrive and depart in between EH&S lab visits.  Therefore users need to add bar codes stickers to containers when they arrive in their work areas. 

  • The bar code labels are provided by EH&S.  You need to attend a ChemTracker training session, then contact Luis Barthel-Rosa at luisbr@unr.edu or 327-2270 to obtain bar code labels.
  • The bar code labels have seven (7) digits and include the printed number so they are human readable.  You do not need to purchase bar code scanners to utilize the numbers. 
  • Use one bar code sticker per container.
  • Bar code label placement DO'S and DON'TS:
    • DO NOT place the label on the cap, or bottom of the container.
    • DO NOT cover up the chemical name or other important information on the manufacturer's label.
    • DO NOT remove the bar code label and stick it on another container, especially one that is a different chemical!
    • DO place the label on the glass near the manufacturer label (space permitting).
    • For very small containers, the labels may need to be attached to the container with tape.
  • When a new container arrives in your work area, add the bar code label and input the container into ChemTracker.
  • WIthin ChemTracker, fill in the bar code number in the data field titled 'UNR Bar Code'.
  • Use the bar code number to query that specific container.  From the Query Criteria page, input the bar code number in the user defined field 1 (udef1) space, and press “Show Inventory“
  • Request replacement labels from Luis Barthel-Rosa
What Needs to be Inventoried What Needs to be Inventoried

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INVENTORY

DO INCLUDE:

DO NOT INCLUDE:

  • All chemicals and chemical products obtained from commercial sources (including mixtures) - primary “parent“ containers
  • Long term storage or re-fillable containers such as re-fillable fire safety cans and plastic solvent jugs
  • All compressed and liquefied gases (including propane tanks)
  • Unregulated radioactive materials (Uranium, Thorium compounds)
  • Hazardous household chemicals (bleach, pesticides, herbicides)
  • Paints (including spray paints)
  • Aerosol cans (WD-40, spray lubricants)
  • Refrigerants
  • Lubricants, fuels, and oils (motor oil, gasoline, vacuum pump oil)
  • Biological toxins
  • Biological specimen solutions (Ward safe, formaldehyde solutions)
  • Scintillation fluid

If its not on the DO NOT INCLUDE list and has any sort of hazard associated with it, go ahead and put it in the inventory.
  • Materials to be expended within 1-2 days (e.g., working solutions, solutions prepared in the lab, secondary containers)
  • Retail products used for routine household-like activities (e.g. cleansers, dish soap)
  • Regulated Radioactive materials
  • Chemicals obtained directly from laboratory synthesis*
  • DNA/RNA and/or kits*
  • Microorganisms*
  • Non-hazardous (physiological) buffers*
  • Microbiological Growth media (Agar, broths, cell growth media)* 
  • Enzymes (any form)* 

* indicates optional items that may be inventoried for bookkeeping/budgetary reasons

Labs may track other materials as desired (antibodies, proteins) for bookkeeping purposes; however the software may not have linked safety/hazard information for such items.

Contact EH&S at 3278-2270 for ANY Chemtracker related question.

 
Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions
Q.  Will other people (other labs, research groups) be able to see my chemical inventory?
A.  Absolutely not.  ChemTracker users will be granted access only to their, or their PI's inventory.  Even in common or shared areas, such as cold rooms, you will only be able to see items belonging to you.
The administrative levels of the sofware define the user access by chemical owner(s), Building(s) and room(s). 
Q.  Since ChemTracker is web based, will my inventory be published to the web?  Will everyone the whole world be able to see my inventory?
A.  Absolutely not.  ChemTracker is a secure site with user ID and password protection.  Inventory data is private, only authorized users will be granted access to chemical inventory.  Faculty, PI's will verify with EH&S which users are authorized to access inventory.
Q.  Will I be able to search, or view the entire campus chemical inventory if I want to borrow something?
A.  No you will not.  Users will be given access only to their PI's buiding(s) and room(s) with chemicals.  However future software developments may allow items to be designated as "Surplus", which would then allow everyone to see them.
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