About the course
This short course gives laboratory staff, managers and students a practical, regulation-aligned foundation for handling chemicals safely from the moment they arrive until they leave as waste. Starting with South Africa’s Chemical Hazardous Agent Regulations. The course explains the various hazard communication systems (GHS, NFPA, HMIS), covers the main chemical hazard classes, from flammables, corrosives and peroxide formers to nanoparticles and radioactive materials, and the basics of toxicology. Participants learn to interpret Safety Data Sheets, set up and maintain a chemical inventory, and apply recognised segregation and storage systems, including GHS, Stanford and Flinn-based approaches. The course covers chemical store design, incompatibility checking with compatibility charts and CAMEO Chemicals, hazardous waste management and disposal, and emergency response to spills and exposures. In-class activities and a summative quiz reinforce learning and support audit-ready compliance.
Course Content
- Legislation
- Chemical hazard communication (HAZCOM)
- Chemical hazard groups and the hazards within
- Introduction to toxicology
- Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
- Segregation and storage of chemicals
- Chemical storage systems
- Incompatibility charts
- Hazardous chemical waste management
- Chemical spill emergency response
Certification
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive a UCT Faculty of Science Certificate of Completion. To qualify for certification, participants must:
- Attend all scheduled sessions; and
- Achieve a minimum score of 80% in the summative assessment.
- Participants who miss any session or do not achieve the required 80% assessment score will not qualify for certification.
Cost and registration
- External attendees: Enrol directly via The Learning Store.
- UCT permanent staff: Register via SuccessFactors - no cost.
- UCT third-party staff: No cost - request a discount voucher from cemohse@uct.ac.za before enrolling.
- UCT students: Receive a 50% discount - request a discount voucher from cemohse@uct.ac.za before enrolling.
- Group bookings: Groups of 10 or more attendees receive a 25% discount - request a group discount voucher from cemohse@uct.ac.za before enrolling.
More Information
Read more: Laboratory & Research Chemical Safety and Storage Management
Email: cemohse@uct.ac.za
Phone: +27 (0)21 650 4549
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