Hunter College is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace. The success of the college's environmental compliance and occupational health and safety efforts depends on all of us working together and accepting personal responsibility for our safety and the safety of those with whom we work. Training is an integral tool to achieving this success. Below is a list of scheduled training sessions, and the descriptions of each type of training.
East Building Closure Update for Tuesday, Dec. 5. All classes taking place in the East Building of the Main Campus will resume. The Library will be open. All staff stationed in offices outside the Library in the East Building should continue to work remotely while our facilities team assesses each office individually.
Training
Training FAQs
We have developed two training guides that outline the training required for each job category to help you determine what training you require.
For all Public Safety, ICIT, or Facilities training please see the Regulatory Training Guide.
For all laboratory or research personnel training see the Regulatory Training Guide.
- Go to the Blackboard Training Platform.
- Enter your CUNY credentials to login.
- You will then be taken to the training platform and can “enroll” to access the courses.
- Once you enroll, go to theBlackboard Training Platform and follow the instructions on “A. Training Information” to complete your training and receive your certificate.
All courses listed below are available on Blackboard unless otherwise noted. If you need to attend a training session that isn't available on Blackboard, please contact the Office of Environmental Health and Safety at ehs@hunter.cuny.edu.
Training Courses A - C
This course will give workers an overview of asbestos safety, including how asbestos exposure can happen, the negative health effects of asbestos exposure, and common safety practices they must follow to avoid exposure. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Employees will learn about hazards and the three major types of hazard controls. This course is intended for general industry employees who, during their regular work duties, are required to lift and carry materials. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Labs designed for work with biological materials must have safe work practices in place to protect personnel, the facility, and the surrounding community. These work practices fall into four biosafety levels, or BSLs, that are ranked from 1 to 4. This course will address the general protections and requirements for BSL-2 environments.
This course will teach employees about the hazards of bloodborne pathogens in the workplace and the basic controls required under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen standard. Employees will learn how to identify major bloodborne diseases and symptoms, how pathogens are transmitted and the basics of exposure prevention and incident response and cleanup. This awareness-level course is designed for all workers who may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) at any time during the performance of their regular job duties. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires labs to create a formalized chemical hygiene plan to help protect lab employees from chemical hazards. Learners who successfully complete this course will be able to recognize the purpose and components of a chemical hygiene plan, and identify his/her responsibilities in the continued implementation of such a plan. This course is designed for all workers, students or other personnel who will work in a laboratory.
Chemical inventory management is a necessary part of ensuring a safe work area. It is the responsibility of the laboratory PI as well as departmental responsible person to maintain accurate chemical inventories, which are a requirement of federal, state and local regulations. BioRaft + ChemTracker is a centralized web-based chemical inventory program, which will assist researchers, laboratory staff, art department personnel and facility personnel with managing their chemical information. The training will walk the user through the process of adding, deleting, modifying and tracking their inventory online. EHS relies on the information in BioRaft + ChemTracker to search specific chemicals to identify safety issues and run regulatory reports, with an effort to remain in compliance with federal, state and local regulations.
Employees who take this course will learn about the hazards associated with different chemicals, how to identify those hazards in the workplace, and proper procedures for handling and storing chemicals and responding to chemical emergencies. This course is intended for all employees who work with or around hazardous chemicals, and is offered in English and Spanish.
Workers who work in wet in cold or wet environments must be able to prepare to work in these conditions. Learners who successfully complete this course should be able to identify factors that contribute to cold stress, recognize signs and symptoms of cold stress, and identify controls that can help prevent cold stress. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
This course should help employees learn how to identify the hazards of compressed gases and compressed gas cylinders, labeling and storage requirements for cylinders, and how to implement safe work practices. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
This course will teach employees the hazards and safety precautions associated with confined spaces, with a heavy emphasis on OSHA safety requirements. Employees will learn how to identify confined spaces, their hazards, methods used to control those hazards and the regulations regarding 'permit-required' confined spaces. This course is intended for general industry employees who are required to work in or around areas defined by OSHA as confined spaces. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
This course ensures that employees planning work with controlled substances are aware of and understand their responsibility for complying with the relevant state and federal statutes and regulations governing the use of these substances. This course is coming soon.
Training Courses D - K
This course will teach employees the importance and practice of consistent fall protection. Employees will learn about fall hazards, how to identify fall protection methods and various safe work practices. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
Employees who successfully complete this course should learn the common hazards of different types of hand and power tools, including electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic and abrasive-wheel tools and how to minimize or eliminate those hazards. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Employees who successfully complete this course should be able to recognize the purpose and requirements of a hazard communication, or HAZCOM program, and identify chemical hazards and their controls in their workplace. The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). This update to the HCS will provide a common and coherent approach to classifying chemicals and communicating hazard information on labels and safety data sheets.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have very stringent requirements for hazardous waste storage, handling and transportation. This course is intended for employees who, during their regular work duties, are required to work with or around hazardous waste. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Hearing conservation programs strive to prevent initial occupational hearing loss, preserve and protect remaining hearing, and equip workers with the knowledge and hearing protection devices necessary to safeguard themselves. Learners will have the ability to prevent hearing loss in the workplace. This course is coming soon.
This course will teach employees the hazards of working in high heat and how to minimize or eliminate those hazards. It is intended for employees who, during the course of regular work duties, are exposed to high-temperature conditions for significant periods of time. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
This course should help employees identify types of hot work and their hazards, and identify employee roles and responsibilities for hot work. Employees will also receive information about hazards specific to hot work, additional hazards associated with hot work, and hazard controls for performing hot work. This course is available in English and Spanish.
This course should assist employees on the proper steps taken to ship and receive biological materials. The shipping and transport of dangerous goods is a highly regulated activity. A large number of people will handle or be in proximity to a package containing biological materials as it travels to its destination. All that protects these people from any hazards within the package is the information provided on or with that package and the packaging itself. This course is coming soon.
Employees will learn how to identify ergonomic risk factors, potential injuries and methods to minimize or eliminate ergonomic hazards. This course is intended to provide general-industry employees with the ability to identify and improve ergonomic conditions for themselves in the workplace and assists employers with compliance with OSHA’s General Duty Clause. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Training Courses L - Z
This course is designed to provide an overview of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and how it applies to laboratory waste, particularly in education and research settings. Upon completion of this course, learners should be able to identify the different types of waste defined by RCRA and their characteristics, and the accumulation, storage and recordkeeping requirements imposed by RCRA. This course is designed for all employees and students working in a laboratory that generates hazardous waste.
This course will teach lab workers to identify common physical, chemical and biological laboratory hazards and related safe work practices. This OSHA-required course is designed for all laboratory workers operating in laboratories and/or research facilities.
This course should assist learners in identifying different types of ladders and general safe practices working on ladders. It will also help learners recognize the importance of ladder inspection, set-up and location, and the best practices for safe ladder use. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
The course on lead awareness is required training for all personnel who are subject to lead exposure. This includes individuals who are required to work around lead or lead-containing materials but who do not perform lead-based abatement work. This course communicates information such as methods of recognizing lead, health effects associated with lead exposure, how to minimize exposure, warning signs and labels. Our course covers the required topics to keep employees in compliance with OSHA standards. This course is coming soon.
Employees will learn to identify the importance of proper lockout/tagout procedures, what workers are authorized to perform those procedures, lock and tag systems used for lockout/tagout, and the special provisions of lockout/tagout programs. This course is intended for employees who, during their regular work duties, are required to perform lockout/tagout procedures, and for employees who work on equipment that is subject to regular maintenance or repair requiring lockout/tagout. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
Employees who successfully complete this course will learn to define machine guarding, locate fundamental machine areas, machine hazards, the types of machine guards, and the types of machine devices. This course is intended for employees who, during their regular work duties, are required to work with or around machines equipped with guarded machinery, and can assist employers in meeting the provisions of OSHA’s machinery and machine guarding standard.
Molds are part of the fungi kingdom, which includes yeasts, molds, smuts and mushrooms. Molds are ubiquitous—many thousands of mold species can be found indoors and outdoors throughout the year. They can grow almost anywhere, as long as optimal temperatures, moisture, oxygen, and food sources, such as organic matter are present. Growth of mold thrives in warm, humid places such as bathrooms, kitchens or basements. In order to prevent the active growth of mold, moisture sources and indoor relative humidity must be controlled. Learners who successfully complete this course will display the ability to identify and prevent mold growth. This course is coming soon.
Learners who successfully complete this course will display the ability to recognize standard pallet jack types, controls and functions, procedures for pallet jack inspection and safe operation, and common hazards associated with pallet jack operation. This course includes information about both manual and powered pallet jacks, and is designed to assist pallet jack operators and their employers to complete the formal training (classroom) portion of OSHA’s required training for operators of Class III powered industrial trucks. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Personal protective equipment, or PPE, has been around throughout history in various forms. Even everyday clothing is a form of PPE, but many jobs and workplaces have unique hazards that require additional protection, such as gloves, boots, eye protection and many others. This course will teach employees to identify the need for PPE, define the concept of a hazard assessment, things to consider when choosing PPE, and the different types of PPE used to protect all parts of the body. This course is intended for general-industry employees who, during their regular work duties, are required to use personal protective equipment. This course is presented in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Mandarin.
This program is an overview of the general elements of an effective respiratory protection procedure that includes the methods of selection, use, care, proper fit and medical clearance of respirators in the workplace. Learners will be able to understand the basics of respiratory protection in the workplace. This course is coming soon.
This course will teach employees the basics of staying safe while working on scaffolds. Employees will learn the definition of a scaffold, the potential hazards of working on a scaffold like falls, electrocution and scaffold collapse and major hazard control methods. This course is intended for employees who are required to perform work on scaffolds. This course can help employers comply with OSHA’s safety requirements for scaffolding.
Learners will be able to identify the major physical and exposure hazards of sewage, wastewater and water line maintenance and their preventive measures. This course is intended for municipal sewage and water line maintenance workers and managers.
To help protect waterways, the EPA requires all non-transportation facilities that store large amounts of oil to write and follow a spill prevention, control and countermeasure (SPCC) plan. Learners who successfully complete this course should be able to identify the basic components of an SPCC plan, identify spill prevention measures, and identify spill control measures and countermeasures. This course is presented in English and Spanish.
Learners who successfully complete this course will be able to recognize different types of universal waste, and their proper handling and disposal. This course is intended for employees in all industries who are required to handle or dispose of materials classified as universal waste by OSHA. This course is presented in English and Spanish.