Chapter 1: Environmental Health and Safety Policies
1.1 Purpose
The University of Texas at El Paso (University) is committed to providing a safe and healthy educational and working environment. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the University develops and maintains appropriate environmental, health, and safety programs for protection of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the campus.
1.2 Policy Statement and Applicability
1.2.1 It is the policy of the University to furnish a place of employment and learning that is as free as possible from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause harm to its faculty, staff, students, visitors, and the surrounding community.
1.2.2 It is the policy of the University to maintain compliance with applicable institutional, local, state and federal environmental, health, and safety requirements.
1.2.3 Faculty, staff, and students share in this responsibility and are expected to ensure that their actions and activities are conducted in a manner that avoids posing a hazard to themselves, other members of the University community, visitors, University property, and the surrounding community.
1.3 Campus Safety and Environmental Health
1.3.1 In accordance with The University of Texas System policies, the University has established the Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Department to ensure that reasonable oversight programs are established to provide support and maintain written policies, training programs, and procedures as well as maintain compliance with safety standards and environmental regulations and policies.
1.3.2 The Assistant Vice President for EH&S is responsible for overseeing programs of continual improvement in Environmental Health, Safety, Risk Management and Emergency Management, as well as the development of safety-related policy recommendations for the operation of University-controlled areas and activities, implementation of procedural guidelines, and, through an ongoing audit and observation function, providing reasonable assurance to the President that the University and its functions are in compliance with approved safety and environmental standards and policies. The Assistant Vice President for EH&S is further empowered to take interim action to close, evacuate, or bar entry to any area, space, classroom, laboratory, or office and order the cessation of any activity on property owned or controlled by the University which, in the opinion of the Assistant Vice President for EH&S, represents an immediate potential danger to members of the University community or University property, including any violation of University EH&S policies, rules, procedures, and manuals.
1.3.3 University personnel and students shall comply with all applicable federal and state statutes, ordinances, rules and fire codes, generally accepted safety standards, and University and UT System policies and procedures, including procedural and safety manuals maintained by the EH&S Department.
