ASU expands lab coat laundry program
The expanded lab-coat laundry program has cleaned about 500 lab coats since fall 2016 and has the capacity to clean 2,000 coats.
Arizona State University provides laboratory coat laundry services to all ASU researchers on every campus. The current program can launder around 2,000 lab coats, about 50 per week, and is free for lab employees. The pilot laundered 500 lab coats since fall 2016.
The program is more sustainable than disposable lab coats, may make labs more sustainable overall and assists researchers in keeping lab coats safe and sanitary. Environmental Health and Safety recommends faculty, staff, student workers and volunteers launder their coats at least twice a year and more often as necessary.
“This program protects researchers and keeps the research in the lab where it belongs,” according to Amanda Hoyt, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering chemical safety specialist. “Having an effective way to launder lab coats and making it free and convenient to use makes lab coats much safer.”
Most researchers have a lab coat drop-off location near their laboratory, but some locations may mail lab coats for laundering. Learn more about how to participate from the lab coat webpage.
Program development
The program began when EHS Compliance Officers identified that many labs could not find a cost-effective laundry service. Fulton Schools compliance officer Alana LaBelle presented the concept to the EHS Policy Committee in May 2016.
A team of EHS staff, departmental safety compliance officers and representatives from Mail Services and Procurement introduced the concept and recommended the program to university administrators.
Knowledge and Enterprise Development and University Business Services jointly funds this program for the first year.
Read more about the Lab Coat Laundry Service on the EHS webpage. Learn more about the Compliance Officer program.
More Science and technology
Time-consuming task of conserving Jane Goodall Institute field notes gets a boost from AI
Arizona State University is continuing the legacy of scientist, conservationist and ethologist Jane Goodall by bringing decades…
AI and robotics researchers at ASU work to keep people safe, healthy
As Arizona State University continues to shine in U.S. patent rankings, robotics and artificial intelligence garner a growing…
A new chapter in national security research at ASU
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into a low orbit around the Earth. Only the…