"Working Safely in Laboratories – Basic Principles and Guidelines" (BGI/GUV-I 850-0e) is a new and updated version of the "Guidelines for Laboratories" (BGR 120e) that have been established for decades. The publication incorporates the German health and safety regulations for laboratories updated by the Fachausschuss Chemie.

The "Guidelines for Laboratories" (BGR/GUV-R 120) have been tried and tested in daily practice for many years. They were elaborated in the Arbeitskreis Laboratorien (working group on laboratories) of the Fachausschuss Chemie (expert committee for the chemical industry) within the DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance), in consultation with the AGS (German Committee for Hazardous Substances).

In 2000 parts of the guidelines have been adopted into state legislation by the AGS as technical rules and regulations in the form of TRGS 526 "Laboratorien". Updates are in the responsibility of the Arbeitskreis Laboratorien have been implemented in February 2008.

BGI/GUV-I 850-0e takes into account the current status of laboratory technology, new discoveries from day-to-day laboratory practice and changes to the regulatory landscape, in particular the amended German ordinance on hazardous substances, the Gefahrstoffverordnung (GefStoffV). BGI/GUV-I 850-0e is aimed at constructors and operators of laboratories. Laboratory personnel and guest-scientists can inform themselves in English about the German standards on health and safety practices in laboratories. In addition it is a useful reference book of the German regulations on safety and health in case of an audit with English-speaking auditors.

The draft of the updated laboratory guidelines was presented to the members of the Fachausschuss Chemie and especially to the concerned chemical industry for comments. The working group discussed the comments received and the result was considered in consultation with the DGUV’s health and safety department. The document thus represents a consensus of expert opinion and describes the generally accepted state of the art.

The Guidelines are available via bookselling under ISBN 978-3-86825-139-5 or can be ordered directly from Jedermann-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.

Online-access to BGI/GUV-I 850-0e is offered here.