Information, new knowledge or good advice about the working environment, safety and health is sent to all staff and students. The newsletter is published 2-4 times a year, often in connection with meetings held ind the local working environment committee (LAMU). Information from LAMU as well as the departments rules and guidelines can always be found on the website under work environment.

For staff all agendas and minutes from LAMU meetings can be found on the O-drive* together with other legal material (e.g. workplace assessment action plans): O:\Nat-Tech_Geo-Faelles\Udvalg GEO\LAMU

*) AU-network is required, use the VPN client from the outside.

There are several projects underway that affect the buildings (now or shortly):

• Change of laboratory 1674-138: We are close to being ready to set up a GC-IRMS at the end of November. The actual installation of the instrument is expected to last approximately 2 weeks.
• Reconstruction of basement 1672: Functions in rooms 1672-046 and 1672-047 (primarily sawing, crushing and grinding) change places with parts of storage room 1672-025. The project has been finally approved by AU and is expected to be launched soon.
• Possible laboratory for GEUS: A dialogue is underway with interested parties regarding space and functions. A final location has not been determined, but we look towards parts of 1674-123. Expected: 2025.

The department is in the process of improving the procedures for on- and off-boarding.

This includes clarifying which information must be disseminated and who in practice is responsible for instructing and introducing new employees to the department, AU procedures and specific work tasks, etc.

One point of attention is safety and the working environment for all employees, not least in the laboratories. We remind you that people who instruct in a laboratory process must inform about the following (in addition to the work process itself):

Read more about the laboratory introduction at our website.

Søren Munch Kristiansen and Charlotte Rasmussen have this year carried out the annual office round which focuses on the working environment and the mandatory follow-up on IT security at the department.

This time we took a closer look at the office spaces, i.a. storage and cables.

Dansk Erhvervspsykologi provides professional psychological counseling for all employees at Aarhus University.

A counseling process can be requested via the immediate manager (5 interviews) or anonymously (up to 3 interviews).

Contact Dansk Erhvervspsykologi: 70 22 76 12 (8am-5pm on weekdays) or 70 22 76 10 (emergency), alternatively you can write to krisekorps@danskerhvervspsykologi.dk.

See more about background and content on the department's website.

Remember that you can always speak to your union representative, working environment representative or Coordinating working environment manager (Charlotte).

We can improve at sorting all types of waste at the Department of Geoscience.

Note that we only collect the waste groups that apply to companies: it may be different from how you sort at home.

Plastic in particular is a challenge for us. At the moment we have several containers for "plastic" in the basement, 1674 (by the car elevator):

• Large blue container is only for soft plastic, but only if it is uncolored and clean.
• Small blue container (see pictogram) is only for hard plastic (as well as metal and food or beverage cartons).

We don't collect polystyrene: polystyrene and unclear plastic (e.g. colored or dirty, soft plastic - e.g. from food or sample bags) must be sorted as residual waste. Place larger quantities of residual waste directly in the large container in the parking lot.

Staff must not sort the waste once it is in the containers. Therefore, pay attention to sorting in the right category right away. Ask Nat-BYG if you are in doubt.

If you get helpers to remove waste: You must ensure that the person is instructed in how to sort the waste correctly so that the waste ends up in the correct container.

Nat-BYG is currently reviewing the entire department in terms of control and registration of the systems that handle all infrastructure such as air, electricity, water and heat.

This happens for several reasons:

• The underlying control systems must be updated.
• Optimizing the individual units (e.g. ventilation) saves on costs for operation and buildings.

The tests and the actual software update of the control systems are expected to affect areas when they happen: This can mean short-term changes to air flow, changes in background noise and lack of hot water and heat.

Nat-BYG installs carbon dioxide meters in some rooms: This optimizes parts of the ventilation directly depending on whether people are present or not.

We await further information about the process during November. It is expected that there will be days when laboratories are closed and you cannot work there.

When rinsing or sieving sample material in a laboratory sink, there must be a sediment trap underneath to collect the material. Otherwise, the sink and (even worse) the drain to the sewer clogs.

- it is extremely important that you contact your immediate manager AND an occupational health and safety representative as soon as possible.

The occupational health and safety representative must help assess whether the work tasks need to be changed for a period of time. For example, there are work processes in the laboratories that can be very harmful.

It is not only a matter what you work with yourself, but also what others in the immediate vicinity handle, if it is dangerous processes or toxic chemicals.

Find our latest guidelines for "pregnant and breastfeeding" women on the department's website.

Also contact Charlotte if you have any questions.

Geoscience work environment portal (including newsletters)

Geoscience work environment organisation (contact information)

Work environment at Geoscience (flyer for new staff)

Emergencies and evaucation at Aarhus University

AU HR work environment

YouTube (department safety instruction videos)