Waiver of Indemnity - Toxic Materials and Chemicals

In response to national concern and awareness regarding product liability, a number of vendors and supply houses have instituted a policy that requires the submission of a signed waiver of indemnity before they sell the product or material. The following procedure was developed by Purchasing and Environmental Health and Safety:

1. The Director of Purchasing is the University official who has been designated and authorized to sign waivers of indemnity for toxic materials.
   
2. The Director of Purchasing will not sign a waiver of indemnity for toxic materials until he or she has received the following three written approvals:
   
   1. An approval from the University General Counsel's office which will conduct a review of the language of the waiver, per se.
   2. An approval from EHS to signify that toxicological hazard data and the recommended precautions and safe handling procedures have been obtained and have been transmitted to and discussed with the purchaser.
   3. An approval for the order from the department, signed by the Department Chair. This approval signifies that the department is aware of the toxicological hazards and the recommended precautions and safety handling procedures, and that a review of the request confirms the fact that the material is needed.
      
3. After signature by the Director of Purchasing, a copy of the signed waiver and the purchase order will be sent to the Assistant Treasurer responsible for insurance matters.

It is understood that in some instances this procedure will introduce delays into the purchasing process. Lengthy delays might occur in those cases where it becomes necessary to go to outside organizations, such as vendors and other sources of chemo-toxicological data, to obtain safe handling procedures for the subject material.

Adopted April 1973 by the Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (now ESRM)

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