EHS Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! The EHS Office offers a wide assortment of trainings to keep our College safe, healthy and in compliance. Contact us for details and scheduling.

Please contact the Facilities Operations and Capital Planning Office if your lamps need changing.

Many spent lamps are considered to be hazardous waste under EPA guidelines. TMCC manages spent lamps under the EPA’s Universal Waste Rule. Types of lamps that may be considered hazardous include (but not limited to): incandescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge, metal halide, high-pressure sodium and neon lamps.

Leave used batteries out in your office area with a note for Facilities custodial staff.

If your department generates a large amount, collect them and contact the EHS Office for pick-up and proper disposal.

Never comingle different types of batteries, and ensure that the negative and positive terminals never come into contact with another battery's terminals as this could cause a fire, explosion or leak.

Used batteries are stored on-site until a waste shipment is scheduled through EHS, and are then recycled under the EPA’s Universal Waste Rule.

Your first action should be to tend to the victim/injured.

If injuries are life threatening, immediately call 911.

If injuries can be tended to with minor first aid, contact your supervisor and the EHS Office at 775-673-7100.

See Also:

• Employee Work-Related Injury
• TMCC Policy #2161: Reporting of Injuries

Department Hazardous Waste Removal Process: When your department needs waste removed from your area, follow this process:

1. Ensure that waste is properly segregated.
2. Accumulate the waste in the proper containers.
3. Label all waste containers.
4. Place the waste in the designated pick up area.
5. Contact us to request waste removal.

Stay calm. You are under no obligation to answer anything you may be asked. It is your right to excuse yourself to contact your supervisor and the EHS Office, and you should do so.

If you choose to answer any questions, be honest and avoid speculation. Use facts. It is your right to have your supervisor, an EHS representative or a translator with you if you do choose to answer any questions.

If you don’t know the answer, or choose not to answer, let the regulator know that you do not know the answer, and you do not want to answer incorrectly.

Incidents involving employee/student injury and/or auto accidents on campus and/or in a state vehicle should be reported to the EHS Office. This does not mean there will be paperwork associated with each report.

If there is an injury involved, Workers’ Compensation paperwork must be completed and submitted to EHS/BCN.

If it is a "near miss" it is recommended that it be reported. Near misses are excellent opportunities for improvement and should be taken seriously. A near miss is one small step away from an injury.

Incident reporting forms are available from NSHE's Business Center North Risk Management/Workers' Compensation website.

The Business Center North (BCN) Risk Management/Workers' Compensation Office can assist if you suffer a work-related injury or disease or if you have any questions about the Nevada System of Higher Education's (NSHE) self-insured workers' compensation program.

In the event of a non-injury or minor injury auto accident on any TMCC site, or off-campus while in a state vehicle, your best recourse is to contact TMCC University Police Department at 775-674-7900.

Also, contact your supervisor as soon as possible.

No. Even though this mandate has been lifted, we still strongly encourage students who are unvaccinated to seek medical advice and make plans to get vaccinated for their own well-being and for the safety and well-being of our campus and our community.

Communicable Disease Exclusion Guidelines

Using guidance from the Northern Nevada Public Health Department, the following illness and exclusion practices should be followed as guidelines for when faculty, staff, and students may return to campus following any respiratory illness including influenza (any subtype), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. Fever: The ill person needs to be fever free for 24 hours without medication prior to return.
2. Vomiting/diarrhea: The ill person should not experience any vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours without medication prior to returning.
3. Rash of unknown origin: The ill person should not return to school or work until a medical exam confirms these symptoms are not contagious. If it is a contagious skin infection, the ill person must remain away from school or work until 24 hours after treatment has begun. Those who have a rash with a fever should not be allowed to return until fever has been gone for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and should not return until there have been no new lesions for 24 hours.
4. Yellow or greenish drainage from eyes, nose, or ears: The ill person can return to school or work if they have taken antibiotics for the 24 hours before returning or drainage has completely resolved.
5. Sore throat: The ill person should consider staying home and be seen by a healthcare provider if symptoms worsen. The ill person may return the following day if symptoms improve.
6. Cough: The ill person may attend school or work unless they have a fever or other symptoms indicating a possible infection.

When you go back to your normal activities, take added precautions over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors.

Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.

While there are no vaccination requirements for general education courses at TMCC, if you are enrolled in classes within an Allied Health Program, you may be subject to the vaccination requirements of clinical sites. Check with your program coordinator to verify what requirements you may be subject to.

General good hygiene practices are one of the best ways to stop from getting sick. We encourage you to follow the everyday preventive actions recommended by the CDC, which include:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing;
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• Stay home when you are sick (and see your physician if in doubt); and
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue (then throw the tissue in the trash).

Community Health Alliance is dedicated to creating healthy outcomes for patients of every income. We operate seven convenient locations throughout Reno and Sparks, providing comprehensive, top-quality medical services, dental and pediatric care, behavioral health, low-cost pharmacies, nourishing food pantries, and more. It’s a compassionate and affordable system of care that leads to a healthier, happier you.

For the health and wellness of yourself and those around you, we urge you to stay home when sick and seek medical care if your symptoms do not resolve or get worse. Contact your supervisor as soon as possible or your instructors to ensure you do not fall behind in your coursework.

The various communicable diseases that have been reported in our area can be found on the Annual Communicable Disease Summary Reports from the Washoe County Health District. Among them, respiratory diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Influenza are of particular concern due to their rapid spreadability and potentially severe symptoms.

For a list of reportable communicable disease in Washoe County, refer to the Washoe County Health Districts Communicable Disease Reporting System.

Everyone aged 5 years and older:

• You are up to date when you get 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Children aged 6 months—4 years:

• You are up to date when you get all recommended doses, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.

People who got the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine:

• You are up to date when you get 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. As with other vaccine-preventable diseases, you are best protected from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations. For more information visit the CDC's Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines webpage.

COVID-19 vaccines recommended for use in the United States:

• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Moderna
• Novavax