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Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk
AskESSR Forms & Docs Services Topics Who We Are
AskESSR Forms & Docs Services
Chargeable Service Request ESSR Chargeback Procedures Regulated Waste Report to ESSR SciShield Training
Topics Who We Are
Mission, Vision, and Values Annual Report Contact Directory News
Chargeable Service Request ESSR Chargeback Procedures Regulated Waste Report to ESSR SciShield Training
Mission, Vision, and Values Annual Report Contact Directory News

Report An Emergency

Home Services Report An Emergency

Call 911 from a campus phone
Call (301) 405-3333 from a cellular phone
Use a Blue Light Emergency Phone

Report a Spill

Call (301) 314-2000 for non-emergency spills only during normal work hours (Monday - Friday  7am - 5 pm)

After-hours, weekends, or holidays call the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety (301) 405-3555 or 5-3555 from an on-campus phone.  ESSR staff are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During regular business hours, this number will be answered by ESSR. After regular business hours, it will be answered by the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety, who will contact appropriate ESSR on-call personnel.

If you have an emergency, call 911 or the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety emergency line at (301) 405-3333 or 5-3333 from an on-campus phone​.  You can reach the emergency line by mobile phone by dialing #3333.

This number does not change any previously established plans or procedures.

Report Employee Injury

If you are an employee of the university and have suffered an injury, you should complete the Employee's First Report of Injury. This form will initiate a Worker's Compensation claim; additional forms are required from your supervisor and any witnesses to the injury.

Report An Incident, Hazard, Near Miss, or Positive Safety Observation

Who should complete the Incident (Injury, Near-Miss, Damage to Property, Hazard Observation, Good Work Practice) Report Form? Any faculty member, staff member, student, visitor, volunteer or contractor who is involved in or observes an incident, condition or practice. The form should be completed as soon as possible after the observation or incident occurs. This reporting form will be reviewed by the Department of Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk and followed up as appropriate. It can be anonymous, but the location of the issue/condition should be included to enable follow up. 

Use the ObservNow tool in SciShield to report a safety hazard, near miss, or even positive safety observations. You can submit anonymously, if you wish.  

All University of Maryland personnel with a CAS login credentials can sign-in to SciShield and see the ObservNow icon on the lower right hand panel of their home screen. You do not have to be associated with a lab or research operations to use this tool. 

Report Mold

Report A Concern about Mold or Air Quality on the UMD campus.


The objective of having a reporting system for incidents is to be able to investigate what went wrong. Most injuries, even minor ones, are warnings that something happened that wasn't planned. If you find out what caused the incident, you can take steps to remedy the problem and prevent other incidents in the future. Supervisors/Managers can use the Incident Investigation Instructions and Incident Investigation Form to help them determine the causes or contributing factors of the incident and determine corrective actions.

For more detailed guidance on conducting incident investigations, refer to the Incident Cause Analysis and Lessons Learned (ICALL) program, which provides resources on root cause analysis, lessons learned, and corrective actions.

Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk
4716 Pontiac St, College Park, MD 20742, USA
askESSR@umd.edu 301.405.3960