Chemical Safety

Ensuring the safe and compliant use of chemicals on campus.

Training

The EH&S training team creates, delivers, and tracks health, safety, and environmental training for all faculty, staff, and students.

Transporting Chemicals Safely on Campus

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2002

Transporting Chemicals Safely on Campus Fact Sheet

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Labs

A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a set of instructions for performing experiments or processes that involve hazards (chemical, physical, biological, radiation). SOPs are lab-specific and include documentation of the people who have received training for that procedure.

New students and employees working in your lab should be provided with hands-on training for hazardous materials and operations that are covered by the SOPs for your lab.

SOPs by Hazard Type Chemicals & General Lab Safety

Written SOPs are required for all hazardous operations/activities. A library of...

Refueling a Gas Caddie

Department of Recreational Sports
2004
5 gallon gas containers

Exposure to chemicals can result in acute or long-time health effects. Touching, picking up, or moving a fuel container can be hazardous to a responder. A fuel container can be touched, picked up, and/or moved after assessment and conclusion that it poses no imminent danger to the person handling the item.

Refueling a Gas Caddie, Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

Also see:...

Jim Baugh

Associate EH&S Director, Director of Research Safety
Research Safety
Chemical Safety
Biosafety, BUA
Controlled Substances
Lab Safety

Operating A Compactor

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2005

Radiation, LSC cocktail

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2004

Environment, Health, & Safety – Radiation Protection
Using LSC Cocktail

Discovery of an Old Container of Potentially Explosive Chemical

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

While working in a UC Berkeley laboratory, a graduate student discovered the presence of an old experimental set-up, which was labeled as containing a small amount of hydrazoic acid, in a shared cold room with no responsible contact person. This material is a potentially explosive chemical under certain circumstances, so the student referred the set-up to the Department Safety Coordinator (DSC). The DSC requested the assistance of EH&S who recommended that the set-up be disposed of by an explosives material contractor because very little was known about the source...

Explosion of Concentrated Hydrofluoric Acid Waste Solution

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A graduate student in a UC Berkeley laboratory discovered the aftermath of a chemical explosion upon arrival at the laboratory he shares with other graduate students. The extensive contamination was caused by the explosive rupture of a plastic bottle of liquid waste kept inside the hood. According to the container label, one of the components inside the ruptured bottle was hydrofluoric acid. The investigation revealed that an incompatible material may have been poured into the same container causing the reaction and resulting explosion. The hood, floor and walls near...

Exposure to Bromine During a Laboratory Refrigerator Clean-up

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

While performing a chemical inventory inside a laboratory refrigerator, a UC Berkeley graduate student observed the presence of condensate on the inside walls of the refrigerator. This student and two other graduate students proceeded to clean the refrigerator walls, assuming that the condensate was water. When one of the students noticed a bottle of 99% bromine had a small leak, clean-up was immediately stopped, a sign was posted on the door to keep away, and the Department Safety Coordinator (DSC) was notified of the accident. The DSC summoned EH&S clean-up...