Biological Safety

Providing support, in the form of risk assessment, review, consultation and training, for research at UC Berkeley that involves the use of recombinant DNA, biohazardous materials and biological toxins.

Dispose of Waste

Master list of waste types is displayed below. Note: If you cannot find the item that you are trying to get rid of in this list, please contact EH&S at ehs@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-3073. collapse all expand all Aerosol Cans

Please log into the...

Biological Safety

Providing support, in the form of risk assessment, review, consultation and training, for research at UC Berkeley that involves the use of recombinant DNA, biohazardous materials and biological toxins.

Biosafety How Do I: collapse all...

Biosafety Laboratory Inspection Program

Biosafety Biosafety Laboratory Inspection Program

EH&S safety professionals conduct inspections of all laboratory spaces included on a research group’s Biological Use Authorization (BUA). These inspections cover administrative controls, general laboratory safety, and specific requirements related to the...

Understanding Sharps Safety and Handling

June 25, 2025
What Are Sharps?

Sharps are any items with pointed edges or projections capable of cutting, puncturing, or piercing the skin. Common examples include:

Hypodermic needles

Syringes with attached needles or tubing

Razor blades, scalpels, and X-Acto® knives

Glass Pasteur pipettes

Broken glass items

Glass microscope slides and coverslips

Sharp instruments...

Dual Use Research of Concern

Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) is life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, material, or national security.

According to an ...

Making BUA personnel changes on the RSS app

May 1, 2025
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

Previously, updates to personnel approved to conduct research on a BUA were made on Labs At Berkeley (L@B), the web application used to manage lab roster and training information. There is no longer a need to make BUA personnel changes in L@B. BUA personnel changes can now only be made in RSS BUA.

How do I make BUA personnel changes in RSS BUA?

Log into the Risks and Safety Solution Website

Navigate to your BUA...

Campus Committees

Certain high-hazard activities and equipment require additional safety training and written pre-approval. Faculty-led committees issue use authorizations for high hazard activities to ensure the work is safe and monitored appropriately. These include:

collapse all expand all Laboratory Operations & Safety Committee

Summary of Charges

The campus Laboratory Operations...

Labs and Research

Providing support, in the form of risk assessment, review, consultation(link sends e-mail), training, and the necessary resources and guidance for research at UC Berkeley.

Training

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

Job Safety Analysis

Job Safety Analysis or JSAs describes job tasks in step-by-step fashion, identifies associated hazards at each step, and outlines proper hazard controls that minimize the risk of injury or illness to the individual(s) performing that task.

Getting Started with Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

How do I write or find a JSA? The objective of providing this library is to:

Improve safety awareness among staff Decrease injury rates Make effective JSA resources available to the entire UC Berkeley campus