Chemical Safety

Ensuring the safe and compliant use of chemicals on campus.

Hydrogen Safety Fact Sheet

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2013

UC Berkeley Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) Gas Program Document

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2021

UC Berkeley has a Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) Gas Program that specifies minimum requirements for safe storage, use, and handling of Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) gases on campus. The Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) coordinates this program by performing evaluations of toxic, corrosive and pyrophoric gas usage and offering technical advice on the requirements of the program.

UC Berkeley Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) Gas Program

UC Berkeley has a Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) Gas Program that specifies minimum requirements for safe storage, use, and handling of Toxic, Corrosive and Pyrophoric (TCP) gases on campus. The Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) coordinates this program by performing evaluations of toxic, corrosive and pyrophoric gas usage and offering technical advice on the requirements of the program.

New TCP Gas Users

New potential users...

New Chemical Inventory Requirements

July 12, 2024
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) is in the process of tagging all chemicals in all buildings on campus in response to new chemical inventory requirements issued by the UC Office of the President (also see MAQ project page).

Town Halls: Introduction to chemical tagging

EH&S is hotsting virtual town halls throughout the month of July to...

2025 Fall Semester Reminders for Labs

September 10, 2025
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
The fall semester is under way, and Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) would like to help get you started on the right foot with some key lab safety reminders

Chemical Inventory Tagging Project Nears Completion

November 17, 2025

After nearly two years of effort, the campus-wide chemical inventory tagging project is wrapping up—and the results are remarkable. Since February 2024, our partners at Triumvirate Environmental have visited almost every lab and hazardous materials area on campus, placing barcode tags on chemical containers and logging them into the RSS Chemicals database. In total, the team has tagged more than 200,000 containers, creating one of the most comprehensive chemical inventories UC Berkeley has ever had.

Beyond tagging, the project brought several added benefits. Door...

Laboratory Safety Manual

The laboratory safety manual provides an overview of lab safety procedures and policies.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Labs

EH&S provides campus researchers with lab coats, safety glasses, and goggles. Please contact the PPE coordinator at ppe@berkeley.edu if you have any questions or comments about personal protective equipment for your lab.

We also distribute N95 masks to employees when campus is impacted by unhealthy air quality due to wildfire smoke (when AQI exceeds 150). View distribution schedule.

Chemical Inventory Spot Check Inspections

August 22, 2025
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

The following message is meant for labs:

Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) will be performing audits of groups on campus with chemical inventories to check for chemical inventory accuracy. Maintaining chemical inventories to at least 90% accuracy is a prerequisite to UC Systemwide MAQ compliance

How can I prepare?...

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...