Lab Safety

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.

Vacuum System Hazards and Precautions

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2012

Many campus laboratories are supplied with a “house” vacuum system. The house vacuum system creates suction from a large vacuum pump in a mechanical room whose piping extends to laboratories throughout the building. These house vacuum pumps are maintained by campus maintenance staff, and it is important the systems not be contaminated with hazardous materials or organisms.

Laboratories that are not connected to a house vacuum system, or that need a stronger vacuum, commonly use stand-alone vacuum pumps such as rotary vane pumps, turbopumps, diffusion pumps, and/or cryogenic vacuum...

Eyewear - Protecting Your Eyes Fact Sheet

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2006

More than 90,000 eye injuries occur each year in the United States. Many of these could have been prevented with proper protective eyewear. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) requires that protective eyewear be worn wherever there is the potential for injury from flying particles, hazardous substances, or dangerous light. The eyewear must meet the standards put forth by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in Standard Z87.1-1989. Safety eyewear that meets this standard has “Z87.1” imprinted on the frame or lens. Since eye hazards are common...

Needles and Sharps: Safe Handling, Injury Response and Disposal

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

A sharp is any device with corners, edges, or projections capable of cutting or piercing. Sharps include,
but are not limited to, the following:

Needles Needles with syringes and attached tubing Blades (razors, scalpels and X-acto®) Glass pasteur pipettes Broken glass, glass slides, and coverslips

Fume Hoods (Fact Sheet)

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2008

One of the most important safety devices in a laboratory is a properly functioning fume hood. The fume hood protects users by containing and exhausting airborne hazards; it does this by constantly pulling room air into the hood and exhausting it from the roof. Fume hood sashes also provide shielding in the event of an explosion or fire inside the hood.

Training

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

Reproductive Hazards in the Laboratory

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

Microtome Use: Hazards and Precautions

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2013

A microtome is a device that cuts extremely thin sections of tissue for microscopic study. They can be manually operated, semi-automatic, or automatic, and can also be referred to as “histomes” and “cryostats.” Microtomes can present a hazard when the sharp blades and foot treadles are uncovered, and accidental activation can lead to finger amputation. In 2008 a health care lab worker in San Diego lost a fingertip while preparing and cutting tissue samples on a microtome.

Management of BSL 1 Recombinant DNA Waste

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2011

BSL 1 Recombinant DNA Waste Fact Sheet

Biosafety Laboratory Inspection Program

BiosafetyBiosafety 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 biosafety level(s) designated to...

Hazardous Materials

hazardous materials icon Helping campus units manage their hazardous materials by providing assistance with shipping, waste pick-up and disposal, and chemical inventory needs.