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.

Carcinogens

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2012

The Carcinogens Fact Sheet and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) specify minimum requirements for safe storage, use, and handling of carcinogens on the UC Berkeley Campus. This fact sheet has been approved by the Laboratory Operations & Safety Committee and defines carcinogens as chemicals that cause cancer or tumor development, typically after repeated or chronic exposure. Their effects may only become evident after a long latency period and may cause no immediate harmful effects.

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.

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...

Plastic Secondary Container Shatters Due to Dry Ice Sublimation

May 28, 2019
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What happened?

A researcher packaged a microgram crystalline sample with dry ice to ensure sample integrity. The crystalline sample was first placed inside a glass vial, which was subsequently housed inside a plastic secondary container with a screw cap. The researcher placed dry ice around the glass vial inside the secondary container before loosely capping the top to vent.

When it came time to take out the glass vial, the researcher found that the secondary container was stuck, even though the cap was originally loosely screwed.

The researcher recruited the help of a staff...

Eye Exposure to Specular Reflection

July 31, 2015
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What happened?

A researcher was diagnosing a power loss from a Spectra Physics 3900 Ti-Sapphire (oscillator) that is pumped by a Spectra Physics Millennia eV DPSS laser. During this procedure, they noticed some leakage in the form of a slight green diffuse light being emitted from the end of the metal tube connecting the DPSS pump laser to the Ti-Sapphire laser. The researcher attempted to re-adjust the beam tube to eliminate the leakage to improve the beam tube alignment. As he touched the beam tube, it became dislodged from its mounting, striking the 532 nm laser beam as it fell, causing...

Laser Eye Exposure from a Specular Reflection

June 17, 2024
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What happened?

A researcher walking towards an optical table was exposed to a laser beam that reflected off a hex ball driver tool. Another researcher at a nearby bench was installing an optical component on a breadboard when the hex ball driver he was using inadvertently moved into an active beam path. The hex ball tool had a reflective surface.

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.

EH&S Safety Newsletter - Vol 3, July 2025

July 7, 2025
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
This Safety Newsletter, sent to department safety coordinators, is intended to build community and raise awareness about safety topics.

Nanoscale Materials Information Form

January 22, 2026

Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) is preparing the 2026 Manufactured Nanoscale Materials Disclosure for the City of Berkeley.

If you use nanoscale materials in your lab, and

a. you have never filled out the Nanoscale Materials Information Form,

or,

b. you have begun using new nanoscale materials, or a new class of nanoscale materials

Please...

Electrical Fire Caused by Heat Gun Connected to Power Strip

March 6, 2025
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What happened?

A small fire broke out in a laboratory in the Department of Physics when a service technician plugged a heat gun into a power strip that was plugged into an isolation transformer. When a transformer is overloaded, the transformer can experience high operating temperatures, causing it to overheat. In this case, the overheated transformer caused a small fire to break out.

Fortunately, there were no injuries and damage was very minimal. The service technician notified the lab manager as soon as they noticed smoke. The Lab Manager...