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.

How do I get furniture, equipment or lab instrumentation moved?

Some equipment and instruments require the manufacturer or vendor to disconnect and reconnect equipment along with potentially moving the equipment.

Furniture and some shop or lab equipment can be moved by the campus’ professional moving service.

What should I know if workers or contractors are modifying or remodeling my space?

Proper evaluation of materials to be disturbed should be conducted by EH&S. Many hazards exist within building materials themselves or may be impacted with chemical or biological residue, depending on the space history, and must be disclosed to all workers who may disturb or work in the space.

Plumbing and piping also have a high potential for chemical residue, especially mercury. It is pertinent that EH&S assist in the evaluation of spaces before remodeling or utility work occurs.

Contact EH&S for more...

COVID-19 Guidance for Cleaning & Disinfecting in the Workplace

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

UC Berkeley Laboratory Research Ramp Down Checklist

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
2020

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...

Calculating the Stored Energy of a Pressurized Gas Vessel

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

When a gas is compressed, it stores energy. If an uncontrolled energy release occurs, it may cause injury or damage. Stored energies in excess of 100 kJ are considered highly hazardous. Sometimes it is helpful to think of stored energy in terms of grams of TNT. One gram of TNT contains 4.62 kJ of energy.

Guide for Assembling a Pressure Vessel

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

This guide serves as an example and is presented with permission from LBNL. There are many types of pressure vessels so this serves as a template that allows you to replace the images to meet your specific needs.

Visual comparison guides are effective as a quick review of processes. It is recommended to keep these near relevant equipment. Visual guides can be useful for new researchers learning to use the equipment or as a refresher for those who do not regularly use the equipment. People may interpret qualitative descriptions differently so a visual guide helps to solve that...

Pressure Vessel Visual Inspection Guide

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

This guide serves as an example and is presented with permission from LBNL. There are many types of pressure vessels so this serves as a template that allows you to replace the images to meet your specific needs.

Visual comparison guides are effective for certain applications, when for example, researchers may otherwise not know what is acceptable or not. We might state “look for excessive wear or corrosion” but these are partly qualitative descriptions that people can interpret differently. Excessive wear to one person may not be the same to another. The visual guide helps to solve...

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.

Electrophoresis Equipment: Guidelines for Safe Use

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2004

Electrophoresis units present electrical, chemical, and radiological hazards. All of these hazards need to be addressed before using the units. The Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) has prepared these guidelines and the accompanying checklist to assist researchers in safely operating electrophoresis units.