Laser Safety

Ensuring the safe use of lasers, laser systems, and non-ionizing radiation sources.

Phil Broughton

Radiation Safety Specialist
Radiation Safety
Laser Safety
LUA

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Shops

Please contact the PPE coordinator at ppe@berkeley.edu or by calling (510) 642-3073 if you have any questions or comments about personal protective equipment for your shop.

Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Library

Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

A JSA 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.

Fact Sheets

Fact Sheets

EH&S Fact Sheets serve as campus-wide Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

Lessons Learned at UC Berkeley

Eddie Ciprazo

Laser Safety Officer
Laser Safety
LUA

Laser Safety in Research Laboratories

July 31, 2003
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

In April 2003, the Non-Ionizing Radiation Safety Committee (NIRSC) informed the laser research community that a serious laser eye injury had occurred on the UC Berkeley campus. The campus Laboratory Safety Officer (LSO) performed an investigation of the incident. The following information and lessons learned are based on the LSO’s investigation of the incident.

What Happened?

The incident involved a short pulse, Class 4, invisible (1064 nm), Nd:YAG laser in a multi-user laser laboratory. During alignment of the laser's Nd:YAG beam, a graduate student was struck in the...