Lessons Learned

Reports on incidents that involve injury, exposure (real or potential), or significant damage property. Lessons Learned detail what happened and how similar incidents can be avoided in the future.

Exposure to Bromine During a Laboratory Refrigerator Clean-up

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

While performing a chemical inventory inside a laboratory refrigerator, a UC Berkeley graduate student observed the presence of condensate on the inside walls of the refrigerator. This student and two other graduate students proceeded to clean the refrigerator walls, assuming that the condensate was water. When one of the students noticed a bottle of 99% bromine had a small leak, clean-up was immediately stopped, a sign was posted on the door to keep away, and the Department Safety Coordinator (DSC) was notified of the accident. The DSC summoned EH&S clean-up...

Exposure to Poisonous Chemicals Due to Improper Storage and Unsafe Work Practices

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What happened?

A graduate student working in a UC Berkeley laboratory needed a chemical from an overhead shelf. To reach the chemical, the student stood on tiptoe and leaned on the edge of a shelf. This pressure caused the shelf to shift and chemicals to fall. Among the bottles that fell were two that were covered with aluminum foil instead of the original screw-on caps. Those containers held strychnine powder and azure blue dye. The contents fell on the researcher, bench, and floor. The exposed researcher spent 15 minutes under a safety shower and then went to the Tang Center for...

Acetone Fire

July 31, 2008
What happened?

A student worker in a Berkeley campus laboratory was refilling squirt bottles with acetone from a larger dispensing container when he spilled approximately one cup of acetone liquid onto the floor. Due to lack of training, and/or an error in judgment, the student lit the acetone with a match to burn it off instead of following proper spill clean-up procedures. While doing so, the student accidentally knocked over another uncapped squirt bottle on the benchtop that was filled with acetone. This additional acetone ignited and set-off the fire sprinklers in the room,...

Accidental Mixing of Bleach and Acid

October 31, 2009
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A researcher working in a laboratory glassware washing area thought she should refresh the bleach solution for soaking lab glassware. In an "inattentive moment" she added fresh bleach to what she thought was the bleach soaking tub; unfortunately the tub did not contain bleach but contained 5% hydrochloric acid. The acid solution (with bleach) immediately turned from clear to yellow. She quickly realized that bleach and acid should never be mixed because toxic chlorine gas can be created. She immediately had everyone leave the room; she considered calling 911, but since...

Peroxide Explosion Injures Campus Researcher

November 30, 2006
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

An undergraduate student researcher was working at the laboratory bench when the apparatus she was using exploded, sending glass fragments into her face and upper torso. The researcher was using a rotary evaporator (rotovap) to remove organic solvents from an azobenzene precipitate. She adjusted the bottom flask which then exploded sending glass towards her face, hitting her safety goggles and forehead. Lab personnel helped her to the safety shower and called 911. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital where she received stitches above her eyes and other treatment...

Chemical Explosion Causes Eye Injury

May 31, 2015

ANSI-approved safety glasses—and other personal protective equipment specified in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)—are essential whenever working with hazardous materials. SOPs also indicate other precautions that must be followed to ensure safety, such as performing work with energetic or explosive materials behind a fume hood sash or blast shield.

What happened?

A graduate student researcher was working at a laboratory bench synthesizing approximately one gram of diazonium perchlorate crystals. The student was transferring synthesized perchlorate using a metal spatula...

Dry Scraping Causes Chemical Explosion

November 13, 2015
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A postdoctoral researcher was synthesizing potentially explosive material in a fume hood, following a well-established procedure published in a peer-reviewed journal. The researcher was transferring a residual amount of the synthesized material using a plastic spatula when the material exploded in his hands. The shattered glassware caused some minor cuts to the researcher’s hands.

Other group members helped the injured researcher wash the injuries and called campus police. He was taken to the hospital where he got treatment for the injuries, and he was released from...

Workplace Safety

California state regulations require every employer to establish, implement and maintain an effective Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). In August 2017, the University adopted a campuswide Workplace Safety Program that serves as the University’s central IIPP for creating a safe and healthful work environment. Having one program for the whole University helps to improve access, consistency, and usability across all departments. EH&S is the responsible department for overseeing the campuswide Workplace Safety Program. The campus Workplace Safety Program is based on the Injury...

Lesson Learned: Aerosol Exposure in BSL2 Lab Caused by Centrifuge Failure

February 26, 2026
Last November, a researcher in a BSL2 lab was centrifuging stocks of a Risk Group 2 biological agent when the centrifuge experienced a catastrophic failure. The researcher heard a loud pop in the middle of the cycle and went to open the lid. The researcher determined the aerosol tight rotor bucket had cracked and carried it to the tissue culture room across the lab, not realizing the conical tubes inside were also broken. Since the biological agent spilled has an aerosol transmissible route of exposure, personnel present in the lab during the incident were advised to seek assistance from Occupational Health.

Flooding Event and Improper Disposal of Glassware

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

Last month, severe flooding occurred in a campus building, leading to unexpected challenges in laboratory waste management.

A serious concern emerged when floodwater seeped into cardboard boxes, used for clean glass disposal, that did not have plastic liners. Without this essential barrier, the integrity of the boxes were compromised, rendering them unsafe for handling and disposal.

As a result, safety responders had to take extra precautions to safely transfer the broken glass and sharps to new disposal...