Workplace Safety

The campuswide Workplace Safety Program serves as the university’s central program for creating a safe and healthful work environment. 

Extension Cords and Surge Protectors

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2004

Extension Cords and Surge Protectors Fact Sheet

Extension cords are very useful in many applications on campus and in the field, but they do have limitations. Misused and damaged extension cords (see photos 1-6 below) have caused painful injuries, fires, equipment damage, and regulatory citations and penalties. Take the time to choose the proper extension cord for the equipment being used.

Bulletin Boards Information Sheet

Amy Chen
2019

Bulletin Boards in Corridors of Campus Buildings, UC Berkeley

To assist the campus community with the placement of existing and new bulletin/poster boards in the corridors of campus buildings, the Campus Fire Marshal has established guidelines. Bulletin/poster board use shall meet the criteria of this guideline.

Personal Protective Equipment for Lab and Shops

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

Controlling a hazard at its source is the best way to protect employees. Engineering or administrative controls to manage or eliminate hazards to workers is the preferred option. When engineering or administrative controls are not feasible or do not provide sufficient protection, supervisors must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to their workers and ensure its use. Attire when occupying a laboratory or shop containing hazardous materials or equipment.

Noise: Controlling Your Exposure at Work - Fact Sheet

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

There are several ways to protect against exposure to excessive noise levels. Engineering controls involve changes in the work area or equipment; administrative controls involve changes in work procedures. Usually one or the other provides sufficient protection. The law requires that these controls be considered before employees are made to wear hearing protection. If engineering and administrative controls are not feasible or will not provide adequate protection, hearing protection devices, training, and audiometry must be provided to employees.

Hearing Conservation Program

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

EH&S and University Health Services (UHS) together administer a Hearing Conservation Program designed to protect faculty, staff and students from hearing loss due to exposure to loud noise, i.e., exposure to noise above 85 decibels as an eight-hour time-weighted average.

The Hearing Conservation Program includes:

Workplace and personal exposure monitoring Annual audiometric (hearing) tests Annual training on the hazards of noise, purpose of audiometric testing, and proper use of hearing protection Hearing protection devices (ear plugs or ear muffs) made available where...

Flammable & Combustible Liquids Storage In Campus Laboratories

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2006

California Fire Code (CFC) regulations limit the quantity of flammable and combustible liquids that can be stored in research and teaching laboratories. This fact sheet provides a simplification of the complicated CFC regulations, and establishes standard practice at University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). For questions not covered in this fact sheet, or for assistance with more complicated issues, please contact the Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) for situation-specific guidance.

Compressed Gas Cylinders: Proper Management And Use

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2012

University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) departments that use compressed gas cylinders must comply with a wide variety of laws and regulations, including those issued by Cal/OSHA, the California Fire Code and the City of Berkeley. This booklet provides general guidelines to help departments comply with those regulations. More specific information can be obtained from Material Safety Data Sheets and your department’s Job Safety Analyses (JSAs). Talk to your gas supplier about hands-on training and other useful safety information.

Compressed gas cylinders range from small...

Hazard Correction Form

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2001

This form should be used in conjunction with the “Report of Unsafe Condition” form (IIPP Form 1), as appropriate, to track the correction of identified hazards.

Report of Unsafe Condition or Hazard

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2001

Q-Brace Guidelines

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2005

These guidelines provide directions for proper restraint of common building contents in typical spaces on the UC Berkeley campus. The individual detail sheets are designed to cover common contents in each kind of space, and the materials called for are generic supplies available in most hardware and building supply stores.