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The Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT) is a web-based system intended to identify hazards and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in laboratories. LHAT identifies appropriate PPE to be used in labs based on hazards identified.

Principle Investigators must ensure new employees complete the LHAT and associated PPE training to obtain PPE from EH&S (while supplies last). Please contact EH&S PPE coordinator at [email protected] or go to the EH&S PPE program web page to learn more.

Supervisor Injury Report Form

Employee Injury Report Form

Hazardous material waste bags can be ordered through BearBuy.

Broken glass must be disposed of in cardboard boxes clearly labeled with “Broken Glass”. Cardboard boxes must be taped closed. Please notify custodial services or place a note on the box for removal.

Glass Pasteur pipettes must be disposed of in a sharps container. Contaminated plastic serological pipettes must be disposed in a container displaying the appropriate label (e.g. Radioactive, Biological or Chemical). Non-contaminated plastic serological pipettes must be placed in a plastic-lined cardboard box. When the box is full, it should be taped up for removal by custodial staff. More information is available in our Plastic Pipette Packaging and Disposal Procedures Guide.

Your Department Safety Advisor (DSA) conducts laboratory inspections quarterly.

Safety training is required for all laboratory staff. Please refer to the “What training is needed?” matrix to determine which safety training applies to you.

Fume hood certification is conducted by technicians from UCSF Environment, Health & Safety. Please call (415) 476-1771 at Parnassus or (415) 514-4107 at Mission Bay/SFGH to have your fume hood certified. Biosafety cabinet certification can be performed by Technical Safety Services or Adapt Certification.

All new laboratory workers must be added to laboratory research authorizations before they start bench work. Users should be removed when they leave the laboratory.

EAP can be submitted online at UCSF Police Department.

Please call (415) 476-1771 at Parnassus or (415) 514-4107 at Mission Bay to coordinate biohazards/waste sharps disposal. See detailed CHART for procedures.

The hepatitis B vaccination or declination form is available from UCSF Occupational Health Services.

Biohazardous waste must be stored in a hard-sided leak-proof container that is labeled. In laboratories this is generally a small red waste container purchased by the lab. The gray 35 gallon waste containers are provided by UCSF Environment, Health and Safety. To request additional containers, please contact your Department Safety Advisor. See list of recommended laboratory medical waste containers. 

Contact Facilities Services to open a custodial work order to clean the floor in your BSL2/tissue culture room. Before custodial staff can enter, all biohazardous waste (including liquid-filled vacuum flasks and sharps containers, etc.) must be removed.

If a laboratory is conducting animal studies that involve biological agents, controlled substances, radioisotopes, or particularly hazardous chemicals, the following Authorization requests must be submitted: Biological Use Authorization (BUA), Controlled Substances Authorization (CSA), or Radioactive Use Authorization (RUA). 

Transport of frozen and/or active biological materials (Risk Group 1 or 2) between UCSF campus locations within San Francisco city limits is permitted. This process may not be used to transfer biomaterials between different UC campuses or to other off-site destinations (including UCSF affiliates located outside of San Francisco) without approval from the Biosafety Officer. Those with Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratories must call the UCSF Biosafety Officer (BSO) for special instructions.

Instructions for the shipping (import and export) of biological materials are available in the UCSF Biosafety manual. For questions that are not addressed in the biosafety manual, please contact the Biosafety Officer.

Anyone packaging, handling, shipping or transporting biological material, and dry ice must receive training. UCSF requires refresher training every two years. Contact your Department Safety Advisor for instructions on shipping radioactive materials or chemicals.

Staff, volunteers, students, post-doctoral scholars, and collaborators are all allowed to work in a lab and they have been added to the appropriate use authorization. New laboratory workers must complete the New Employee Safety Orientation checklist and other necessary training prior to being added to use authorization. Minors are permitted in laboratories in a restricted capacity. 

Modifications to a BUA can be either administrative (adding rooms or staff), or involve adding materials such as blood borne pathogens, infectious agents, toxins, or recombinant DNA.

Biological toxins are disposed of as chemical waste. Please generate a tag via WASTe.

Chemical waste pickups can be requested by generating a tag in WASTe.

Online chemical inventories must be updated and submitted annually. New laboratories should submit an inventory before starting bench work. Inventories are accessible in UC Chemicals and must list all chemicals which may pose a physical or health hazard.

Go to Disposing Empty Chemical Containers

Go to Chemicals Approved for Drain Disposal

Hazardous substances must be stored in containers which are chemically inert and appropriate for the type and quantity of the hazardous substance. Incompatible substances must be separated via secondary containment or appropriate chemical cabinets. Refer to Safe Storage of Hazardous Chemicalsfor more information.

Adhesive waste container tags are available from your Department Safety Advisor

Radioactive waste requests can be made in Research Information Online (RIO). After logging in, click the “Radioisotope: Inventory, Receipt, Waste, Transfer, Adjustment” link. Never dispose of radioactive waste down the drain.

Laboratories with an active Radioactive Use Authorization (RUA) can request a pickup of uranyl acetate in Research Information Online (RIO). Laboratories that do not have a Radioactive Use Authorization can request a pickup by calling (415) 476-1771(Parnassus), (415) 502-1129 (Mt. Zion), or (415) 514-4107 (Mission Bay, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and all other locations).

New users requiring dosimetry should submit a Dosimetry Request Form. For deleted users who were receiving dosimetry, email [email protected] to discontinue dosimetry.

Please fill out and submit a Lost Dosimeter Report and email the form to [email protected] 

Please contact Radiation Safety by phone (476-1300), email ([email protected]) or pager (443-6888).A Form Letter for Declaring Pregnancy can be sent by campus mail to mail code #0942. Declaring your pregnancy is optional, but recommended so we can assist you in making safe recommendations for you and your baby. Confidentiality is our first priority, and we will not disclose this information to anyone without your permission. If a fetal dosimeter badge is issued, it can be mailed to you individually instead of with the rest of your department’s badges.

For reference: The occupational exposure limit for radiation workers who are pregnant is 500 mrem per year for the duration of the pregnancy (versus 5,000 mrem per year for all other users). After a pregnancy has been declared, radiation safety will issue a fetal dosimetry badge to be worn beneath any radiation protective garments. Users who approach the 500 mrem/yr limit will no longer be permitted to work with radiation for the remainder of their pregnancy.

Safety precautions will vary depending on laser classification, wavelength, source (point vs. extended), and laser application such as operation, maintenance, and service. For example, eyewear that is appropriate for one laser control area may not provide protection in another. Users should always follow the instructions printed on laser warning signs before entering a Laser Control Area.

Warning signs are required to be posted at the point where a user would have access to a Laser Controlled Area, in a way that would provide adequate notice to the user entering the area.

If you are a laser user, refer to the Standard Operating Procedures for your lab as often as necessary and complete the online laser safety training annually.

If you are a manager or Principal Investigator, you have the fundamental responsibility to ensure the safe use of lasers owned by and/or operated in facilities under your control. If you have not already done so, please enroll yourself in the UCSF laser safety program if your have Class 3b or Class 4 laser in your lab. For more information please contact the Laser Safety Officer, Gideon Aung at (415) 502-5388.

Standards should be run as per manufacturer recommendations. The frequency is typically weekly or monthly, but will depend on how often you use the LSC. If you are running a lot of samples daily, you may run the standards daily or weekly. If you run samples only a few times per month, you may run the standards weekly or monthly.

Geiger counters needing calibration can be taken to Long Hospital, Room 235 at Parnassus;  or Genentech Hall, Room N121 at Mission Bay;  between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.