General Resources

Laboratory Safety Coordinators

In Stanford laboratories, the Principal Investigator (PI) typically appoints one or more lab members to serve as Laboratory Safety Coordinators (LSCs). Although PIs remain ultimately responsible for safety in their laboratories, LSCs handle many of the day-to-day safety duties. The Laboratory Safety Coordinator Guidance document contains an overview of such duties. Stanford EH&S also offers training for new LSCs.

It is recommended that incoming and outgoing LSCs share duties for an extended period of time (e.g. 1 month), to ensure adequate training and information transfer. Please inform the chemistry-ehs [at] lists.stanford.edu (EH&S Research Safety Specialist) when new LSCs are appointed.

Safety Training Instructions

All personnel (undergraduate/graduate students, postdoctoral and visiting scholars, research associates, etc.) are required to complete a three-tiered safety training program before beginning laboratory work in the Department of Chemistry. The three tiers of training include:

  • Tier I: Stanford University Required Safety Training (EHS-4200). General safety and emergency preparedness.
  • Tier II: Department of Chemistry Safety Training (EHS-1900, EHS-2200) (chemical safety, compressed gas safety, biosafety)
  • Tier III: Lab Specific Safety Training (Lab orientation, SOP review, additional EH&S courses). Generally given as an in-person orientation by an experienced lab member.

How to Access Safety Training:

  1. In STARS, complete CHEM-2001-eForm (the link will take you directly to the signup page). It is a prerequisite for Step 2.
    1. If you notice that the course does not immediately mark as complete, you may have run into an issue involving pop-up blockers. Please contact chemistry-ehs [at] stanford.edu (chemistry-ehs[at]stanford[dot]edu) for help if you see this. Also, do not use Chrome.
  2. If you are a new chemistry department researcher, sign up for CHEM-PROG-2101 through STARS using the Axess portal at http://axess.stanford.edu.
    1. Out-of-department researchers seeking access to instrument facilities should instead enroll in CHEM-PROG-2201.
  3. In CHEM-PROG-2101, go to the Notes and Attachments section and download the packet and forms. The packet contains further instructions and information.
    1. Those enrolled in 2201 will follow a similar process but instead only download necessary forms.

Email chemistry-ehs [at] stanford.edu (chemistry-ehs[at]stanford[dot]edu) with any questions or problems. 

Self-Inspections

Regular self-inspection of the laboratory is important, both to maintain a safe workplace and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. In the Chemistry department, the chemistry-ehs [at] lists.stanford.edu (EH&S Research Safety Specialist) coordinates the timely completion and collection of self-inspection forms. Information about self-inspections (including blank forms) are available at this link.