Hazardous Materials & Waste

Lab personnel should follow good hygiene practices in the lab area. This will prevent potential exposure to hazardous chemicals. Learn more about chemical hygiene in lab areas.

Do not use a manual liquid nitrogen fill station until you are included on an applicable Work Activity and you have completed EHS0170 Cryogen training. Learn more about important precautions to take when using manual liquid nitrogen fill stations.

A typical fluorescent light bulb is composed of a phosphor-coated glass tube. The phosphor contains mercury, a toxic chemical. Fluorescent light bulbs must be adequately stored to prevent breakage resulting in release of phosphor and broken glass. When a fluorescent lamp burns out or is no longer needed, it is regulated in the State of California as a “Universal Waste” and must be properly disposed. Learn more about safely using and storing fluorescent light bulbs.

A filtering facepiece respirator, also known as a dust mask, is used primarily for protection against nuisance particulate material. Learn more about the use of dust mask respirators.

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) has a number of physical, chemical, and toxicological properties that make it especially hazardous to handle. Hydrofluoric acid is a clear, colorless, and highly corrosive liquid. HF shares the corrosive properties common to mineral acids, but possesses the unique ability to cause deep tissue damage and systemic toxicity including cardiac arrest due to hypocalcemia. Symptoms from exposure to dilute solutions can be delayed for a number of hours even though tissue damage may be occurring. Learn more about important precautions to take when working with HF.

Many of our lab areas use flammable gasses such as hydrogen. Berkeley Lab has established requirements for the safe use of flammable gases and ensure compliance with applicable fire codes. Learn more about these requirements.

Proper storage of chemical and sample containers is important for the safety of lab personnel and preventing hazardous materials spills. Learn more about the requirements for storage of hazardous materials containers in laboratories.

Refrigerators/freezers are commonly used laboratory equipment. Selecting the proper refrigerator/freezer is an important consideration not only for maintaining the integrity of research materials but also for safety. Learn more about chemical refrigerators.

Hand-held propane torches are occasionally required for various lab area activities. Since these involve an open flame, a potential fire hazard exists and proper controls must be followed. Use of propane torches requires a Hot Work Permit issued by the LBNL Fire Marshal’s Office within Protective Services. Learn about the requirements for hot work permits.

There have been several recent instances where the red flammable waste collection cans are being used for collection of flammable wastes, but no Waste Accumulation Log was in use. As a result, it was not clear what had been added to the flam-can during the waste accumulation period. Learn more about waste accumulation log procedures.