Safety for Researchers
In this section you will find policies, training, and resources that address health and safety in research. Your school plays an important role in health and safety, contact are listed below.
Emergency fire / police / medical aid
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Cell phone: 911
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Campus phone: 9-911
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Campus phone at the School of Medicine: 286
Hazardous materials incident
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Environmental Health & Safety: (650) 725-9999
Up-to-date information about an emergency
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School of Engineering hotline (recording): (650) 725-1619
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University hotline (recording): (650) 725-5555
Jump To:
School Health and Safety Websites
Policies
Stanford's commitment to providing a safe environment for everyone creates particular requirements for PIs in research laboratories. Labs at Stanford house chemicals, equipment, and other materials that can pose hazards to health. The proper management of these hazards is not only good lab management, it is also a regulatory requirement. See below in Related Items: Administrative Guide Memo 25.4 and the Research Policy Handbook.
Training
Training is fundamental to safety. Both the Environmental Health & Safety Office (EH&S) and the School of Medicine Health & Safety Office provide training material. EH&S maintains specific guidance materials and tools to help you develop an effective chemical hygiene and laboratory safety program. In particular circumstances, training can be required as a condition of laboratory access.
All safety training should be completed before an individual is allowed to work unsupervised in a Stanford laboratory. PIs play a key role in ensuring staff members properly identify and complete safety training. To assist you in determining what safety training you, your students, and project staff need to take, visit the online tool "Training Advisor."
After answering a set of questions about job duties, a list of required training will be emailed to both the employee and supervisor.
In addition to the courses specified by using the Training Advisor, supervisors, managers, and PIs must provide Tier III health and safety training on hazards specific to the job site, equipment used, experimental procedures, etc. Supervisors, Managers, and Principal Investigators may contact EH&S for assistance in developing and reviewing their local Tier III training. Please contact the Occupational Health and Safety group at (650) 725-3209.
Safety Partners
Vigilance in the lab also requires ongoing communication and the prompt reporting of problems. University Safety Partners is a group of appointed representatives
who are responsible for the administration of the University’s health and safety
program within their respective School or VP units.
Each school has a Safety Partner to ensure a safe learning and working environment. They can guide you in laboratory and office safety, your school’s emergency preparedness program, strategies for regulatory compliance, and resources to help you work more safely.
You can find the name and contact information for the University Safety Partner in your School or unit in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.
Administrative Panels
In addition to general safety requirements, there are two particular research areas that require special reviews and approvals. If your research involves any of the following, your project protocol must be reviewed and approved in advance by an administrative panel:
- recombinant DNA molecules
- infectious or biohazardous agents
- radioactive isotopes
- ionizing, ultraviolet laser, and/or microwave radiation
Faculty working with biohazardous agents and/or recombinant DNA molecules should be familiar with the Administrative Panel on Biosafety. Those working with radiation or lasers should contact the Radiation Safety Office (650-723-3201) and review the Health Physics information on the EH&S website.
