Lab Researchers | Stanford University EH&S

Lab researchers include employee and non-employee laboratory personnel who perform research activities. This covers people in the lab who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals during their work. Research associates, undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers may be considered employees or non-employees depending on their employment status. Non-employees include visiting scholars.

The Principal Investigator (PI) can appoint a lab researcher as his or her lab's health physics contact person and issue a a controlled radiation authorization (CRA). The CRA allows lab researchers to order limited amounts of radioactive material for research.

Before ordering, lab personnel who will work with the material must receive proper training. This includes radiation safety training, on-the-job training, and completion of the on-the-job training form. The training explains how to conduct pre- and post-experiment surveys, stay safe when using radioactive material, conduct monthly radiation surveys, and collect data in the user radiation survey form.