Safety For Researchers

Introduction

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.

Emergency Contacts

Emergency fire, police, medical aid

911 from your cell phone

9-911 from a campus phone

286  from a campus phone at the School of Medicine

Hazardous materials incident

650 725-9999 for Environmental Health & Safety

Emergency Information Hotlines

• The main information line for the University is (650) 725-5555.

• The Out of Area information line can be reached at (844) 253-7878.

• From abroad, call 01-602-241-6769.

• The Stanford Health Care information line is (650) 498-8888.

• The Stanford Linear Accelerator information line is (877) 447-7522.

• You can also check the Stanford Emergency Information website 

Environmental Health & Safety

The Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) is the principal health and safety office at Stanford University. EH&S works closely with the University Safety Partners (the designated safety officers in the laboratory schools, Operations and Maintenance and Housing and Food Services) and the safety coordinators, safety committees, administrators and faculty in the departments. If you need help or information about health and safety, call EH&S at 723-0448.

Some schools provide additional information about safety in their facilities, the school's emergency preparedness program, and strategies for regulatory compliance. Check your school’s website or contact your school’s health and safety contact for specific guidance.

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 your School or unit in the University Safety Partners Directory.

Training

EH&S Health & Safety Training

All applicable safety training should be completed before an individual is allowed to work unsupervised in a Stanford laboratory. PIs or the lab supervisor must provide Tier III health and safety training on hazards specific to the job site, equipment used, experimental procedures, etc. 

EH&S provides the following resources to help PIs design safety training: 

• EH&S Safety Training Courses 

• An overview of safety by type of project. 

• The Biosafety Manual provides information on the three tiers of EH&S Training. 

• PIs may contact EH&S for assistance in developing and reviewing their local Tier III training. 

• For general workplace safety questions, please contact the Occupational Safety and Health group at (650) 725-3209.

PIs play a key role in ensuring staff members properly identify and complete safety training.

School of Medicine Health & Safety Training

In addition to the EH&S training, the School of Medicine provides training specific to clinical research activities:

• Full list of all training

• Standard operating procedures to conduct clinical research

Staff who will participate in any clinical trials/research study, are required to complete health screening, safety and compliance training administered by EH&S and Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) HealthStream.

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.