Laboratory Safety

EPS is part of a joint lab safety committee with the Physics Department and the LISE research building. The committee meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at noon during the academic year in the EPS Faculty Lounge on the 4th floor of Hoffman Labs.  Anyone with an interest in lab safety is welcome!  

Each EPS research lab has a designated safety representative who is responsible for safety orientation of new lab members, coordinating lab inspections, conveying safety-related information to the lab group members, and overseeing chemical waste disposal.  Please feel  free to contact them with any safety related questions or comments for these labs.

EPS Lab Safety Representatives: Schrag Lab - Alison Piasecki; Johnston Lab - Julien Foriel; Jacobsen Lab - Yaya Ku; Fischer Lab - Matthew Brennan; Langmuir Lab - Zhongxing Chen; Pearson Lab - Susie Carter; Fu Lab - Alec Brenner; Sample Prep Facilities - Kevin Czaja; Perez-Mercader Lab at the Rowland Institute - Sai Katla

Other Safety Contacts: The Department of Environmental Health and Safety has assigned John Sweeney as a dedicated lab safety representative for EPS.  John is available to assist with any safety related concern and is responsible for coordinating the monthly committee meetings and departmental safety training requirements. The EPS Lab Director, Paul Kelley, is responsible for coordinating departmental lab safety matters and ensuring departmental compliance with University and external policies and regulations.  For any building-related safety concerns please contact the Harvard Operations Center at 617-495-5560.

Minors Working in Labs: On occasion, we get requests to allow minors to work in our labs in order to acquire research and educational experience. Such arrangements require heightened oversight and attentiveness to safety.  An EH&S guide to some of the issues that need to be attended to, along with the related required forms is available here.  If you plan on having a minor working in an EPS lab please contact the EPS Lab Director prior to providing any access to the lab.

Lab Safety Training: All incoming graduate students and every member of any EPS lab group is required to take general lab safety training and any specific training related to lab-specific instrumentation or risks.  This training is managed by the safety representative of each lab and is provided on-line via the Training Management System (TMS) maintained by Environmental Health and Safety.  If you have any questions regarding your training requirements please refer them to the safety representative for your lab or to Paul Kelley. 

Lab Coats: The FAS Division of Science provides lab coats at no cost to labs at both the Northwest Labs Building (B3 level) and the Bio-labs Building (16 Divinity Avenue entrance). Be safe - wear a coat!

Safety Glasses: The FAS Division of Science also provides basic lab safety glasses at no cost to labs. These are available at the VWR Stockroom located in the Biolabs Building at 16 Divinity Ave.  Researchers can choose between a general pair of safety glasses or an "over the glasses" pair of safety glasses. When checking out, please notify the sales staff that the glasses are being purchased as a part of Division of Science "PPE" program.

EPS also provides a one-time allowance of $200 toward the purchase of Rx lab safety eyeware.  Please see your lab safety representative or contact Paui Kelley for more information.  The necesaary form and the on-campus schedule for the eyeware provider are located at the bottom of this page. 

 

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