Lab Safety

All new EPFL hires need to have a mandatory basic safety trainings:

FOBS 1 (general training) and FOBS 2 (for wet labs) organized by EPFL safety department. Those training can be done online. Anyone who does not take the online module or pass the quiz will not be given a Camipro card.

https://www.epfl.ch/campus/security-safety/en/trainings/mandatory-basic-safety-training-fobs-12/

All new lab members (included visitors and collaborators who actively will be working in our labs) need to have an additional lab safety and sustainability introduction given by the lab COSEC regarding the basic safety and sustainability best practice guidance concerning his/her working environment. Please contact the COSEC (you will find the current COSECs in the main lab web page) before you start working in the lab.

To access the BSL2 bio labs (BM 3225 and BM 3226), lab members need to attend the FOBS 3 training organized by OHS and have a specific safety introduction by the Biosafety Officer (BSO) of the lab too. In this specific Unit, the COSEC is also the BSO.

To access our optic labs with lasers class 3B or 4 (BM 4221-4223- BM 2114.1 and 2114.2) it is mandatory to attend a laser safety training organized by OHS (please check details and dates in OHS web page) and have a specific internal training on the setup you will be using, organized by a senior member of the lab or by the PI. The training needs to be documented by a signed form.

IMPORTANT INFO

You need to know where emergency aids are located and how to use them:

• Emergency eyewash units and showers
• First aid kits
• Emergency exits
• Extinguishing equipment (extinguishers, safety blankets)
• Chemical spill kits

In case of any professional or non- professional accident, you must announce it to human resources ([email protected]) and also fill the form you can find here (report a laboratory accident)

https://www.epfl.ch/campus/security-safety/en/lab-safety/

BEST PRACTICES

• Eating and drinking is prohibited in the lab.
• Always wear the required personal protective equipment (safety glasses, UV protection googles, gloves, lab coat) for your procedure.
• Transport chemicals using the blue basket and trolleys.
• No lab gloves on door handles.
• Chemicals and solvents should be stored in the designated safety cabinets based on their pictograms and incompatibilities.
• Chemical hazards manipulations should be done inside the fume hoods ONLY.
• Fume hoods should be kept clean and empty, the sash should be kept down.
• Project students are not allowed to work in the lab alone.
• Never let reactions run unattended unless a clear warning information is well displayed, download the safety form and place it next to the experiment.

form unattended reactions

• Chemical’s orders are centralized and should be placed through the official purchasing platform of EPFL: Catalyse
• All new members can ask Admin assistant or Cosec to learn how to use Catalyse
• Be aware that few dangerous chemicals require a special authorization from the OHS to be purchased.
• Consumables and not (chemicals, biological and optical items..) are inventoried in SLIMS (Slims will be discontinued in 2026) and Catalyse (keep the barcodes labels required for Catalyse inventory). 
• Each LBEN member is responsible of keeping the inventories up to date.
• Be aware of the waste management rules of EPFL. Ask to the COSEC in case of doubts.
• To announce pregnancy click here
• For technical problems in the office and/or in the lab linked to EPFL infrastructures ONLY (ventilation, fume hood, heating, not for equipment which belongs to the lab) call 34000
• for more information check the Safety and Sustainability introduction ppt  (you can find it in our wiki page)
• Before Departure from this lab you need to sign the departure form (in the safety introduction document saved in the lab wiki) with the PI and the COSEC. 

USEFUL DOCUMENTS

Click on FILES folder to see safety related documents (Safety and Sustainability ppt and safety introduction by COSEC)