Laser Safety

The Laser Safety Program is established to facilitate and ensure the safe and knowledgeable use of lasers in laboratories, classrooms and the environment.

The Laser Safety Program is administered by EH&S’s Radiation Safety team to ensure the safe use of lasers and compliance with the requirements of the Washington State Department of Health WAC 296-62-09005, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z136.1-2014 Safe Use of Lasers, and other related regulations and standards. The program applies to all UW personnel owning, supervising, operating and working in the proximity to Class 3B or Class 4 lasers.

The required Laser Safety Program components are as follow:

Laser registration
Hazard assessment by the Laser Safety Officer (LSO)
Laser worker safety training
Written laser safety procedure
Appropriate laser protective eyewear/PPE

All Class 3B and Class 4 lasers or laser system(s) must be registered with EH&S. This includes devices on loan from the manufacturer or from another institution, and Class 1 microscopy station with an embedded Class 3B or Class 4 laser. If you are unsure of your registration status, please contact the Laser Safety Officer (contact information listed above).

Submit the Laser Registration Form via email to the Laser Safety Officer.
The Laser Safety Officer will review the registration and schedule a hazard assessment with the lab.
A complete Laser Registration will be accompanied with laser inventory tag and hazard assessment report (including evaluation of laser protective eyewear) provided by the Laser Safety Officer.

All Class 3B and Class 4 lasers must be inspected by the Laser Safety Officer before beginning work.

For all new laser labs, or those under renovation, please see Laboratory Safety Design Guide and contact the Laser Safety Officer for additional requirements.

The laser supervisor must ensure personnel are adequately trained before allowing them to operate, maintain, service or work in the vicinity of lasers. Training includes attending the EH&S Laser Worker Safety course, training on the specific laser equipment and the Laser Safety Procedures used in the lab, provided by the supervisor, Principal Investigator (PI) or experienced user.

Information on specific laser applications is provided on the following focus sheets:

All personnel who work with lasers must be made familiar with the Laser Safety Procedure (or standard operating procedure) developed by the supervisor or PI.

The Laser Safety Procedure should address alignments, maintenance and normal operations procedures; all hazards; types of PPE; and emergency procedures associated with the particular laser system.