Proceedings of the 2012 University of California Center for Laboratory Safety Workshop

The University of California Center for Laboratory Safety (Center) organized a laboratory safety workshop held on March 15–16, 2012 at the National Academy of Sciences’ Beckman Center in Irvine, California. The participants were a diverse group of 69 people who shared an interest in improving lab safety in a way that will be embraced by those who supervise and perform lab research (Appendix A). Participants were from academia, private industry, national laboratories as well as local and federal government. They were laboratory researchers from the physical sciences, engineering, and the biomedical and life sciences, and health and safety professionals. Through a series of talks, panel discussions, and breakout sessions, the workshop allowed for dialogue between all participants on the many topics under the umbrella of lab safety. One of the primary aims of the Center is to develop and optimize lab safety practices based on evidence from research, and to make the outcomes from that research broadly and readily accessible to the research and health and safety communities through peer-reviewed publications. In order to achieve this, the Center is looking to build productive collaborations and begin the process of developing research programs in lab safety. The workshop was a first step in this process.