Environmental Health & Safety

Event Overview:

Dates & Times: September 18th - September 22nd
Registration Opens September 2, 2025

There are limited spots each day

Location:
Environmental Health & Safety | Map to the facility. (Don't use google maps for searching).

Environmental Health & Safety is located at the top of Linden Street, across from Lot 20. 

There is no student parking located near the building.

• The nearest student parking lots are Lot 30. It will take approximately 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot. Please view the campus map of the location to plan accordingly.
• No electric scooters are allowed in the building. 

DO NOT USE GOOGLE MAPS TO SEARCH FOR THE BUILDING - IT WILL TAKE YOU TO AN OLDER FACILITY.

Register:
** Registration Opens September 2nd**
Click on the links provided in the table above or Search for "Graduate Student Safety Orientation (Research)" in the UCR Learning Center
*Be sure to select the correct date and course code as listed above.

If your department provided your NetID to EH&S ahead of time, you may already be registered. Check the "My Registrations" box  in the UC Learning Center to confirm. 

If you cannot log into the UC Learning Center, please complete this form to confirm your registration (alternate registration link will be available September 1st). You can also email ehstraining@ucr.edu for assistance. Please provide you lived first and last name, net ID, UCR email and Student ID Number

To do before the event:

1) Know your NetID 
2) Take online Safety Training (see tab below for specifics)
3) Adhere to UC Vaccination policy

What to expect day of the event:

1) Arrive on time to check in. 

2) Event Attire: Wear full length pants (or equivalent) and closed toe/heel shoe attire. You will be entering laboratory and hazardous materials locations. If you have a lab coat/eye protection issued to you, please bring it.

3) Masks are highly recommended for indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.

If you need assistance or have questions, please email ehstraining@ucr.edu.

Before this event, be sure to:

1) Take minimum required training

Log into the UCR Learning Center with your NetID and password to access online training modules. At a minimum you are required to complete:

• Laboratory Safety Fundamentals If you have completed this in the last 3 years, you do not need to take it again.

We also recommend completing:

• Hazardous Materials & Waste Management Required for all labs with hazardous materials.
• Compressed Gas Safety: Prework for Graduate Student Safety Orientation Required for all BCOE programs and those working with compressed gas cylinders.

Please see Graduate Students Guide to Training & the UCR Learning Center for more information on access and troubleshooting. 

3) Complete the Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT) if you are in a Research Laboratory Program.

• If you are in a Research program, you will receive an email with the subject line “Lab Hazard Assessment Ready to be Acknowledged” outlining the steps you need to take prior to the training:  

• Review the information about hazards present in the laboratory 

• Review the identified Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for this laboratory 

• Acknowledge that you have read the laboratory hazard assessment by clicking “continue” to review each section 

• If PPE is required, complete the short “PPE Safety Training” in the Next Steps page. This will ensure you can get your PPE 

These steps must be completed to receive your PPE on the day of the event. If you are unable to complete the steps in time, you will still be able to receive your PPE, however you will need to follow the standard process and schedule a fitting appointment. 

Questions regarding LHAT access and PPE can be directed to ehslaboratory@ucr.edu  

3) Register for the Graduate Student Safety Orientation

• You may register for the event starting September 3.
• Each program is scheduled to attend on a specific day, please save the date and prepare to attend.   

What PPE will you receive?

Minimum PPE: The traditional white laboratory coat, impact glasses, and splash goggles kit allows you to start working in a lab. 

The traditional white laboratory coat may not be sufficient in protection against certain hazards, such as pyrophorics, bulk flammables, etc.

If you later are assigned to a laboratory that has identified specific hazards requiring a blue flame-resistant laboratory coat, please make an appointment to come back to EH&S to exchange your traditional white coat for the appropriate lab coat you need. https://ehs.ucr.edu/laboratory/ppe

About the PPE Session: The information below will answer the following:

• What is the PPE Session 

• What EH&S needs from Program Administrators, PIs, and the participants in order to run the PPE Session 

• A demonstration of the process that takes place on the EH&S side 

• A demonstration of what takes place on the PI and participant side 

• An explanation for the strict deadlines 

Why is the PPE Session during GSSO important? 

PPE fittings at EH&S take place by appointment only and appointment availability is dependent upon staffing availability. Most EH&S staff hold multiple roles and appointments are scheduled around all of these other roles. Due to limited staffing availability and an increase in awareness of safety, appointments fill up quickly and the next available appointment is often weeks to months in the future. Additionally, the GSSO preparations mean that regular fitting appointments are typically closed for 2-3 weeks so there will be a backlog of appointments immediately following GSSO. 

The PPE Session during GSSO is an opportunity for participants to be fit for and receive their PPE on the day and bypass the appointment scheduling so it is strongly encouraged that all participants take advantage of this session.

What do Program Administrators, PIs, and participants need to complete for the PPE Session? 

Program Administrators must submit, to the PPE Coordinator, full participant list complete with: 

• First and Last Names (as participants have entered into the system) 
• UCR NetIDs 
• Assigned PIs 

PIs must add their participants to their Lab Hazard Assessment (LHAT) on Risk & Safety Solutions (RSS) 

Participants must: 

• Review and acknowledge the PI’s LHAT 
• Complete the RSS PPE Training (not the one on the UCR Learning platform) 

Why do the preparations need to begin 2 weeks prior? 

PIs and participants occasionally experience technical difficulties with RSS. Some things may be simple to resolve by following the steps outlined in the Process & Troubleshooting section (below), but some things will require submitting a support ticket to RSS. Technical Support from RSS can take multiple days to resolve especially if the case requires escalation to a specialist. The 2-week timeline allows time for new students to navigate a new and unfamiliar system. 

Why is there such a strict timeline and why are there such strict deadlines? 

NONE of this is automated. EVERYTHING is manual. The PPE Coordinator must MANUALLY: 

• Check the system for each individual’s LHAT acknowledgement and training status 
• Email each PI and participant with which requirements are needed and instructions on how to complete them 
• Work with each PI and participant for any technical difficulties, troubleshooting needs, and further guidance 
• Re-check status of all requirements for each participant to know who needs reminders 
• Email each PI and participant still having not completed requirements a reminder email 
• Re-check status of participants receiving reminders for completion of requirements 
• Generate PPE fitting forms 
• Generate all the labels needed for PPE that will be distributed 

Schedule & Hard Deadlines 

This table demonstrates the events that need to take place on specific days for the PPE Session to be possible. T-0 marks the first GSSO day. All participants, even those attending later GSSO days, follow the same schedule (respective to the first GSSO day) as the PPE Coordinator will not be available to assist with anything until all the GSSO days are over. 

Common Troubleshooting issues and solutions

Issue:  PI is unable to locate the participant’s name in the drop-down menu when adding to the roster 

• Participant needs to first activate their RSS account by logging into https://app.riskandsafety.com

Issue: Multiple accounts with the same name appear on the drop-down menu when adding to the roster and it cannot be determined which is the correct account 

• Participant needs to log into https://ehs.ucop.edu/  
• Participant clicks on the grey circle with their initials in the top right-hand corner of the landing page. 
• Participant selects ‘Profile’ from the drop-down menu. 
• The ‘About’ card on the left-hand side of the landing page will display the correct account’s email address to use.

Issue: PI does not have an active LHAT

• PI contacts EH&S at ehslaboratory@ucr.edu to create the LHAT. LHATs can only be created by EH&S, but the PI must complete the assessment and certify it. 
• PI logs into https://ehs.ucop.edu/ and clicks the hazard assessment that appears in the ‘Workspace’ card on the bottom of the landing page. 

• PI completes the rest of the LHAT and certifies it as accurate with an electronic signature by clicking the ‘Certify’ button. 

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Issue: Participant has been added but cannot locate the LHAT in the ‘Workspace’ 

• PI may have added the incorrect account to the LHAT. 
• Participant needs to log into https://ehs.ucop.edu/  
• Participant clicks on the grey circle with their initials in the top right-hand corner of the landing page. 
• Participant selects ‘Profile’ from the drop-down menu. 
• The ‘About’ card on the left-hand side of the landing page will display the correct account’s email address to use

Issue: Participant gets stuck in an endless loading loop 

• Participant needs to submit a technical support service ticket by emailing service@riskandsafetysolutions.com with details of the issue. 

• Unfortunately, this could take a few days to resolve and the participant will not be able to complete the required training until RSS resolves the issue. 

  ---

Complete the Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT) if you are in a Research Laboratory Program.

• If you are in a Research program, you will receive an email with the subject line “Lab Hazard Assessment Ready to be Acknowledged” outlining the steps you need to take prior to the training:  

• Review the information about hazards present in the laboratory 

• Review the identified Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for this laboratory 

• Acknowledge that you have read the laboratory hazard assessment by clicking “continue” to review each section 

• If PPE is required, complete the short “PPE Safety Training” in the Next Steps page. This will ensure you can get your PPE 

• These steps must be completed to receive your PPE on the day of the event. If you are unable to complete the steps in time, you will still be able to receive your PPE, however you will need to follow the standard process and schedule a fitting appointment. 

• Questions regarding LHAT access and PPE can be directed to ehslaboratory@ucr.edu  
   

Logging In to the UC Learning Center:

The UC Learning Center is the campus portal for online training. They have an extensive Support Site to answer many questions on access, duplicate profiles, browsers compatibility and more. If you are having trouble with the UC Learning Center, please start with this page to answer your questions. 

You must have a UCR NetID to log into the system. If you do not have a UCR NetID, please see the Support Page about Access.  

Campus affiliates and UCR students who are not a current or former UCR employee, volunteer, or contingent worker, should use the UC Affiliate Access Tool to push a profile into the system before logging into the UC Learning Center for the first time. See the Access & Roles page on the UC Learning Center website for more details. 

Initial (minimum) Training:

For Research personnel in a traditional or "wet' laboratory

• Laboratory Safety Fundamentals *Required by UC Policy for all researchers
• Hazardous Materials & Waste Management **Required if working with hazardous materials. 
• Compressed Gas Safety: Prework for Graduate Student Safety Orientation **Required for BCOE and if you are working with or near compressed gas cylinders 

UC Policy requires that all staff, faculty, students and volunteers working in a laboratory or technical area complete Laboratory Safety Fundamentals, which is a certification that includes many topics, and your training record will show these topics. Your Laboratory Safety Fundamentals certification will expire after 3 years, and then a refresher training becomes available. You may not receive an email reminding you of the expiration date, so please check your training records on an annual basis to ensure you are compliant. 

* Please note, you will be able to access Laboratory Safety Fundamentals 1-2 days after you initally log into the UCLC. 

Safety Orientation will show on your "required training" section of the UCR Learning Center and need to be taken every three years. However, if you complete Laboratory Safety Fundamentals, it will satisfy this training requirement and you will not need to take this course. 

Getting your PPE

All researchers working in a lab must also be assigned to their PI/Lab Supervisor in the Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT). This certifies the hazards in your lab and assigns the proper PPE for the space you are working in. You will log in using your UCR NetID and password.  Complete the short PPE training in order to receive your PPE Voucher. Once you have the voucher, make an appointment with EH&S for your PPE Fitting. For a step by step guide to this process, please click here. 

*Helpful tip on LHAT: You need to log into ehs.ucop.edu one time to make your profile searchable by your PI/Lab Supervisor. 

Training Responsibility

Your PI/Lab Supervisor will determine the initial and ongoing training you should take. Once your initial training is determined and assigned, it is important to be aware of any expiration dates. There are several training topics that require annual recertification. Please check your Transcripts in the UCR  Learning Center for the expiration date. It is your responsibility to ensure you are current on your training certifications. Safety starts with you!

A sample of safety training with annual requirements:

• Bloodborne Pathogens
• Fire Extinguishers
• Hazardous Materials & Waste Management

The Research Approval and Training Requirement document is also a good resource to know what training you should take. 

Here are some important campus resources to assist you:

PI/LAB SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

UC Learning Center

View the LHAT guide for GSSO participants

Training Materials available to view and download from previous training sessions. 

Additional materials and videos will be added, please check back often.

Compressed Gas Safety

Compressed Gas CGA Handout

12 Months of Research Safety: Compressed Gas Safety

Chemical Safety

Chemical Lifecycle Handout

Chemical Lifecycle Presentation

Electrical Safety for Researchers

Electrical Safety Presentation

Ergonomics

Key Concepts & Stretching techniques | Handout

Working Remotely | Document

Using a Mouse | Video

Request an Ergo Evaluation | Request form

Fire Extinguishers

How to use a Fire Extinguisher

Hazard Assessment

Hazard Assessment Handout

Laboratory Equipment

Laboratory Equipment Handout