Research & Medical Lasers

Review
EH&S must conduct a review prior to the purchase of a new laser or laser components. The purpose of the review is to incorporate the new laser into the inventory system, initiate the required facility reviews, and specify any precautions or requirements. The review also verifies the proper functioning of each laboratory’s safety program and informs the principal investigator (PI) of applicable safety considerations prior to the acquisition of the laser.

To initiate a pre-purchase review: 
Visit the EH&S Radiation Safety website. All contact information and forms are available through this site. Contact EH&S to be assigned a radiation safety officer.

Email the specifications to EH&S, and request that the radiation safety officer provide the reviews and approval authorizations. Contact Campus Purchasing to find out who will be the responsible buyer for the order, and copy the campus buyer on all emails for orders that require a purchase order.

Authorization
Request the EH&S Approval to Purchase authorization when you initiate the pre-purchase review. If you will be placing a low-value order (LVO), you must also obtain approval from Campus Purchasing. If the order is for an amount of more than $5,000, the campus buyer will request authorization from EH&S.

The radiation safety officer will confirm the approval authorizations after the reviews have been conducted. An email confirming approval must be sent to the buyer in Campus Purchasing.

Required Eye Exam
All employees who work with Class IIIB or Class IV lasers are required to have an eye exam prior to the beginning of the assignment and following any accidental exposure in which eye injury is suspected. Employees should also have an eye exam when terminating employment with the laboratory.

To obtain a laser user eye exam:

Note: Your eyes will be dilated during the exam, so you will be unable to drive a car for four to six hours after the exam. Sunglasses may be useful to control glare.

1. Call University Ophthalmology Associates (UOA) to schedule the appointment. Provide them with the name of your department.
2. Complete the Laser User Eye Examination Form. You can find this form in the Laser Safety Manual.
3. Bring the completed authorization form to the exam; it is required. The exam will take place on the first floor of the Jules Stein Eye Research Center and takes approximately two hours.
4. The results of your exam will be forwarded to the UCLA Occupational Health Facility (OHF) for review and placement into a permanent record. OHF will inform the laser safety officer if you are not cleared to work with the laser.

Fabricated Lasers & Those Obtained Outside of UCLA
It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to notify EH&S of fabricated lasers or any lasers acquired from sources outside of UCLA Purchasing. Campus Purchasing will inform EH&S of all new purchases of Class IIIB and Class IV lasers.

Once you have the required authorizations, you may order lasers in the following ways:

• Departments may issue orders up to $5,000 in BruinBuy via the N-class special request order method.
• Develop an R-class purchase requisition for orders over $5,000.

You can obtain a list of recommended vendors from the following sources:

• EH&S Radiation website
• Laser Safety Manual

Request any required installation or training on the purchase order.

Lasers and radioactive products must be delivered to the following address. The label should be in the following format, and the authorized user listed in the address must have an authorized LA#.

UCLA Medical Receiving – Radiation Safety

Authorized User ______________________  LA#_________________

Department Name______________________Room # _____________

650 Charles E. Young Drive South

Los Angeles, CA  90095

Requestor’s Name ____________________ Ext# ________________

Medical Receiving has procedures in place to appropriately handle lasers.  The supplier will provide setup and training required once you receive the laser. 

Refer to the UCLA Laser Safety Manual, the Radiation Safety Manual, and the Radiation Safety User Guide for complete procedures. You can request additional training through EH&S or the vendor. Radiation Safety provides a quiz that can help identify your training requirements.