Laser Personnel Description

Permittee

The Permittee is the person whose name appears on the Permit for the laser. Typically, this is the Principal Investigator or Teaching Laboratory Supervisor and, must be permanent faculty or staff (not a postdoctoral fellow or a graduate student). The Permittee is responsible for:

  1. Laser Safety in the laboratory
  2. Ensuring the availability of correct protective eyewear. (See section 6.5)
  3. Providing a Laser Safety Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). (See Section 6.1)
  4. Providing, implementing, and enforcing the Laser Safety Program specific to the laboratory’s laser
  5. Ensuring proper training in laser operation and safety
  6. Classifying and labeling all lasers in the laboratory
  7. Completing laser Permitting with the University LSO
  8. Notifying the University LSO immediately if an exposure incident occurs
  9. Notifying the University LSO if a laser is decommissioned, sold, or transferred.

The Permittee may designate any of these responsibilities to a Laboratory Laser Safety Officer.

Laboratory Laser Safety Officer

Each Permittee may designate a Laboratory Laser Safety Officer (LLSO) and identify the Laboratory LSO to the University (ULSO). This person may be the Permittee or a delegate, but shall be a budgeted employee (staff or faculty, not a graduate student or post-doctoral worker) of the University. (Normally the Permittee retains the function and title of the Laboratory LSO.) The Laboratory LSO shall maintain the Laser Safety Program for the individual lasers in the laboratory, and may call on the University LSO for assistance as needed. The Laboratory LSO, acting under the Permittee’s authority, has the responsibility to institute corrective actions including shutdown of laser operations when necessary due to unsafe conditions.

Laser Operator or User

The laser operator or user is a person who sets up, aligns, operates or, uses the laser for experimental or research purposes, or has other assigned laser duties. The laser operator training records should be documented. An example of appropriate documentation can be found in here. The laser operator/user is responsible for:

  1. Following laboratory administrative, alignment, safety, and standard operating procedures while operating the laser.
  2. Keeping the Laboratory LSO fully informed of any departure from established safety procedures.

University Laser Safety Officer (ULSO)

The University Laser Safety Officer is the Office of Risk Management Environmental Health and Safety staff member who has the knowledge and responsibility to apply appropriate laser radiation protection rules, standards, and practices.