Safety Review of Scheduled Experiments
Users are required to identify potential safety issues on their proposals and beam time requests. If you have indicated in your proposal any potential hazards with your samples, materials you are using, or overall set up you may be contacted by the safety office depending on the degree of the hazard indicated.
If you want to bring hazardous equipment or substances to SSRL and have not previously indicated this on either your proposal or Beam Time Request Form, contact the safety office immediately. Additionally, any changes you may wish to make to your proposal or BTR must go through the safety office. Users can not make changes to submitted proposals or BTR’s.
This information will be used to generate a Safety Checklist and SSRL Safety Review Summary. These will be posted at the beam line and users will sign off indicating that they agree with the contents of the documents.
If you have any questions as to whether or not the substances/equipment you are using will trigger a Safety Checklist and Safety Review Summary, contact the Safety Office.
Experiments dealing with the following hazards should contact the safety office immediately after beam time is assigned due to additional approvals:
- Class 2 biohazards, animal and human subject use
- Lasers (class 3r & 4)
- Radioactive materials
- Dry nanomaterials use
User Support Requests
If you have been assigned beamtime on an X-ray or VUV line you must accept your beam time and submit your support request for each allocation. Review the beam line, date and collaborator information carefully. Add any collaborators who will be assisting you with this beam time to the list. Only the collaborators listed on these forms will be allowed through Gates 17 and 30 without an escort to SSRL.
Review and provide experimental set up information to indicate the monochromator crystal, mirror position and SSRL equipment requested for your run. If your needs have changed or if there are any problems, contact the User Research Administration Office immediately. Any necessary corrections need to be coordinated in advance of your visit. Technical support is very limited, and it is difficult to accommodate late requests for equipment or set up not indicated in advance on your User Support Request.
Please Note: User support requirement information is collected as part of the Beam Time Request submittal for Macromolecular Crystallography users.
Use Agreements
All experiments at SSRL must be run under the terms of a Use Agreement executed by your institution and Stanford University. If a Use Agreement is not already in place with your institution, or for any of your onsite collaborators' institutions, an agreement will need to be completed by the appropriate institutional officer. These signed agreements must be on file at SSRL prior to your experimental run. A supplemental Use Agreement is required for experimenters wishing to perform private sector proprietary research at SSRL. A single Use Agreement covers all experimenters from that institution. Collaborators who are not coming to SSRL do not require a Use Agreement.
Use Agreement forms for both standard and Proprietary Research are available for downloading from the Use Agreement Menu page.
Contact Michelle Steger at 650-926-3011 if you have questions.
Proprietary Research
Proprietary Research may be conducted on a full-cost recovery basis.
User Accounts
Each user group is highly encouraged to establish an account at SSRL. To open or renew an account, complete a User Account Form and submit along with a Purchase Order from your institution to Michelle Steger. An account number will be assigned to you from User Administration after receipt of this information. If you do not have an account you may complete the form online. If you believe your account is tax-exempt in California, and you are not an employee of a DOE laboratory, you must provide proof of your tax-exempt status.
SLAC will add 8% General & Administration Indirect Costs to all purchases made through your user account.
Computer Accounts
Each user group must have a computer account and sign a computer usage security agreement. All persons using these accounts are responsible for understanding and complying with the security agreement. SSRL does not charge for use of its computer systems. Forms are available on the web (form for X-ray/VUV lines) and (form for Macromolecular Crystallography lines). Form more information X-ray/VUV users should contact Ellie Fazli by phone or email, macromolecular crystallography users should contact Thomas Eriksson.
Chemical Orders
All chemical orders must be placed through SLAC’s chemical procurement system. Please note that you cannot direct ship any chemicals from a supplier to SSRL.
If you need to place a chemical order, please follow the guidelines outlined below. Please begin your chemical order as soon as possible. Note that there is a significant lead time on procuring chemicals. Depending on the hazard of the material, this lead time could be upwards of 21 business days.
Search our Chemical Inventory
Your chemical of interest may already be available at SSRL. Please review the SSRL Sample Preparation Laboratories’ chemical inventory.
Create User Account
You must create a user account to pay for your chemical order and other purchases you make at SSRL. More information about User Accounts can be obtained at the links below.
Send Chemical Information to SSRL or LCLS
SSRL Staff must review your chemical orders for safety reasons. If you need to place a chemical order, please email chemical name, manufacturer’s name, part number, size, date required, user account number, and MSDS to the emails below. Please briefly describe how you are using this chemical in 1-2 sentences. We will contact you if we need additional information. For SSRL, send emails to
Gases and Cryogenics
Gases and cryogenics can be charged to your user account. With the exception of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium ordered by SSRL for use with SMB cryostats, all gases should be ordered in advance of your arrival on site. Please complete order forms at least two weeks before your beam time. For questions about gas safety & operating procedures contact .
Liquid Nitrogen
SSRL supplies liquid nitrogen at no charge to users. The main filling station is located in the Bldg. 131 Annex. There is also a smaller tank for filling small dewars. When handling Liquid Nitrogen, please follow the instructions carefully and wear the supplied gloves and safety glasses.
Liquid Helium
Liquid Helium is available on a 2-day turnaround in 100 liter dewars. The cost will be charged to your user account. Liquid helium orders should be placed electronically using the SSRL Gas Ordering Form.
Standard Gases
Orders for standard which will be charged to your user account, must be placed two weeks prior to arrival. Please use the SSRL Gas Ordering Form
Specialty Gases
Specialty gases must be ordered 3 weeks prior to your arrival. Analyzed gas orders take another two days. There is a charge for these gases which will be applied to your user account. Specialty gases cannot be returned for credit to your account. Please use the SSRL Gas Ordering Form.
Dewars
SSRL has a small supply of portable dewars which can be borrowed from the stockroom. Macromolecular Crystallography users wishing to ship dewars to SSRL should complete the Shipping Dewars to SSRL Form to help ensure that the dewar is delivered to the correct beam line and refilled if necessary.
Shipments to/from SSRL
See instructions for shipping equipment and samples to or from SSRL. Note: There are new requirements for international shipments.
For information on personally transporting samples or other potentially hazardous materials contact the Safety Office.
