An electrical incident occurred at SLAC on December 27 during downtime maintenance activities involving high voltage equipment independent of SSRL/SPEAR. Since that time, Building 626 has been secured for investigation, and power remains out at this building as well as a few other buildings at SLAC. New controls of hazardous energy (CoHE) protocols affecting our ability to restart accelerators and other instrumentation that require control of hazardous energy have been initiated at SLAC. Additional lock-out-tag-out (LOTO) restrictions were recently implemented.
On January 11, SSRL exterior transformer A5K experienced an electrical fault, followed by an overheat condition on January 13. This is a large dry transformer in an exterior cabinet just west of Building 140/141 (SSRL SPEAR Booster Ring and Booster Power Supply). The transformer experienced a destructive overheat condition that burned up its winding insulation. This transformer is needed for SSRL SPEAR and beam lines to operate. All SSRL user experiments scheduled through at least March 22 have been canceled. However, this estimate will be impacted by the extent of damage to the transformer and other equipment that suddenly lost power when the transformer fire occurred. Until new SLAC CoHE protocols are fully implemented and work authorization is received, work on transformer repair/replacement cannot proceed. We will provide updates as we learn more.
SSRL SPEAR/Beam Line Schedules
Submit proposals and beam time requests (BTRs) by posted deadlines. Contact the User Office if you need assistance.
- USER ACCESS REQUIREMENTS:
- Register in the user portal and be listed on a scheduled experiment.
- Ensure that your institution has a User Agreement – This MUST be completed by an appropriate institution official BEFORE beam time.
- Review access procedures and provide required identification documents to the VUE Center (see additional requirements for foreign nationals who are required to provide documents before obtaining a SLAC ID#).
- Review latest COVID-19 protocols and complete safety training before traveling to SLAC.
- Note: Contact SSRL beamline scientists or floor support staff to coordinate mail-in/remote access or other visits, or contact the User office for assistance.
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LODGING: Reserve rooms at the GUEST HOUSE using the SLAC User Reservations Portal to access user rooms and rates (specify SSRL, proposal number and spokesperson when making reservations through the user reservations portal).
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FOOD: Visit the SLACafé or Verve coffee kiosk Monday–Friday ~7 am–2 pm. Other FOOD OPTIONS include restaurants that deliver to SLAC Main Gate/Guest House.
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NEWS: Stay informed by subscribing to SSRL Headline News (send e-mail to with "subscribe ssrl-headlines" in the body).
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WORK SAFELY: Be aware and exercise caution when visiting SLAC, particularly during construction. Contact Security if help is needed or to report any problems or suspicious activity: 650-926-2551. For EMERGENCIES, CALL 911 OR 5555.
Lightsources.org
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Society for Science at User Facilities (SSURF)
The Society for Science at User Research Facilities (SSURF) is a non-profit organization working to advance awareness of user facility research. SSURF replaces the National User Facility Organization (NUFO) which represented the interests of scientists who conduct research at national scientific user facilities.
