Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Templates

Cal/OSHA requires the establishment of standard operating procedures for work with hazardous chemicals

Guidance Reference Document

Campus Standard Operating Procedures: Requirements & Recommendations

Download version 1.4 updated 3/25/2024

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) document the laboratory-specific procedures for the safe handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Principal investigators and laboratory supervisors are responsible for establishing SOPs relevant to health and safety for laboratory activities involving hazardous chemicals.

Tutorial: How to Identify Chemicals for SOPs

Learn how to use RSS Chemicals to quickly identify which chemicals need to be included in control-banded SOPs.

Review the tutorial updated 11/15/2023

Several SOP templates have been prepared under direction of the UC Davis Chemical and Laboratory Safety Committee (CLSC) including several control-

banded SOP templates. The CLSC has also approved campus minimum SOP requirements that leverage the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) hazard codes to aid in inventory searches. While the control-banded SOP library aims to cover the most common hazards encountered in a lab, it cannot cover every hazard. Your lab may need additional SOPs beyond the control-banded SOPs offered by UC Davis to ensure that procedures for the safe handling, storage, and disposal of laboratory-specific hazardous chemicals are covered. A generic SOP template is available for those hazardous materials in your lab that may not be included in one of the control-banded SOPs.

The content and accuracy of SOPs shall be reviewed and revised at a minimum of every three years, unless an earlier revision is required as described in the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP). The PI/Laboratory Supervisor must review and re-approve following any SOP revision. Laboratory personnel must be trained on any SOP revisions, or if no revisions are made, at a minimum of every three years. Documentation of the training must be maintained.

Please contact chem-safety@ucdavis.edu or your Laboratory Safety Professional with any questions or for assistance in implementing the requirements. Additional shop-specific SOP resources can be found in the UC Davis Shop Safety Manual.

For assistance in developing laboratory-specific SOPs or determining whether a chemical is suitable for inclusion in a control-band, contact chem-safety@ucdavis.edu.  Do NOT use the Listed Carcinogen SOP without consulting EH&S.