ATF Laser Safety

To be present in a secured laser area at ATF, a person must either have the required laser training, or be continuously escorted by someone who has such training:

The training consists of an eye exam, BNL general laser safety lecture, and formal ATF laser familiarization. Untrained personnel should not be instructed to enter interlocked areas or be escorted into an area and left unattended. If someone without training must enter a secured area, they must be continuously escorted, and are considered spectators, which means they may not perform any work in the area.

At ATF, there are 3 classes of personnel authorized to enter secured areas:

1. Experimental operators may secure areas, perform approved experiments with beams from facility lasers (YAG + CO2) or FEL beams, and shut down the YAG system
2. ATF operators may additionally turn on the YAG system for linac operation
3. Laser operators may perform any tasks with ATF lasers

When entering a secured area, appropriate eye protection must be worn:

Each entry into a secure area has indications as to which wavelengths are or may be present, so that the appropriate eye protection may be selected. Beam hazards in the area are regulated by controlled keys, and it the responsibility of both the keyholder and any other personnel in the room to maintain awareness of the hazards present.

• Interlocks are safety systems and may not be defeated under any circumstances:
  Any malfunctions must be reported to the C-AD interlock group. The interlock system has a failsafe design, and if problems arise which impede operation, only the C-AD interlock group may modify the interlock system.
• Work which requires laser interlock in common areas (i.e. experimental hall, FEL room) should be scheduled ahead of time to avoid conflicts. When an area is secured, an announcement over the PA system should be used to notify ATF personnel.

For information contact Marcus Babzien, babzien@bnl.gov.