Access the beamline and facilities (onsite users)

TLDR

  • Refer to the NSLS-II user guide check-in instructions for obtaining/renewing a badge and for a map of the facility.
  • SST-1 RSoXS is located in building 743 (yellow building). During weekends and after-hours, a badge is necessary to enter the lobby.
  • Straight across the lobby is the door to the experimental hall. A badge is necessary at all times to access the experimental hall. Please check that everyone’s badge is able to unlock the door to the experimental floor.
  • Ensure your PS-BST-7-ID-1 training is up-to-date. If not, complete the walk-through with the beamline scientist and submit the signed form.
  • Complete additional training for any specific laboratory spaces used to prepare samples.
  • Ensure that the beamline scientist posts the SAF (safety approval form) and that it can be viewed from the touch screen monitor near the passageway of the experimental floor.
  • Finalize sample mounting in the laminar flow hood or sample preparation bench after coordinating with the beamline scientist. Ensure that everything is labeled, secured, and kept tidy. The sample preparation areas may be shared across different measurement stations.

SST-1 safety and overview

The contents of this section will be reviewed during the PS‐BST‐7‐ID‐1 training. However, it is helpful for users to review this information prior to each beam time.

The full checklist can be accessed here: 2026-07-02_PS-BST-7-ID-1.pdf

The most up-to-date checklist will be available at the BNL Training SharePoint site: PS-BST-7-ID-1


Emergency protocols

  • In case of a fire alarm, evacuate the experimental floor into the lobby. If there is a fire alarm in the lobby, evacuate the lobby into the outdoor parking lot. Follow all announcements and wait for further instructions before entering back in.
  • In case a fire starts nearby before a fire alarm rings, there is a fire extinguisher located on the outboard pole where SAFs are posted. Only use it if you feel comfortable extinguishing the fire. Otherwise, follow the evacuation procedures listed above. Activate the fire pull box that is located at the exit door to the experimental floor before entering the lobby.
  • If a shelter-in-place is announced, please gather on the experimental door in front of the lobby door.
  • Eye washes and showers are not located nearby the SST beamlines. The closest station requires walking down a ramp toward 8-ID, climbing a few steps to the right-hand side, and turning right. The next-closest station is located at a similar distance on the other side of the experimental floor from the SST beamlines. Thus, please ensure that any work with chemicals is performed in a sample prep lab, where eye washes and showers are located within the lab.
  • A spill control station is located near sample prep lab 3LL09. Use the materials only to contain a spill, not to clean it.
  • Cryogen lines are located above the SST beamlines. If there is a leak/spiill of liquid nitrogen, an emergency shut-of button is located between the NEXAFS and LARIAT stations.


Contact information for issues/emergencies

All emergency contact numbers are located at the pole where SAFs are posted. A phone is located at the NEXAFS workstation desk. In all cases, contact the appropriate people AFTER ensuring your own safety first.

  • For emergencies such as fires, medical emergencies, spills, etc., contact x2222 (631-344-2222).
  • Contact the control room for issues originating in the FOE and upstream: x2550 (631-344-2550)
    • Beam moving
    • EPU troubleshooting
    • Radiation monitor alarms
  • Contact a Floor Coordinator (FLOCO) for issues downstream of the FOE: x5046 (631-344-5046)
    • A FLOCO can also help provide temporary access if a badge does not work or is lost.
  • Contact beamline staff for issues related to the end station and science inquiries.
    • Unlike the control room and FLOCOs, the beamline scientist is not available 24/7. Coordinate any after-hours meetings in advance as necessary.


Beamline information and safety

  • Remain on the experimental floor near the beamline. The FOE (first optical enclosure, hutch), mezzanine areas above the hutch roof, and staircase are not permitted unless you have TLD (thermoluminescent dosimeter) badge.
  • Only use equipment that you are trained on and authorized to use.
    • Do not climb ladders if you have not taken ladder safety training.
  • Follow all signs and placards
    • A common sign is the “do not touch” sign, which indicates that the hardware is under configuration control. Any adjustments to this hardware requires coordination with technical staff and other synchrotron staff.
  • Radiation and oxygen monitors/alarms are located throughout the experimental floor. If the green light is on, those areas are safe. If the light is not green and/or there is an alarm, do not approach/enter those areas.
  • Magnetic fields are present at the LARIAT stations, but not at the RSoXS station.
  • The safety approval form (SAF) is posted on the outboard pole between the RSoXS and LARIAT stations. Ensure that it is posted by the beamline scientist and accessible before starting experiments.
  • The lead experimenter listed on the SAF is responsible for ensuring that safety, training, and reporting requirements are completed for all others experimenters listed on the SAF.


Sample safety and etiquette

  • Only samples, chemicals, and equipment listed on the SAF are allowed to be brought and used at the beamline.
  • Label all samples and chemicals thoroughly and neatly.
  • Do not generate any hazardous wastes without talking with the beamline staff and including it in an approved SAF.
  • A sharps waste container is located on the sample preparation bench next to the laminar flow hood to dispose silicon substrates.
  • Any liquid chemical wastes should be disposed in the appropriate wet lab that is authorized on the SAF.
  • Clean up the sample preparation benches, beamline operation workstation desks, and any other used areas at the end of the beam time.