Facility Safety

Magnets in any NMR facility can be dangerous if not properly used, and AMRIS has some of the largest magnets in the world. All AMRIS users and regular guests and visitors are required to attend a safety training session before getting access to the facility.

Read the current AMRIS Facility Safety Handout or consult the AMRIS safety presentation.

A summary of the safety issues follows:

The magnets in the AMRIS facility are always turned on. This poses several SERIOUS DANGERS.

  • Metallic objects should never be brought around the magnets. They can become flying projectiles and can severely damage the magnet and injure or kill a person.
  • Heart pacemakers will stop functioning and surgically implanted metallic devices can be dislodged around the magnets.
  • Magnets occasionally quench. A magnet quench is the rapid loss of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium into the room. People can die of asphyxiation, by freezing, or both if proper precautions are not taken during a magnet quench. In the event of a quench in the AMRIS facility, it is important to leave immediately.