Laboratories

General Information

The Environment Building consists of three main areas:

Office Wing
Central circulation area (foyer, heart space and reception)
Laboratory Wing

The laboratory wing is a secure area and special permission is required in order to enter and work in the labs.

The space is a sealed area with forced air ventilation and no opening windows. Temperature and pressure conditions are controlled automatically by a building management system.

A list of laboratories and their basic function is listed below. The wing consists of three internal floors, topped by a rooftop plant room. To the west of the wing is a dual function escape and laboratory staircase as well as a goods lift. We discourage laboratory users from using the main central staircase and lift to transport laboratory chemicals and equipment as this would pose an infection/contamination risk to public areas of the building and shared kitchen areas.

Click here for a full list of laboratory equipment, including access charges (where applicable).

Resources in this section

Laboratory access and Induction process

Out of hours working (laboratories)

Useful links

Risk and CoSHH assessment forms

Ground floor laboratories

First floor laboratories

Second floor laboratories

ENV/006 - Cold store

This is a 20 square metre cold store for the storage of core samples and other materials at +4 deg C

ENV/008 - teaching lab

Our largest lab, dedicated to taught practical sessions for undergraduates. Also used for project students.

ENV/008A Laboratory store

General store for the teaching laboratory.

ENV/008B Emergency shower

High flow, enclosed cold water drench shower with floor drain. For emergency use only.

ENV/014 wet laboratory

Laboratory purposely designed for wet work, including wet soil and/or aquatic work.

ENV/015 oven room

Dedicated, ventilated space for drying samples. Equipped with shelving for air drying sample material and ovens and furnaces for higher temperatures.

ENV/016 small laboratory

Small scale lab with sinks and lab benches for dirty sample work up.

ENV/017 field store

Storage are with vehicle access externally for the storage of all field equipment, corers, boats etc.

ENV/018 technicians' office

The nerve centre of the laboratory wing where the technical team operate from. Normally well-stocked with cakes and biscuits.

ENV/107 Emergency shower

High flow, enclosed cold water drench shower with floor drain. For emergency use only.

ENV/108 Radioisotope laboratory

Currently decommissioned

ENV/109 Microbiology laboratory

Dedicated lab for microbiology work, equipped with fume hoods, a class II biosafety cabinet, autoclave, growth cabinet and -80 degrees C freezer.

ENV/113 Microscopy laboratory

Laboratory equipped with various high and low powered optical microscopes.

ENV/114 Chromatography laboratory

Analytical laboratory equipped with gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers (GC-MS), high performance liquid chromatographs (HPLC), ion chromatographs (IC), a continuous flow nutrient analyser (AA3), UV-vis spectrophotometer, nanosight particle tracker and cell imager. This space is shared with BioArCh.

ENV/115 Spectroscopy laboratory

Analytical laboratory equipped with an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), CHNS analyser, CN analyser and total organic carbon analyser. This space is shared with BioArCh.

ENV/116 Constant temperature room (CT4)

For conducting short or long term experiments at controlled temperature. The space is divided up into separate shelves and benches. Shelf heights can be adjusted to accommodate different experiments. The room has multiple power outlets. Lights and timers can be brought in and set up to create different light regimes.

ENV/117 Constant temperature room (CT3)

See ENV/116

ENV/118 Gas flux laboratory

General purpose laboratory, equipped with fume hoods, a designated area for handling licensed soils and sampling ports into CT1 & CT2 (ENV/121 & 120) for gas flux measurements.

ENV/119 Laboratory store

Store of laboratory consumables, glass and plasticware, waste bags and bottles. Many items are free to use. Items on shelves K-M are charged for. List any of those items taken on the log sheet with your name and grant code.

ENV/120 Constant temperature room (CT2)

See ENV/116

ENV/121 Constant temperature room (CT1)

See ENV/116

ENV/207 Emergency shower

High flow, enclosed cold water drench shower with floor drain. For emergency use only.

ENV/208A BioArCh Clean room