Laser decommissioning and practical laser training

Knowledge is the best defense. Wearing the wrong laser goggles is more dangerous than not wearing goggles at all. Misunderstanding how a polarizer or a beam splitter works has resulted in a large number of laser accidents. People learn the most when they do things. A practical session of laser safety training is considered essential. Building a laser lab for the practical session of the training can be too demanding for the budget of an Office of Health and Safety. On the other hand, the LSOs in large universities are involved in the decommissioning of many lasers and instruments containing lasers. Although such equipment is old and generally considered obsolete for research purposes they contain valuable lasers and optical components ideal for a laser-teaching lab. In this paper, the authors will present examples of recycled lasers and laser components currently used as props in the classroom during oral presentations and in the practical laser-teaching lab at our university.