Laboratory Safety

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Laboratory Safety

• WVU Health Science Center
• Safety Office

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Responsibility for Safety

• Safety and health in a laboratory is a collective
  responsibility, that requires the full
  cooperation of everyone working in the
  laboratory.
• You have the ultimate responsibility
• for your safety!

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Accidents Occur Because

• Indifferent attitude
• The failure to use common sense
• The failure to follow instructions
• Lack of concentration

Stay focused!
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Be Alert!

• You should be aware of what others are doing
  around you because everyone can be a victim of
  the mistakes of others.
• Do not hesitate to point out to others if they
  are practicing unsafe procedures.
• Report unsafe procedures or laboratory conditions
  to the Laboratory Instructor or Principle
  Investigator.
• Become the solution to safety problems and not
  the problem itself.

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The 10 Commandments of Laboratory Safety

• 1. Think in terms of safe practice continually.
• 2. Be familiar with every step of the job you
  are going to do.
• 3. Check each apparatus item and chemical at
  least twice before proceeding.
• 4. Maintain an awareness of the danger in
  handling chemicals.
• 5. Remember that the safe way to accomplish any
  job is the best way.
• 6. Guard your co-workers safety and your own.
• 7. Prepare your counter attack against possible
  accidents by forethought.
• 8. Act promptly and coolly when confronted with
  an emergency.
• 9. Suggest a safe practice immediately when you
  see the need for one.
• 10. Be certain your laboratory has safety
  equipment.
• (from Fisher Scientific)

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Practical Guidelines

• Become thoroughly acquainted with the location
  and use of the safety equipment in the laboratory
  such as
• Exits
• Safety showers
• Fume hoods
• Eyewash Stations
• Spill Kits
• Fire Extinguishers
• Bio-Safety Cabinets
• Storage Cabinets
• Flammable
• Acids
• Follow all safety instructions carefully

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Laboratory Procedures

• Become familiar with all chemicals and hazardous
  materials involved. Know the safety precautions
  and emergency procedures that protect you and
  others from those hazards.
• Become familiar with the hazards of the
  apparatus/equipment and the operations involved.
  Know what to do to protect yourself and others
  from these hazards.
• Wear appropriate personal protection such as eye
  protection, laboratory coat, gloves, shoes, etc.

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Personal Protection Laboratory Protocol

• Eye Protection.
• All persons working in/or visiting the laboratory
  must wear safety glasses.
• Sometimes it is appropriate to wear safety
  goggles.
• Contact lens should be discouraged. They can
  retain foreign materials against the eye cornea.
  They can be very difficult to remove in case of a
  splash. Soft lens have the ability to absorb and
  retain chemical vapors.
• Approved standing shields and face shields that
  protect the neck, ears and face must be used when
  working with reduced pressure or where there is
  the potential for explosions, implosions, or
  splashing.
• Normal prescription eyeglasses do not provide the
  appropriate laboratory eye protection

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Clothing

• Appropriate clothing is to be worn in the
  laboratory.
• Clothing should be easily removable and fire
  resistant.
• The clothing should be made from natural
  materials such as cotton/wool.
• The ideal clothing should be nonflammable,
  nonporous to give the most satisfactory coverage
  and protection.

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Clothing

• Lab coats or lab aprons should be the type that
  can be easily removed.
• High-heeled shoes, open-toed shoes, clogs,
  sandals, or shoes made of woven material are
  prohibited.
• Shorts, cutoffs, and miniskirts are also not
  allowed.
• Long hair and loose clothing should be
  constrained. Jewelry such as rings, bracelets,
  and watches should not be worn.

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Gloves

• Gloves serve an important part of your personal
  protection and they must be used correctly.
• Ensure that you are using the proper glove for
  the work you are doing.
• Check to see if there are cracks or small holes
  before each use.
• To prevent the unintentional spread of
  contamination of biologicals, pathogens and
  chemicals, gloves should be removed before
  leaving the work area of the laboratory and
  before handling such things as telephones,
  doorknobs, writing instruments, and laboratory
  notebooks.

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Gloves

• Be aware, permeability of gloves of the same
  similar material may not give the same
  protection.
• You should change gloves frequently because most
  gloves are attacked by aromatic and halogen
  hydrocarbons.
• Your glove type should change as the type of
  chemical you are handling changes.
• A wide variety of gloves are available for the
  protection against exposure.
• Gloves should be discarded consistent with their
  use and contamination.

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Protective Equipment
Courtesy of University of Texas Pan American
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Personal Hygiene

• Everyone working in a laboratory should be aware
  of the dangers of ingesting chemicals. There are
  some common sense precautions that will minimize
  the possibility of such exposure
• Do not store, prepare, or consume food or
  beverages in any laboratory.
• Do not apply cosmetics in the laboratory.
• Never wear or bring lab coats into areas where
  food is consumed.
• Never pipette by mouth.
• Always wash hands and arms thoroughly before
  leaving the laboratory.
• Always removed protective laboratory wear before
  leaving the laboratory.
• Do not wash Lab Coats with personal laundry.

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No Food or Drink in Labs!!!
No!
No!
No!
No!
No!
No!
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Housekeeping

• Keeping things clean and neat generally leads to
  a safer laboratory environment.
• Never store materials, especially chemicals, on
  the floor, even temporarily.
• Avoid unnecessary physical hazards by keeping
  drawers and cabinets closed.
• Work spaces and storage areas should be kept
  clear.
• Keep aisles free of obstructions.
• Clean up spills immediately and properly.
• Avoid creating slipping hazards.
• Use the required procedure for disposal of all
  waste.

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Laboratory Visitors

• Persons that are not authorized to be in a
  laboratory should be denied entry.
• Those who visit a laboratory may not be aware of
  the hazards.
• All laboratory visitors should be expected to
  observe safe behavior.
• Provide visitors with necessary protective
  equipment such as goggles, aprons, gloves etc.
• Visitors to the laboratory should be asked to
  leave immediately if their behavior proves to be
  not safe.
• Check with your Supervisor, Lab Manager or P.I.
  Before allowing unauthorized guest into your Lab.

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Laboratory Hoods Ventilation

• Fume hoods control exposure to toxic, offensive,
  or flammable vapors.
• Fume hoods are not appropriate for disposing of
  chemicals, or as a storage cabinet.
• Stored items interfere with the efficient hood
  operation, in the event of an accident or fire
  every item may become involved.

Major violation and example of improper use of
hood.
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Laboratory Hoods and Ventilation

• Before each use, be sure the hood is working.
  Check the airflow indicator prior to use to
  ensure the fume hood is drawing air. Some hoods
  are equipped with airflow monitors that display a
  digital readout of the face velocity and/or beep
  or light up when the velocity is too low. If an
  airflow monitor is not installed, test the hood
  airflow with a piece of light material (such as a
  tissue or chemwipe) held to the bottom of the
  sash. The material will deflect inward if the
  hood is drawing air.
• Sash opening should be kept to a minimum.
• Users should keep their face outside the plane of
  hood sash.
• Work at least 6 inches into the hood from the
  face to minimize the potential for fumes to
  escape. As a useful reminder, place a strip of
  tape at this six-inch limit.
• Keep laboratory doors and windows closed and
  limit movement in front of the hood. Most
  laboratory ventilation systems are designed for
  labs to have all doors and windows closed. Open
  doors and windows can alter the air balance in
  the room and disrupt the airflow in the hood.

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Improper Hood Use
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Proper Hood Use
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Chemical Safety

• Laboratory supervisors should ensure that all
  incoming containers of hazardous materials bear a
  label specifying
• Appropriate hazard warnings.
• Identification of the chemical in the container
  and identification of the hazardous component(s).
  
• Name, address, and telephone number of the
  chemical manufacturer, importer, or responsible
  party (e.g. principle investigator).
• Date of receipt or generation of the chemical.
• All chemical substances in a lab must be labeled
  with the name not the abbreviated symbol.

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Chemical Safety

• Laboratory workers should not remove or deface
  labels on containers of hazardous chemicals.
• When chemicals are transferred from the
  manufacturer's original container to a secondary
  container, that new container should be
  appropriately labeled as to chemical identity and
  hazard warning(s).
• All chemicals should be dated.
• Before using any substance, it is important to
  read and heed the label and the MSDS.

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What is a MSDS?
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Where Can I Get A MSDS?
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Chemical Safety

• Chemical hazards are
• Toxic.
• Flammable.
• Corrosive.
• Reactive.
• Incompatible chemical Storage.
• Reactive Chemicals.
• Alphabetic Labels.
• Shelf Life of Unstable Chemical.
• Peroxide Forming.
• Perchloric Acid Crystals.
• Picric Acid Crystals.
• Nitrate Crystals.
• All waste chemical substances must be labeled
  with the name, percent and hazard of each
  substance.
• Do not pour waste chemicals down the sink drains

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Shelf Life of Unstable Chemicals

• All Chemicals should be dated upon receipt and
  some chemicals should also be dated after they
  are opened.
• Some Chemicals form Organic Peroxides that are
  explosive under certain conditions.
• Storage and use of Peroxidizable Chemicals must
  be limited in time according to the following
  schedule because they form potential explosive
  substances that can be triggered by
  shock,elevated temperature, rapid temperature
  change or contact of other reactive chemicals. A
  sample partial list is as follows

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Shelf Life of Unstable Chemicals
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Chemical Storage
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Chemical Storage

• Chemicals must be stored at an appropriate
  temperature and humidity level. As a rule,
  chemicals should not be stored near heat sources,
  such as steam pipes or laboratory ovens.
  Chemicals should never be stored in direct
  sunlight.
• Chemicals should be dated when received and when
  opened. If the chemical is one that degrades in
  quality or becomes unsafe after prolonged
  storage, the shelf-life expiration date should
  also be included.
• Visual inspection of the material and its
  container should be conducted routinely.
  Indications for disposal include
• cloudiness in liquids
• material changing color
• evidence of liquids in solids or solids in
  liquids
• "puddling" of material around outside of
  container
• pressure build-up within bottle
• obvious deterioration of container

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Chemical Storage

• Chemicals should not be routinely stored on the
  bench tops. In such locations they are
  unprotected from exposure and participation in a
  fire situation and are also more readily knocked
  over.
• Each chemical should have a specific storage
  area and be returned there after use.
• Large quantities of flammable materials should
  not be stored in the laboratory. Only the amounts
  needed should be kept on bench tops, the
  remainder should be kept in flammable storage
  cabinets.

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Chemical Storage
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Hazard on Concentration or Evaporation. (gt60-70)

• Acids such as Perchloric, Picric and Nitric in
  the concentration of gt 60-70 become sensitive
  and can react violently to Catalyst, Heat, and
  Shock.
• These acids at gt70 concentration can form
  Perchloric, Picric, and Nitric salt crystals that
  are extremely sensitive and are explosive when
  exposed to Catalyst, Heat, Shock, or Friction.

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Safety Label Information
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Ask Questions

• Ask questions. You are here to learn, if you are
  unsure about something, ask your Supervisor, Lab
  Manager or P.I.
• Dont make assumptions, double check labels, MSDS
  and your instructions before beginning work.
• Good luck and keep safe!

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HSC Safety Office

• Contact the HSC Safety Office with additional
  questions or concerns.
• 293-3968
• 293-6760
• 293-7953
• 293-3968
• 293-7821