Laboratory and Chemical Safety

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Laboratory and Chemical Safety

• Part One

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Laboratory and Chemical Safety

• Sheharbano Sheri Sangji, a 23-year-old
  University of California at Los Angeles staff
  research assistant, died in 2008 after suffering
  massive second- and third-degree burns when a
  chemical she was handling caught fire.
• a state agency fined the university nearly
  32,000.
• The charges alleged that the regents and the
  professor violated state codes mandating employee
  training on handling of hazardous chemicals
  Sangii was wearing a synthetic sweater, not a
  protective lab coat, which caught fire and melted
  when the syringe she was using to transfer
  t-butyl lithium fell apart. The professor faced
  up to 4 1/2 years in prison, and UCLA faced a
  possible fine of up to 1.5 million for each of
  the three counts.
• Half of the felony charges were dropped when the
  University of California regents agreed to follow
  comprehensive safety measures and endow a
  500,000 scholarship in her name.

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Harran plea bargain (June 20)
-must acknowledge and accept responsibility for
lab conditions -make no public statements denying
responsibility -adhere to state employee safety
standards -cooperate with state worker safety
agency -pay 10,000 to Grossman Burn
Center -create and teach a chemistry course for
South Central Scholars -speak to UCLA chemistry
and biological sciences undergraduate students
about importance of lab safety -five years or
back to trial -is not well received
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The hood at UCLA
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Texas Tech

• On January 7, 2010, there was an explosion in a
  chemistry lab at Texas Tech. Nobody was killed,
  but a graduate student was seriously injured.
• Two graduate students were working on creating
  derivatives of nickel hydrazine perchlorate, an
  explosive. They made 10 grams of the substance,
  100 times more than their professor considered
  safe. (The professor instructed them to not make
  more than 100 mg) One of the students decided to
  crush the substance with a mortar and pestle
  prior to analysis.
• The crystals exploded under friction and the
  student suffered burns and lost three fingers.

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Texas Tech Lab
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Dartmouth University

• Karen Wetterhahn died after receiving a toxic
  dose of dimethylmercury, even though she was
  following proper safety precautions.
• The LD50 of dimethylmercury is 50 micrograms per
  kilogram of body weight, which means a 130-pound
  woman (59 kg) could be killed by about 3 mg of
  the substance. Wetterhahn accidentally got a few
  drops of dimethylmercury on her glove-covered
  hand. The chemical seeped through, touched her
  skin and entered her body. A few months later,
  she began to experience symptoms of mercury
  poisoning, such as trouble with balance, as well
  as impaired speech, vision and hearing. She then
  slipped into a coma and died, becoming the fourth
  laboratory victim of dimethylmercury.
• Two in 1865 and one in 1972.

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Marburg

• In 1967, 31 workers at a laboratory in Marburg,
  Germany began suffering from an array of
  horrifying symptoms fever, diarrhea, vomiting,
  and massive bleeding from a variety of internal
  organs. Seven of the workers would eventually
  succumb to their illnesses.
• After an extensive investigation, scientists
  identified the source of the outbreak, a pair of
  grivet monkeys imported from Uganda for polio
  research. The primates were carrying a shocking,
  never-before-seen virus, which later was named
  Marburg for the city in which it was discovered.
• Marburg surfaces, kills, then disappears. It
  spreads by contact with bodily fluids like blood,
  urine, or saliva. To date, the worst outbreak
  occurred in Angola in 2005. 252 cases were
  reported, 90 of which resulted in fatalities.
• There is no known cure.

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Why is it important to study safety?

• No one wants to be in an accident.
• Each year numerous people are injured or killed
  in lab accidents.
• Numerous government agencies lay down new rules
  that effect safety each year.
• There has been an increase in lawsuits involving
  accidents.
• We need to take measures to prevent accidents.

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• Each person in an undergraduate general chemistry
  lab enters with different experiences from their
  high schools. Some have little to no lab
  experience. You must learn to evaluate the
  hazards and learn risk management.
• We have no way of knowing if you are in the
  knowledgeable group or the other.

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What does safety involve

• Chemical we will need to know the hazards
  associated with each chemical that we use.
• Personal how can we protect ourselves from
  accidents by our own behavior
• Physical what are the hazards in the room
  concerning the layout and equipment
• Group each person is responsible for all others
  in the lab

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RAMP (Hill and Finster)

• Recognize
• Assess
• Minimize
• Prepare

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How do we respond

• What type of accident? - chemical or physical?
• What caused the accident?
• Was the accident a result of ignoring rules,
  inadequate rules, or an unexpected occurrence?
• Did we respond correctly? (Post accident
  investigation)
• What does the government say we should do
  should have done?

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• What should you do to prevent an accident?
• -Recognize where an accident might occur and be
  prepared to prevent the accident.
• -Read the experiment before lab, spot areas
  where you think an accident might occur, and
  think about what you will do to prevent it.

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• Know location of exits

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Know the location of fire extinguishers and
broken glass boxes.
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Know the location of safety showers, eye-wash
fountains, and deluge hoses.
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Know the location of SDSs for the chemicals used
in the experiment you are about to do.
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Store backpacks and coats out of the way.
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Clean the area each day
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What else should you do to prevent an accident?

• Be aware of what steps in the experiment need to
  be done in the fume hoods.
• Do not perform unauthorized experiments.
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment
  and clothing.
• Know the location of the first aid kit.
• Dont assume that an accident cannot happen.
• Keep your mind on the experiment. Do not use
  iPods or other devices with ear phones which keep
  you from hearing instructions. Turn off your cell
  phone and do not use it during class or lab.
• Report all accidents to the professor. The
  accident report sheets can be obtained from the
  professor, the stockroom, or the safety Officer.
• Report all unsafe conditions to the professor or
  to the Safety Officer.

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Government Regulations - OSHA

• OSHA Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration.
• Laboratory worker protection from exposure to
  hazardous chemicals.
• Respiratory protection.
• Emergency Response Plan for
• Chemical spills cleanup and containment
• Gas cylinders
• Fires, floods, earthquake, power outages.
• Physical injuries burns, cuts, ingestion, eyes,
  skin, etc.
• Assurance of a workplace free from recognized
  hazards. (general duty clause)

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RCRA

• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
  was enacted by Congress in 1976 to protect human
  health and the environment from the potential
  hazards of waste disposal, to reduce the amount
  of waste generated, and to ensure that wastes are
  managed in an environmentally sound manner.
• Congress amended RCRA in 1984 with the Hazardous
  and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to require
  facilities that have hazardous wastes to clean up
  environmental contaminants at their sites
  regardless of the time of the release.

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CERCLA

• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),
  Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December
  11, 1980.
• Created a tax on the chemical and petroleum
  industries and provided broad Federal authority
  to respond directly to releases or threatened
  releases of hazardous substances that may
  endanger public health or the environment.
• Established prohibitions and requirements
  concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste
  sites provided for liability of persons
  responsible for releases of hazardous waste at
  these sites and established a trust fund to
  provide for cleanup when no responsible party
  could be identified.

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The law authorizes two kinds of response
actions Short-term removals, where actions may
be taken to address releases or threatened
releases requiring prompt response. Long-term
remedial response actions, that permanently and
significantly reduce the dangers associated with
releases or threats of releases of hazardous
substances that are serious, but not immediately
life threatening. These actions can be conducted
only at sites listed on EPA's National Priorities
List (NPL). Current list 51 proposed sites, 1318
final sites, and 383 deleted sites. In Virginia,
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Superfund Sites in Virginia Current 31 active,
4 closed
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• The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
  (SARA) amended the Comprehensive Environmental
  Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
  (CERCLA) on October 17, 1986. SARA also required
  EPA to revise the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to
  ensure that it accurately assessed the relative
  degree of risk to human health and the
  environment posed by uncontrolled hazardous waste
  sites that may be placed on the National
  Priorities List (NPL).
• The Emergency Planning and Community
  Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 (EPCRA) was
  created to help communities plan for emergencies
  involving hazardous substances. The Community
  Right-to-Know provisions help increase the
  public's knowledge and access to information on
  chemicals at individual facilities, their uses,
  and releases into the environment.

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• NFPA National Fire Protection Association
  (diamond).
• TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act gave the EPA
  the right to track and screen industrial
  chemicals.
• CAA and CWA Clean Air Act (1990) and Clean
  Water Act (1976)
• HMTA Hazardous Materials Transportation Act.
• EPA Environmental Protection Agency. Most of
  these acts and legislations are controlled by the
  EPA.
• GHS Globally Harmonized System

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WHY!

• Any time we deal with chemical or physical
  hazards - a chemical laboratory, a biological
  laboratory, a photography studio, a cleaning
  business, a school, a building contractor, or a
  house painter will have to deal with some or
  all of these governmental agencies.

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Safety Terminology

• SDS Safety Data Sheet
• Toxic hazardous to health when breathed,
  swallowed, or in contact with the skin
• PEL Permissible exposure limit. (regulatory
  limits)
• LD50, LC50 lethal dose or concentration that
  kills 50 of a population
• LDLo, LCLo lowest published lethal dose or
  concentration
• RQ Reportable quantities
• OEL Occupational exposure limit

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• Carcinogen (causes cancer)
• Mutagen (genetic mutations)
• Teratogen (birth defects)
• Lachrymator (tears)
• Corrosive (visible destruction of living tissue
  or certain destruction of iron in a certain time)
• Peroxide former (forms potentially explosive
  -R-O-O-R bonds)

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Personal Protective Equipment

• Clothing cover the skin!
• -No shorts or skirts (blue jeans!)
• -No exposed midriff
• -No tights or leotards
• Shoes closed, no sandals. Leather shoes are
  best, tennis shoes ok.
• For the eyes no contact lenses (unless you
  notify the lab instructor). Safety goggles must
  meet ANSI Z-87 standards. Face shields are used
  in high splash areas.
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

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Personal Protective Equipment

• Lab coats, aprons can be purchased. These cover
  the body and can afford best protection.
• Jewelry Any jewelry can react with the
• chemicals in the lab. Rings can allow
  chemicals to be trapped next to the skin. It is
  strongly recommended that you remove all
  jewelry before working in the lab.
• Gloves are available whenever needed or
  desired.

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Laboratory Dress Code

• Shoes, not sandals or open shoes, are required in
  the lab at all times.
• Shorts or skirts will not be worn.
• Leotards are not appropriate leg cover.
• Shirts that expose your midriff are not permitted
  in the lab.
• Goggles are required in the lab at all times.

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Penalties!

• First time you will go home and can come back
  properly dressed. You will not be given
  additional lab time.
• Second time a zero for the lab (no chance for
  makeup).
• Third time you will be dropped from the course.

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• Laboratory Dress Code Sign-off Sheet
•  Laboratory safety is of paramount importance.
  You will follow the rules listed below for
  appropriate dress in the laboratory.
•  
• Lab Dress Code
•  Shoes, not sandals or open shoes, are required
  in the lab at all times.
• Due to the probable spillage of water and the
  floor becoming slippery, rubber soled shoes, such
  as tennis shoes, are best.
•  
• Shorts, leotards, or skirts will not be worn.
  They will not keep solutions from splattering on
  your legs. Blue jeans may the best type of lab
  wear.
•  

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Belly-button policy Shirts that expose your
midriff are not permitted in lab. The bench top
is near your waist level, so spills there will be
common. A buttoned lab coat covering the midriff
is acceptable.   Safety goggles are required at
all times in the lab. If you are wearing contact
lenses in the lab, you must notify the instructor
in case of an accident. Prescription glasses are
acceptable with safety goggles.   Penalties  Firs
t violation - you will be sent back to your
dormitory or house to make the necessary changes
to come under compliance.  Second violation
you will receive a zero for that experiment.
Third violation you will receive a zero for the
lab course (automatic failure) and dropped.   
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Laboratory Dress
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Improper Laboratory Dress
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Additional notes
It is important that each student be aware of all
activities that are going on in the lab at all
times. 1- You are not allowed to use any device
in lab with earphones. 2- You must silence your
phones or put them on vibrate mode. You will not
make any calls, take pictures, text, or connect
with any other social media while in the lab.
Special circumstances are up to the professor.
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Personal Hygiene

• How can you tell that a person is a chemist?
• They wash their hands before and after using the
  bathroom.
• Must take specific care not to touch your face,
  eyes, etc. Whenever you feel a chemical on your
  skin wash IMMEDIATELY with tepid or cool water,
  NOT hot. A general rule of thumb is to wash 5
  minutes for every minute of exposure.

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Handling chemical bottles

• Read the label of the bottle to be certain you
  have the correct chemical and you know the
  hazards. NH3 is NOT nitric acid.
• Hold the bottle with you hand covering the label.
  Pour the sample.
• This keeps the solution from dripping down the
  bottle and ruining the label.
• Replace the lid and place the bottle where you
  found it.

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Handling of Glassware

• Glassware
• Hot metal and glassware

• Glassware
• Hot metal and glassware
• Beaker tongs crucible tongs
  test-tube holder

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Signing the Dress Code

• You are now required to sign and print your name
  on the dress code sheet. This sheet will be
  placed in the lab as a reminder that you have
  agreed to these policies.