Good Laboratory Safety Practices

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Good Laboratory Safety Practices
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Buddy System

• Be Safe! Dont be alone when working with
  hazardous materials or in dangerous work
  conditions. Your life can depend on it!!

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Buddy System

• When performing potentially hazardous/dangerous
  operations always
• Make sure someone is in the laboratory with you
• Notify someone that you are in the lab and what
  time you will check with them when you complete
  your work.
• Check-in with that person if you exceed your time
  estimate or if you leave.

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A Clean Lab is a Happy Lab
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A Cluttered Lab is a Dangerous Lab!
Keep your lab clean!
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Housekeeping

• The Results of Poor housekeeping
• Accidents
• Cluttered counter tops are a good source of
  spills.
• Poorly maintained equipment or apparatus can
  break spilling its contents, damage other
  equipment or flying debris can cause injury.
• Containers and equipment on the floor
• are a trip and spill hazard.

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Housekeeping

• The Results of Poor housekeeping
• Costs you money
• Overstocking or reordering of chemicals due to
  uncontrolled or unmanaged inventory.
• Replacing spilled chemicals or damaged equipment.

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Housekeeping

• The Results of Poor housekeeping
• Contaminates your research
• Poorly washed containers or equipment can lead to
  
• cross contamination.
• Poorly labeled storage
• containers can lead to
• the use of a wrong
• reagent.

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Housekeeping

• Poor housekeeping
• Causes accidents
• Costs you money
• Contaminates your research
• Sets up bad habits for students entering a more
  regulated industrial setting.
• Gets more attention from inspectors.

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Dont Block Access to Electrical Panels, Safety
Showers and Eye Wash Stations
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Dont block doors or Fire Extinguishers
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Unattended Bunsen burner causes bench fire.
Never leave lit Bunsen burners unattended or use
flammable solvents near them.
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Old Equipment Can Be Dangerous
Maintain your Equipment!
Rusty water-bath with exposed wires
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Improper Chemical Storage

• Ether was stored in this domestic style
  refrigerator. Either the thermostat or the
  interior light was the ignition source that
  caused the explosion.
• Flammables have to be stored in a Flammables or
  Explosion proof fridge.

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Read labels before pouring containers
Or this
turns into this.
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Lack of Attention to Details
Heater/stir plate being used to stir only
accidentally was also turned on as hot plate
also!
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Incomplete reaction placed in refrigerator BANG!
See the glass imbedded In the door?
Reaction container was placed into the
refrigerator before the reaction had been
completely quenched. The bottle over pressurized
and exploded.
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Do Not Store Consumables with Chemicals!
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Proper Equipment Usage

• There needs to be a written Standard Operating
  Procedure for all equipment.
• Everyone should be properly trained before using
  any equipment.
• Improperly used or maintained equipment can be
  dangerous to your health or can result in
  expensive damages.
• Fires are common result with inappropriate
  equipment usage.

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Centrifuges- An Example of Improper Usage and
Maintenance
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Hazards

• Mechanical failure of rotating parts (often
  violent).
• Contact with rotating parts.
• Sample leaks causing aerosols, stress corrosion,
  contamination.
• Sample imbalance causing machine movement /
  walking (or stress failure of component parts).
• Fire or explosion.
• Health (contact with contaminated components /
  vapors).
• Ergonomics/lifting

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Rotor Failure
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Rotor Failure
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Rotor Failure
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Contained Rotor Failure
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Dancing Centrifuge
This can be caused by an improperly balanced
rotor.
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Remember Good Practices

• Never work alone.
• Commit to good housekeeping
• Do not block access to doors, electrical or
  emergency equipment
• Store chemicals and wastes properly
• Maintain equipment

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The End
12/2/14