Section C:  Safe Work Practices in Laboratories

1.  General Principles

• Know the hazards involved with all chemicals you will be working with before starting work in the laboratory.
• Know the types of protective equipment available and use the proper type for each job.
• Know the location of and how to use the emergency equipment in the lab in which you are working.
• All persons, including visitors should wear proper personal protection, wherever chemicals are stored or used.
• Avoid consuming food or beverages in areas where chemicals are being used or stored.
• No smoking in laboratories or in areas where chemicals are stored.
• Avoid hazards to the environment by following accepted waste disposal procedures.
• All chemicals must be correctly and clearly labeled.
• Avoid distracting or startling any other worker. Practical jokes or horseplay cannot be tolerated at any time.

2.  Health and Hygiene

• The proper eye protection is required for everyone entering a chemical work area.
• Know the types of protective equipment available and use the proper type for each job.
• Splash goggles are required whenever a splash hazard exist. Safety glasses are only suitable in situations where physical hazards exist. Proper eye protection is required whenever working with UV light. The use of lasers requires special eye protection.
• Closed-toe shoes, preferably leather, that cover the entire foot are required for everyone entering a lab. Shoes with high heels or made with woven material do not provide adequate protection. Open toe shoes and sandals are not acceptable.
• Gloves are chemical specific. Gloves suitable for one chemical may not be adequate in protecting against another. When working with a highly toxic substance be sure you are using the proper gloves.
• Lab coats and aprons are available for employees. Heavy duty aprons are available when using concentrated acids and bases.
• Confine long hair and loose clothing when in the laboratory.
• Do not taste any chemical and always use the proper technique when smelling a chemical.
• Avoid unnecessary exposure to chemicals by any route (inhalation, absorption, or ingestion)
• Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after working in the lab.

3.  Food in the Laboratory

• Contamination of food and drinking materials is a potential route for exposure to toxic substances. Food should be stored, handled, and consumed in an area free of hazardous materials.
• No food should be stored or consumed in any laboratory.
• Glassware or utensils that have been used for laboratory operations should never be used to prepare or consume food or beverages.

4.  Labeling Procedures

• All chemicals will have their manufacturer's original container warning label about hazards and should be labeled with the date of receipt and the date of initial opening.
• For smaller working amounts of chemicals that are transferred to secondary containers, those containers must be properly labeled including any health hazards. The container must be labeled with:
• The contents of the container i.e. the common name of the chemical. Chemical formulas and structural formulas are not acceptable except for small quantities of compounds synthesized in the laboratory.
• Date of transfer
• Physical and health hazards (labels available in SIMS 107 and 306)
• Indicate the strength or concentration of the substance where applicable
• Faculty member’s name is needed if the chemical is being used for research and not class use.
• These labeling requirements do not apply to portable containers intended for the immediate use by the employee or student performing the transfer and to students assigned unknown chemicals for analysis.

5.  Waste Disposal Procedures

• Container Management:

• Containers used to accumulate waste must be in good condition (no severe rusting or apparent structural defects)
• Use a container of appropriate size with a screw caped lid.  Containers with glass stoppers or corks are not acceptable.
• The container used to store waste must be compatible with the waste.
• A container that begins to leak must have its contents immediately transferred to another container or the leaking container can be packed into another suitable container.
• The contents of the waste must be clearly marked on the container.
• For hazardous waste, the words "hazardous waste" must be clearly marked on the container.
• Waste containers must remain closed except when it is necessary to add waste to the container.
• When disposing of chemicals, keep each different class of chemicals in a separate clearly labeled disposal container.
• Do not completely fill a waste container.

• Accumulation Points:

• Waste will be stored in the chemical storage building until it is picked up and removed from campus.
• Disposal of waste from campus must occur every 180 days or 270 days if the waste is being transported to a facility more than 200 miles away.
• The Office of Environmental Health and Safety is responsible for the removal of waste from campus.
• Accumulation points must be inspected weekly.  Areas where containers are stored must be inspected for leaks and deterioration caused by corrosion or other factors.  Inspection records must be maintained on site for at least three years from the date of inspection.
• An inventory of all waste stored in the chemical storage building must be maintained.
• All hazardous waste containers must have a yellow hazardous waste label on the bottle before being transported to the chemical storage building.

• Satellite Accumulation point

• The satellite accumulation point must be under the control of the operator of the process that generates the waste.
• All containers of hazardous waste stored in a satellite accumulation point must be labeled with the words “Hazardous Waste” and the contents of the waste.
• All satellite accumulation points must be identified as such.
• Containers must be in good condition
• Waste cannot be transported from one satellite accumulation point to another.
• Container holding hazardous waste must always be kept closed during accumulation except when it is necessary to add or remove waste.
• No single satellite accumulation point may hold more than 55 gallons of hazardous waste or more than 1 quart of acute hazardous waste at any one time.

• Employee Responsibilities:

• The faculty member in charge of the lab generating the waste is responsible for properly labeling the waste with a University hazardous waste label and then notifying the laboratory chemist that they have waste that needs to be disposed. The laboratory chemist will then inventory the waste and transport it to the proper waste accumulation point in the chemical storage building.
• Faculty must ensure that research students properly label and dispose of waste.
• Faculty must ensure that all waste has been removed form their laboratories at the end of each semester.

• Training Requirements

• All employees must be thoroughly familiar with waste handling and emergency procedures relevant to their responsibilities.
• New employees that work with hazardous waste must be trained within 6 months.
• All employees must take part in an annual review of the training program.

• General Waste Information

• Broken thermometers may contain mercury in the fragment and should be disposed of in a glass container designated for broken thermometers.
• Never put chemicals down the drain unless they are neutralized and allowed by local regulations, i.e. neutralized chromic acid contains chromium, a health hazard, which must be disposed of as a hazardous waste.

• Labeling Requirements

All waste must have a preprinted University waste label on it before waste is transported to the accumulation point.  The following information must be added to the label:

o Generator

o Department

o Phone number (office number for generator)

o Room number and building

o Contents: The name of the chemical/s (do not use formulas or abbreviations) and percentages

o The health or physical hazards

o The date the waste was moved to the accumulation area (i.e. the storage building outside)

6.  Special Safety Considerations

Centrifuges

· For tabletop centrifuges, make sure that they are properly securely and anchored in a location where vibration will not cause bottles or equipment to fall.

· Never leave the centrifuge until full operating speed has been obtained and the machine appears to be running safely without vibration.

· If a vibration occurs, stop the centrifuge immediately and check the counter-balance load. Check swing-out buckets for clearance and support.

· Regularly clean rotors with noncorrosive cleaning solutions.

· For larger centrifuges, ensure regularly schedule maintenance has been performed and has been recorded in the logbook.

Cold Room

· General Cold Room Procedures

o Keep the time working in the cold room to a minimum. If prolonged periods of time must be spent in the cold room, please wear appropriate PPE (gloves, hat, jacket, etc.)

o Do not place any objects outside the cold room door. This could prevent the door from opening and trapping someone inside.

o The cold room floors are metal and will conduct electricity. Use extreme caution when working with electrical equipment. Use rubber-insulating mats on the floor to avoid shocks.

o During normal working hours, students must either enter the cold room with someone else, or there must be other people in the biochemistry 303 suite. If there is no one in the biochemistry area, the student must find another faculty member on the floor and inform them that they are entering the room.

o Students are not allowed to enter the cold room after hours alone.

o Turn the light to the cold room off when you exit the room. The light is connected to a sign in the hallway informing others that the room is in use.

· Emergency Procedures

o If an alarm sounds, leave the room immediately and call Facilities Management at 323-2261.