General Laboratory Safety

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General Laboratory Safety
Most Common Hazards At The NHMFL

• Chemical
• Heat or cold
• High magnetic fields
• Mechanical
• Electrical
• Radiation
• Biological

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Chemical Safety

• Know The Hazards
• Read Material Safety Data Sheets

• Health hazards
• Physical Hazards
• Spill response
• Proper handling and storage
• Symptoms of exposure and over exposure
• Exposure controls and personal protection
• Physical and chemical properties
• Types of personal protective equipment
• First Aid Measures
• Emergency response and medical concerns
• Firefighting measures

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Chemical Safety

• Know The Hazards
• Look At Labels

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Chemical Safety
Properly Label Chemicals
ALWAYS LABEL YOUR CHEMICALS!
Label clearly, and legibly using the proper
English version of the chemical name.
If you are reusing and re-labelling chemical
containers, be sure to cover up the old label.
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Properly Store Chemicals
Chemical Safety
The top shelf is not a good place to store
chemicals. Chemicals should not be stored above
head. Consider putting gloves and other supplies
on top shelves rather than chemicals.
The floor is not a good place to store chemical
containers.
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Properly Store Chemicals
Best Practices For Chemical Safety
Segregate incompatible chemicals. Acids should
be separated from bases and flammables should be
stored in a flammable storage cabinet.
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Properly Store Chemicals
Chemical Safety
Wheres the top? Chemical containers should not
be left open.
Flammables should be stored inside the flammable
cabinet.
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No Eating Or Drinking In Labs That Contain
Chemicals
Chemical Safety
How about some toxic chemicals with your coffee?
NEVER store chemicals with food (especially toxic
chemicals)!
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Properly Store Chemicals
Chemical Safety
Food and chemicals should never be stored
together. Refrigerators should be food only or
chemical only and should be labeled as such.
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Housekeeping
Chemical Safety
Keep work areas clean and free from potential
hazards. Cleanup spill immediately.
Properly dispose of old or expired chemicals.
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Use Fume Hoods
Chemical Safety

• Handling chemicals with inhalation hazards toxic
  gases or vapors, volatile radioactive materials,
  toxic particles or powders, or compounds of
  unknown toxicity
• Performing operations that may result in toxic
  aerosols
• Carrying out experiments with hazardous
  exothermic reactions
• Handling chemicals with ignitable vapors or with
  significant pressure

Avoid working alone when working with hazardous
chemicals or processes!
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Choose Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE)
Chemical Safety
Wear appropriate attire no sandals or
shorts Wear a lab coat, safety goggles and gloves
for work with hazardous materials Choose the
right PPE for protection against exposure
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Safety Showers and Eyewashes
Chemical Safety

• Know where they are and make sure they are not
  blocked!

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Electrical Safety

• Electrical hazards, while always present at the
  NHMFL, can be minimized. Some of the ways we
  protect against electrical hazards include
• Locking and tagging equipment
• Guarding
• Controlled Access
• Grounding
• Safe work practices

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Electrical Safety
Locking and Tagging Equipment The NHMFL has a
written Lockout / Tagout program entitled "Safety
Clearance Procedure (SP- 1). The purpose of this
program is to isolate sources of electrical
energy from equipment undergoing repair or
maintenance. Personnel who employ lockout/ tagout
procedures are give specific training and must be
approved to repair and maintain electrical
equipment.
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Electrical Safety

• Guarding / Controlled Access
• Live parts of electrical equipment operating at
  50 volts or more must be guarded against
  accidental contact. Guarding of live parts may be
  accomplished by
• Locating equipment in rooms or enclosures
  accessible only to qualified personnel.
• Use of permanent, substantial partitions or
  screens to exclude unqualified persons.
• Locating equipment on a suitable balcony or
  platform elevated and arranged to exclude
  unqualified personnel.
• Elevation of equipment 8 feet or more above the
  floor.
• Posting of warning signs for rooms and other
  guarded locations containing exposed live parts

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Electrical Safety

• Equipment Grounding
• By grounding a tool or electrical system, a low
  resistance path to the earth through a ground
  connection is created. When properly done, this
  path offers sufficiently low resistance and has
  sufficient current carrying capacity to prevent
  the buildup of voltages which may result in a
  dangerous shock. This does not guarantee that no
  one will receive a shock, be injured, or killed
  from grounded equipment. However, it
  substantially reduces the possibilities of such
  accidents.

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Electrical Safety

• Safe Work Practices
• Personnel must operate electrical equipment in
  accordance with the manufacturer's
  recommendations.
• Use of GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter)
  is used in high risk areas such as wet locations
  and construction site.
• Use of appropriate PPE (rubber gloves,
  insulating sleeves, insulating blankets, face
  shields, safety glasses, line-hoses etc).
• Pre-use inspections for portable equipment.
• Inspection of cords regularly. Look for signs of
  stretching, insulation damage, and kinking.
  Don't use if these conditions are evident.
• When using tools which require a third wire
  ground use only three wire extension cords with
  three- pronged, grounding plugs and three hole
  electric outlets. Never cut off the grounding
  plug from a cord! If you see a cord with the
  grounding plug missing, have an electrician
  replace the plug.

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Work Safety