Safe Personal Laboratory Habits
1. Eye protection must be worn at all times.
2. Food/drink is not allowed in laboratories where chemicals are ud/ stored.
smoking in the laboratory.
3. No
4. Lab coats must be worn while handling corrosive, toxic, or flammable
materials. Gloves must be worn when necessary, especially when handling corrosives, toxic and dangerously reactive materials.
5. Do not work alone.
6. Do not mouth pipet.
7. If you e a colleague doing something dangerous, point it out to him or her.
8. Know where safety equipment (eyewash, shower and extinguisher) is
located.
9. Always read MSDS before handling new chemicals.
10. Know how to clean up spills of common chemicals and specific chemicals
you e. Be familiar with the locations and contents of spill carts (See Chapter 11) and how to u it.
11. Always wash your hands after handling chemicals and before eating.
12. Short skirts, shorts, and open shoes must not be worn.
13. Lab coats must not be worn outside laboratories and in public areas.
14. Avoid wearing a walkman or other portable music devices while working in
the lab.
1. Eye Protection
Adequate eye protection is required for all individuals in the laboratory. Do not remove your eye protection until you have physically left the lab room. The following types of eye protection are acceptable.
•Protective glass and face shields that cover corrective prescription lens are commercially available and/or from Chemistry Stores.
•Normal prescription eyeglass, either with or without safety side shields as long as the glass are shatterproof and cover a large enough area surrounding your eye (this usually means that the frames must be a minimum of 2 inches (5 cm) from top to bottom as well as from side to side). NOTE: check size restrictions with your supervisor/instructor. U safety glass with side shields that have been approved by the CSA.
•Where exposure to toxic or irritating fumes could be a problem, the best form of eye protection is safety goggles. Safety goggles that will form a tight al to your face.
•Contact lens can be a hazard and sometimes should not be worn in the lab.
Therefore contact lens wearers have three options in the labs:
a) remove the contact lens before entering the lab and wear safety glass
or safety goggles.
b) replace the contact lens with prescription glass
c) wear the contact lens into the lab under a pair of safety goggles but you
must inform your supervisor/ instructor about it.
• A full-face shield is highly recommended when there is a risk of explosion or splashing, or with combustion and high temperature reactions.
2. Gloves
Depending on the procedure to be carried out, different types of gloves must be available in the laboratory. The gloves should “fit” the chemical. Asbestos gloves should not be ud. If any are found, they should be replaced.
•Gloves are made from a variety of materials which vary in their impermeability and wear-resistance.
•Disposable gloves are made of PVC, latex, nitrile, and combinations of the aforementioned. The gloves are for general u and have low abrasion resistance.
•More resistant, impermeable, reusable gloves are made from butyl rubber, nitrile, or neoprene.
•Rubber: good chemical resistance, low abrasion resistance;
•Neoprene: almost impermeable to regular solvents, fairly abrasion resistant;•Nitrile: highly resistant, maximum protection from liquids.
•Multicomposite gloves are available for special work involving high or low temperatures or special procedures.
•For more information on gloves resistance e the glove chart.
web.chem.ucla.edu/~mour/General/labzone/130AL/ndex/ndex2.html
3. Lab aprons or lab coats
The strength and impermeability of aprons depends on the materials ud. The materials are also ud for gloves, and their characteristics are described in 2.
•Aprons should be fire-resistant, chemical-resistant, and easily washed.•Flammable fabrics should be avoided.
Lab coats should be made of strong fabric and must be able to be removed quickly in ca of accident. They must be long enough to protect the legs. Lab coats expod to harmful chemicals should not be worn in public areas.
4. Footwear
•Substantial shoes must be worn and should cover the entire foot.
•Open-toed shoes and sandals must not be worn in the laboratory.
•Safety shoes or foot guards may be required under certain circumstances (e.g., when moving compresd gas cylinders – foot guards are available in cylinder storage area).
•When cleaning up floor spills wear plastic foot covers available on all spill carts.
5. Respirators
Respirators ud at the University of British Columbia must provide effective protection against airborne contaminants which may be prent. U of respirators should be considered to control exposure only after engineering and administrative controls have been considered. The types of controls include ventilation (e.g. fume hoods), enclosing the process, substitution of less hazardous products, rescheduling of work procedures, etc. Urs are responsible for:
1. Obtaining proper certification for respirator u by H.S.&E.
2. Using the respirator in accordance with training instructions
3. Being properly fit-tested for a respirator
and storing the respirator
disinfecting,
4. Cleaning,
5. Reporting any respirator malfunction to their supervisor
The following cartridges are available for u with half-mask and full-face respirators. Select the appropriate cartridge according to the chart below. Consult with H.S.&E. for situations not listed. Always ensure that the cartridges ud are appropriate for the types of hazardous vapour prent.
Cartridge Type Colour Examples of Us Organic vapour and acid gas Yellow Rooftop entry/lab procedures/spills Organic vapour only Black Solvents/Paints
Dusts, particulate, and aerosols Purple Toxic dusts/infectious
aerosols/asbestos welding fumes Ammonia/amines Green Ammonia Spill
Acid Gas Grey Acid gas/chlorine/sulfur dioxide
PERSONNEL MUST BE CERTIFIED BY HS&E PRIOR TO RESPIRATOR USE. When fitting a new respirator, try on veral brands and sizes. Different brands will fit slightly differently on your face. Respirator manufacturers usually have small, medium, and large face-pieces available. Adjust the straps so that the respirator fits tightly, but does not dig into your face or leave red marks on your skin. The respirator should feel snug, yet comfortable.
1. Remove respirator, cartridges, and filters from plastic bags.
Check to e that gasket is in cartridge holder before screwing in
cartridges. Inrt filter into retainer caps and snap onto cartridge
holder or cartridges.
2. The cartridge holders are keyed to assure their correct
positioning and maintain the proper balance of the device. Make
sure they are properly positioned and ated.
3. Place respirator on face with narrow end over no and bottom
under chin. First attach top headband around crown of head
and then bottom around neck. Adjust headbands until a tight but
comfortable fit is obtained.
4. TEST FOR TIGHTNESS: Place the palm of the hand or thumb
over the valve guard and press lightly. Exhale to cau a slight
pressure inside face piece. If no air escapes, respirator is
properly fitted. If air escapes, readjust respirator and test again.
There are two simple checks to test the al. The are called
the positive and negative pressure fit-checks. The tests must
be done EVERY TIME the respirator is put on (e overleaf).
5. FILTERS: (a) REPLACE when breathing becomes difficult, INSERT new filters
INTO retainer cap and replace cap. Generally the filter discs should be changed after eight hours of dusty exposure. (b) CHEMICAL CARTRIDGES should be replaced when the ns detect ANY abnormal condition, assuming that levels of detection by the ns do not constitute a health hazard.
6. MAINTENANCE: The respirator face piece should be cleaned daily to prevent
skin irritation and for general sanitary purpos. First remove filters and cartridges. Then the face piece may be washed with a hand brush using a good detergent in warm water, rinsing, and air drying in a clean place. Some compounds considered to be suitable for disinfecting are: (1) a hypoc
hlorite solution (50 parts per million of chlorine; immersion time: 2 minutes) (2) an aqueous solution of iodine (50 ppm iodine; immersion time: 2 minutes) (3) a quaternary ammonium solution (200 ppm quaternary ammonium compounds
