Annual Refresher

Laboratory Users Must….

Read & follow guidelines in the Chemical Hygiene Plan, Hazardous Communication Manual, the MSDS, and Chemical Labels.

That undergraduates cannot work alone on weekends or after-hours

Never pipette by mouth

Wash hand & arms before leaving lab

Tie back long hair

USPSNL has an Occupational Medical Surveillance program to monitor your health over long term. It is a confidential and voluntary program

Chemical Common Sense

Maintain labels on incoming containers

Date the chemical bottles as they come in

Do not remove or deface labels

Replace torn or defaced labels

Label secondary containers immediately, even if it contains just water

Chemical Storage

Store chemicals in compatible groups. Keep acids away from bases, and oxidizers away from solvents.

Separate groups in barriers

Store corrosives below eye level

In laboratory, store only what you will use during the immediate future, limit quantities to 4 liters and under

Chemical Storage

Use secondary containment (plastic trays or bins)

Separate incompatible chemicals

keep oxidizers away from flammables

keep acids away from bases

keep acids away from cyanide salts

The biggest incompatibilities to keep in mind are:

Storage of Corrosive

Storage concerns: Store strong mineral acids separately

from other materials Use secondary containment if a

corrosive storage cabinet isn’t available

Store nitric acid separately Store perchloric acid separately Store organic acids (combustible)

with other organic/flammable liquids

Keep sodium bicarbonate on hand for spills

Oxidizers

Provide a source of oxygen and will initiate or promote combustion

Gases: fluorine, chlorine, ozone, nitrous oxide, oxygen Liquids: hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid, perchloric acid, bromine Solids: nitrites, nitrates, perchlorates, peroxides, chromates,

dichromates, picrates, permanganates, hypochlorites, bromates, iodates, chlorites, chlorates

Oxidizers must be stored separately from other materials

Fire started in a trash can with sodium metal (water reactive) and wet paper towels.

Heat from burning plastic trash transferred into metal storage cabinet under sink. Bottle on right exploded, sheared off tops of other bottles of flammable liquids. Water pipes broke under sink, causing flooding.

Chemical Waste Handling & Disposal

Waste is considered hazardous if it has the characteristics of being: Ignitable, Reactive, Corrosive, and Toxic.

Containers must be clearly labeled “Hazardous Waste” with one of the above characteristic listings on the Cornell EH&S label, stored in a compatible shatterproof container and set in a secondary containment.

Full containers are taken to G-26, never down the drain

Broken glassware must not be placed with regular trash, but in specifically designed boxes to contain broken glass, used razor blades, scalpels, needles, and syringes. See Kathie Moh if need additional boxes.

Chemical Ordering

Before ordering new chemicals you should consult the central chemical inventory maintained by Kathie Moh to see if somebody else have what you need.

Cost disposal of unwanted chemicals as hazardous waste continues to mount each year

Personal Protective Equipment

Routes of Exposure

Inhalation

Absorption through skin

Ingestion, hence the banning of food and drinks in labs

Injection from glass shards, syringes, used razors, etc

Personal Protective Equipment, cont.

All lab users and visitors must wear ANSI approved eye protection when potential of eye injury exist.

Closed toe shoes of non-woven material with non-slip soles

Lab coats with front clasp

Gloves Check chemical-glove compatibility Inspect gloves before use Remove glove and wash hands before

leaving lab

Personal Protective Equipment, cont.

Lab coats and gloves must be removed before leaving the laboratory so not to transfer contaminants to another person or laboratory.

What a spill sees:

Hygiene practices General Rules for Working With Chemicals

Do not wear gloves when answering the phone, adjusting the radio dial, or using a computer used by others

Hazardous chemicals may be carried through the hall with a rubber or plastic bucket

Do not generate dusts when weighing out powdered chemicals

Recap chemical containers promptly when weighing or pouring is completed

Clean up the area around the balance when finished weighing chemicals

Do not contaminate the exterior of chemical containers

Place chemical containers back in storage when finished with a chemical

Know Where are the Emergency Stations

Eyewash station

Emergency Shower

Fire Blanket

Spill Control Kit

First Aid Kit

Fire Extinguisher/ Fire Alarm.

AED Units

Refrigerators & Freezers

Only “explosion proof/ safe” refrigerators and freezers may be used to store flammables

“No Flammable Allowed” on refrigerators/freezers that are not “explosion proof/ safe”

Refrigerator/freezers labeled for “CHEMICAL USE ONLY” or “FOOD USE ONLY” and used accordingly

Interior sound and free of chemicals spills or contamination

Electricity Safety

Electrical apparatus equipped with ground plugs or properly grounded

Two prong appliances not within a 5 foot radius or directly located above flammable or sinks

Extension cords in good conditions (no splices)

Extension cords for temporary use only, not overloaded or longer than 6 feet

Gas Cylinders

Installed and leak tested by trained personnel

Secured in upright position, with cylinder clamp/chain fastened for solid support

Flammable materials stored a minimum of 20 feet from cylinders containing oxidizers

Regulators, proper connections, and tubing in good conditions

Flammable gas tubing secured and labeled

Flame arrester on flammable gas supply.

Gas Cylinders must be properly secured

Good Not Good - chains too low, it could fall onto somebody and break bones and/or valve off

Chemical Fume Hoods

Do not use fume hood for storage, unless specifically for Satellite Accumulation Area

Maintain sash height as or below posted level

Do not stack objects against the baffle or else air velocity will be interrupted

Ideally all doors should be closed to maintain the negative pressure of the laboratory

Waste Minimization

Consider process modification to include product substitution, scale reduction, or bench top process.

Incorporate neutralization, precipitation and drying, or chemical destruction into your procedural protocol

You’re Done! (after you take the quiz) See you next year….

•Or go to the next annual refresher…