Department of Chemical & Biomolecular EngineeringUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD, 20742 05/25/2012
Research safety refresherJ M Patterson Building Room # 1216
advised by: Dr. Dongxia Liu
Laleh Emdadi
Safety presentation25 May 2012
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OutlineUCLA chemistry graduate student lab accident, death
Responsibilities of the PI, safety officer, researchers
Sources of information
General laboratory safety
Chemical storage
Chemical waste management
Emergency response procedures
Hydrofluoric acid safety
Additional specific topics related to Liu Group lab
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UCLA research assistant died from injuriesSeriously burned in a laboratory fire
Not wearing a lab coat, was wearing gloves and safety glasses
Did not use the safety shower, flames smothered by a post-doc using a lab coat
Occurred on Dec. 29th, 2008 during the UCLA holiday shutdown
Sustained burns over 43% of her body, died 18 days later
THE IMPORTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH SAFETY IS VITAL TO BEST LABORATORY PRACTICES
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Responsibilities of the PIPrimary objectives:Ensuring that potential hazards of an experiment have been identified
Enforcing university safety policies and safe work practices
Investigate laboratory accidents (paperwork necessary)
Ensure every employee is suitably trained in laboratory safety measures
Conducting periodic audits of the research space
Performance measured by:
Keeping documentation of safety training
Keeping documentation of laboratory audits under the PI’s control
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Responsibilities of the researcherPrimary objectives:Assuring that potential hazards of specific projects have been identified and addressed before work is started
Attending safety training sessions
Following safety guidelines applicable to the procedures being carried out
Reporting hazardous conditions as they are discovered
Ensuring fellow researchers are complying with safety measures
Performance measured by:Assessment of employee’s adherence to topics covered in safety trainingboth individual adherence and ensuring group adherence
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University lab safety planThe Department of Environmental Safety (DES) has prepared a university-wide document concerning lab safety:
http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/index.html
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Chemical hygiene plan
New lab employees may register for classroom training at:https://www.des.umd.edu/apps/TrainingClass/index.cfm
An online Chemical Hygiene training course is also available to UM laboratory Employees at the following web site:
https://des.umd.edu/TrainingClass/index.cfm
A pdf file of chemical hygiene plan is available at:
http://www.des.umd.edu/os/ch/chp.pdf
New laboratory employees should complete the Chemical HygieneTraining Program for Laboratory Workers and Hazardous waste generator (Chemical waste generator) from the DES website:
https://www.des.umd.edu/risk_comm/edu/training.cfm
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Laboratory Safety Guide and ReferencesThe Laboratory Safety Guide is a separate document prepared and distributed by the Department of Environmental Safety which is available online at: http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/index.html
http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/labguide/lg.pdf
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Laboratory Safety Guide and ReferencesRecommended reference sources concerning safe operations inlaboratories include:
CRC Handbook of Laboratory SafetyCRC Press, Inc.
Guide for Safety in the Chemical Laboratory
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company
Improving Safety in the Chemical LaboratoryJohn Wiley and Sons
Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
National Academy Press
Safe Storage of Laboratory ChemicalsJohn Wiley and Sons
Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories
American Chemical Society
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Sources of information: PELsPermissible Exposure Limits
Appendix B of the OSHA includes exposure monitoring information:
http://www.des.umd.edu/os/index.html
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http://www.des.umd.edu/apps/chemlists/acute.cfm
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Sources of information: PELsSpecific chemicals having a high degree of acute toxicity:
Information is available on this webpage:
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Medical Consultation and Examination
Employees who work with hazardous chemicals in the laboratory should be referred for medical consultation, examination, and/or surveillance (as appropriate to the circumstances).
The University has established procedures for responding to job-related injuries. These procedures should be followed in the event of hazardous exposure due to the use of hazardous chemicals in the laboratory.
Instructions and forms for reporting injuries and chemical exposures are available through the DES web page: http://www.des.umd.edu/risk_comm/wcomp/
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Sources of information: MSDS
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Available online through links from the DES website.
Hard copies of MSDS for many laboratory chemicals are also available in our lab.
http://www.des.umd.edu
You can ask DES to provide you the MSDS of the chemical that you use.Telephone: 301-405-3960
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General lab safety: Common senseWear goggles and a lab coat whenever you are in the lab, use gloves around chemicals and powders.
Do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes, “short pants and skirts are not permitted...long pants should be worn to cover skin.”
If your work bench is messy or dirty, clean it.
Do not open a door with a gloved hand.
Label unattended bottles, use overnight reaction sheets when necessary.
No sharps or broken glasses (or glass containers) in the regular garbage can. We have special box (or trash can) to collect them.
Do not eat or leave food anywhere in the lab, including in the garbage.
Strongly discouraged from wearing headphones in the lab.
Do not pour any chemicals in lab sinks.
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General lab safety: Centrifuge1. Do not fill your tubes at more than 80% capacity (<40 mL for regular conical tubes), balance loads
with Δm < 0.2g2. Make sure that lids are tightly closed3. After taking your samples out, inspect the sleeves for any leaked fluid and clean with water4. With solvents, make sure you have the proper centrifuge tubes in terms of material and RPM
rating
Residue around basinClean the liners!
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Chemical storage: Room 1216 J M Patterson Building
Chemicals should be stored in the proper cabinets
NOT ON YOUR BENCH, IN YOUR DRAWERS, OR IN THE FUME HOOD
- Acids and bases (you should never put acids and bases in a same cabinet!)
- Solvents/organic liquids (Flammable)- Solids
We have different cabinets for:
- Waste acids and bases (we collect them and return them to DES to recycle)
SolidsWaste Acids AcidsOrganic liquids
(Flammable) Bases Waste Bases
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Chemical storage: Room 1216 J M Patterson Building
Chemicals should be stored in the proper cabinets
NOT ON YOUR BENCH, IN YOUR DRAWERS, OR IN THE FUME HOOD
Please if you buy new chemicals for your research project, label the bottle with your name and the date .
Do not put the chemicals directly in the cabinets. All the chemicals should be placed in a plastic tray first.
Plastic tray
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Liu Group exit procedures
When leaving the group (either as an undergraduate, graduate, post-doc, or visitor), you must do the following:
1) Dispose of all remaining hazardous waste bottles
2) Dispose of or give your remaining chemicals to a group member
3) Clean out your lab drawers
4) Place glassware in common glassware shelves
5) Dispose of or give your remaining valuable samples to a group member
6) Courtesy: if there is an instrument or technique you alone are trained on
and it may prove useful, please train a group member
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UM Hazardous Waste Green Tag
Before the Department of Environmental Safety (DES) can pick up your
hazardous waste, an UM Hazardous Waste green tag must be attached
to each container. These tags are available at cost from Chemistry
Stores.
Chemical waste management
You Have to Write the Full Chemical Name on This Green Tag.
Do Not Abbreviate the Name of the Chemical. Moreover, You Should Write the Volume Percentage of Each Chemical on This Tag.
Example: Instead of writing H2O, you should write water. You should write Methyl MethAcrylate instead of MMA.
Green Tag
Chemical waste managementYou can request chemical waste pickup by filling the request form:
http://www.des.umd.edu (choose Regulated Waste Pickup Request)
Enter the full chemical name and its volume percentage (use green tag) here
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Emergency Telephone Numbers UM Emergency (FIRE - POLICE - RESCUE) - 24 hour # 911
CALL IMMEDIATELY FOR ANY EMERGENCY INCLUDING INJURED OR SICK PERSON, CHEMICAL SPILL OR FIRE Environmental Safety (Main Office) (301) 405-3960 (Industrial Hygiene, Hazardous Waste Management, Fire Protection, Hazard Communication, Safety Education) Chemical Hygiene Officer (301) 405-3980 (Program Consultation and Administration) Biological Safety (301) 405-3960 (Biological Safety, Regulated Pathogen Consultation) Radiation Safety (301) 405-3985 (Health Physics, Radioactive Materials Procurement) University Health Center Occupational Health (301) 314-8172 (Medical Consultation and Evaluation) Workers' Compensation Office (301) 405-5466 Facilities Management Work Control (301) 405-2222 (Repair of Facility Equipment Deficiencies, e.g., fume hoods, emergency eyewashes, ventilation, etc.) Laboratory Supervisor(s):
Business-hours # After-hours #
Dongxia Liu (301)405-3522 (419)378-0753
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Emergency response procedures
Evacuate: leave the area, alert others in the area
Remove contaminated clothing, use safety shower or eye wash
Confine: close doors and isolate the area
Report: Call DES (or 911 in an after-hours emergency), contact the safety officer and the PI
Secure: Block off the area until response personnel arrive
In the event that you need to seek medical attention, within 24hr you MUST fill out a worker compensation
form with the PI
REPORT ALL ACCIDENTS TO THE SAFETY OFFICER AND THE PI
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Emergency response procedures
The showers need to be checked regularly for performance
First aid kitSafety shower
Eye washFire extinguisher
Emergency Response Guide
MSDS
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Hydrofluoric acid safetyExtremely corrosive to all tissues of the body
Burns from dilute (< 50%) solutions do not become apparent until several hours after exposure
Undissociated HF penetrates the skin, fluoride ions then cause destruction of soft tissues and decalcification of the bones
Vapors can cause severe burns to the eyes, leading to blindness
Fatal if inhaled or ingested
Precautions: rubber gloves, smock, face shield, safety glasses, lab coat
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Additional topics: sonicationContinuous use of the sonicator heats the water well above room temp, possibly harming experiment reproducibility for others that wish to use it
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Additional topics: quenching autoclaves
Do not obstruct the drain, possibility of flooding the lab
Mind the proper alignment of the basin
Do not leave the water running unattended while quenching the autoclaves
Wipe off the autoclaves with a paper towel as they are removed from the water
When done, remove water from the basin and return to where it was retrieved
If your samples are quenching for a long time, move bucket away from sink area
INCORRECT CORRECT
Long axis Long axis
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Additional topics: empty cylinders
Always use a cart to transport cylinders, no matter how empty
Push back against the holder and fasten to hold in place
Empty cylinders should be labeled “Empty” and transported back to the shed
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Additional topics: Lab etiquette
Don’t take items from lab drawers without the approval of the owner
it may be vital to their research
Don’t make a mess of a bench area that is not yours
Don’t deplete someone’s chemical without alerting them that it is running low
Replenish common lab supplies as they run out: paper towels, parafilm, etc.
Lower the sash on the fume hoods
If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP
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Additional topics: Research hours
Researchers are strongly encouraged to prioritize research so that work with hazardous chemical, biological, or physical agents occurs only during working hours (8am-5pm, M-F).
After-hours work (on nights and weekends) should be restricted to non-hazardous activities such as data analysis and report writing. If hazardous materials must be used at night or on weekends, ensure that at least one other person is within sight and ear-shot to provide help in an emergency.
Undergraduate workers are prohibited from working alone in the laboratory unless there is a review and formal approval by the department’s RSO and/or safety committee and/or advisor.”
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Conclusion: safety is a group issueIF YOU SEE SOMETHING IN THE LAB THAT IS NOT CORRECT, PLEASE SHOW INITIATIVE IN GETTING IT CORRECTED!
Measuring performance:
Follow protocol for waste disposal
Keep your area, fume hoods, and equipment clean
Always wear goggles and a lab coat in the lab and gloves when necessary
Proceed with caution when using HF
USE COMMON SENSE
Everyone needs to help when it comes to safest practices
Questions?
