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Safety in the laboratory

Everyday, all over the world people work in laboratories are injured and expensive damages are caused by accidents that could have been avoided if the people would have followed safe working practices. This video wants to give advice on how to work safely in a laboratory environment, so that you can avoid unnecessary risks to yourself and others. The work area has to be kept neat and tidy. No eating or drinking is allowed in laboratories. No running, no bags are admitted on the laboratory floors or in corridors.

Protection

Chemicals should always be treated with respect. Do your best to avoid unnecessary contact. Ta protect yourself from chemicals, protect clothing is required. Safety goggles and laboratory coat has to be worn at all time in a laboratory. Wear proper footwear. Shoes must have a solid sole and must close the entire foot. When working with hazards chemicals, in addition, gloves have to be worn. Malce sure that material of the gloves is suitable for the chemicals you are handling, as some chemicals can penetrate unsuitable glove materials easily.

Chemical Hazards: Many chemicals have dangerous characteristics. They may be flammable, explosive, oxidizing, irritant, toxic, corrosive, damaging to the environment. In addition, they may be cancerogenic, mutagenic(诱导突变)，and teratogenic(产生畸形)‘Before you use chemicals, always inform yourself about possible dangers. Besides the name and the hazards symbol, you can find the information about the specific dangers of the chemicals, and also precautions on the labels of the bottle. Many labels contain besides the direct safety information, additional information izz risk phrases (R phrases), and safety phrases {S phrases). Books and information materials of the labor associations provide more detailed information about the specific hazards of chemical. Safety posters attached in the laboratory provide quick access to safety information and precaution measures of often used chemicals. Material safety data sheets are provided by the supplier of your chemicals and the detail information about the chemical and hazard properties of respective chemical also in English language. MSDS and safety guide lines are also available on CD-Rom and online on the Internet. It is important to label any glass or flask you fill, as many hazardous solutions Took just Iike water.

Accidents: Most accidents occur because there is a breakdown in safe work procedures and administrated control. Glassware is sharp when broken. Chemicals can be corrosive or toxic, even a wet floor can cause an accident. Even small accidents can lead to a major disaster. It is therefore important to report all accidents immediately. Cleaning a minor accident immediately avoid any danger for a later accident.

Working with chemicals: To make a laboratory a safe place, safe working practices have to be followed. When heating a liquid in a test-tube, always point the test-tube away from other people. Never fill a pipette with your mouth, use a pipette filler instead. Always fill a burette below

eye-level. If gases have to be smelled, wave them toward your nose. Gas cylinders have to be transported In proper trolleys. Make sure that the safety cap is always firnlly attached when you transport gas cylinders. If a cylinder is too heavy far you to be handled alone, get a 2nd person to assist you. In the laboratory, gas cylinders have to be secured against toggling with a chain. Heavy bottles that have to be handled with both hands may not be stored over head height. Large bottles should be carried in a carrier. If no carrier is available, a plastic baggage may do the job. Experiments that may produce hazardous gases have to be carried out in a fume cupboard. Make sure that hood is closed properly, and sure that the hood is functioning properly. Spills of

chemicals on the bench or the floor have to be cleaned down immediately to avoid accidental contact with a skin. Diluted acids can be further diluted with water. Concentrated acids must be neutralized with NaHC03 before disposing them down the sink. For concentrated bases, neutralize with diluted acid first. Every chemical experiment leaves laboratory waste. Some of these wastes are incompatible to each other, and may leave to vigorous reactions or development toxic fumes. Always inform yourself about the proper way of disposing your chemical wastes. Some waste cannot be disposed to the waste water system. Inform yourself what waste can be disposed down the sink and which ones cannot. Never dispose solvents down to the sink. To reduce the risk of incompatible reactions of waste and to allow easier to dispose waste, waste should be separated already in the laboratory.

Fire Hazards: There are several possible sources for a laboratory fire. The most probable sources are flammable liquids. Flammable&highly flammable liquid can easily be ignited when there is a source of ignition like an open flame, or sparks, or heat sources, and even electrostafiic charges. Sparks may also occur when you plug in electrical devices or turn electrical devices on or ofF Highly volatile solvents evaporate quickly. If the vapors are exposed fio an ignition source, a fire will result, even this source is not near the solvent. So if you work with flammable solvent, make sure there is no source of ignition close by. To avoid the build-up of any flammable vapors, when working with highly flammable solvent, work in the fume cupboard. To heat a flammable liquid, use either a water bath, a steam bath, and oil bath or a heating mantle. In some cases, even very simple measures may be sufficient to avoid a big fre. Before working in a chemical laboratory, make sure you know the location of the nearest fire extinguisher, fire blanket, and emergency exit. Also a bucket of sand can efficiently extinguish a fire. If the fire is too large or beyond contral, ring the f re alarm to warn others. In the case of fire alarm, stop all of your ongoing work, turn off gas and electric devices. Follow the orders of safety personnel and loud speaker messages and leave the laboratory quickly and orderly through the nearest safety exit. In the case of fire alarm, never use electric elevators, use the stairway insfiead. After leaving the building, assemble afi your designated point and wait for further instructions. By this way, it can be verified that every person has left the building. Don't flee the area without authorization.

Safety measures in the case of fire: Clearly mark the emergency exits. Emergency exits may never be locked. Ensure that emergency exists are always kept free from bags and stored equiprnenfi. Attach emergency plans at central locations in the laboratory. Practice correct evacuation procedures in fire growth.

First aid: accidents involving injuries can happen in the laboratory at any time. A first aid box like this is useless. Appropriate first aid boxes contain bandage, sterile dressing in variaus sizes, antiseptic solution, disposable gloves, a pair of scissors and a record book. All accidents have to be recorded in the book. When a cut occurs, first rinse it with plenty of running water. Then clean with antiseptic solution, dry the wound and surrounding skin and cover it with a sterile dressing. If you get burned, rinse it immediately with plenty of water. You should rinse at least for IOmin. If the wound is deep or blistered, consult the doctor. If a liquid gets into your eyes, the eye should be washed immediately with clean running water for at least lOmin. Move the eyeballs so that all chemicals are washed out. The eyes should then be checked by a doctor. Note the nanr}e of the chemical and give it to the doctor. This information will help him to choose the correct treatment. If

chemical spill over your cloth, remove the contaminated cloth immediately and use the nearest

emergency shower, wash chemicals off carefully. To ensure that the water in emergency shower and the eye wash fountain is always clean, the shower and fountain have to be open at regular intervals to remove the old water from the system. Otherwise, bacterial may grow in the pipes and cause damage to the injuries. A chemical laboratory can be a dangerous place. It is in your hands to make it a safer working environment by following the rules and regulations on safe working practices.