PS10 - Introduction to Laboratory Safety

PS10 - Introduction to Laboratory Safety General Safety Considerations A chemistry lab can be a dangerous place to work. There are flammable solvents, toxic and corrosive chemicals, electrical equipment, delicate glassware, and more. The potential for injury from these dangers can be minimized if you are aware of and follow proper safety procedures. The most important safety precaution you can take is to come to lab completely prepared, and to think about what you are doing every step of the way. The most dangerous thing in a lab is an unprepared student trying to carry out a procedure he or she does not understand. Many of our laboratory safety guidelines are described below. You should also closely read the ACS Student Safety Guidelines posted on the website. Any members of the teaching staff and laboratory management are authorized to deduct points or remove you from the laboratory without a warning if you fail to follow any of these guidelines. More details on policy enforcement follow this section. All approved personal protective equipment (PPE) for the organic laboratory is detailed in the sections below. In general, it is never permissible to tamper with or modify PPE from the form in which it is acquired or given to you. Any deviation from the PPE requirements as detailed below are subject to approval by the Departmental Safety Officer and Director of Undergraduate Laboratories. Eye protection You must bring your safety goggles with you every time you come to the laboratory. They must be worn from the second you walk in until the second you leave, even if you are not doing chemistry. There are absolutely no exceptions. If you forget your safety goggles, a pair will be provided to you if available, otherwise you will not be permitted in the laboratory. The American Chemical Society has determined that only safety goggles, not safety glasses, provide adequate protection for students in a chemistry teaching laboratory. Please remember that you MAY NOT modify the goggles in any way, as this would compromise the protection they provide this includes stuffing paper towels, or any other objects, into the goggles while you are wearing them. Do not write or draw on your goggles this could obscure or compromise your field of vision and result in accident or injury. Repeated failure to wear safety goggles will result in permanent dismissal from the lab, necessitating a formal petition to the course instructor and Director of Undergraduate Laboratories for readmittance. The American Chemical Society has also determined that contact lenses, when worn in conjunction with safety goggles, are permissible in a chemistry laboratory. We have adopted their recommendation as our policy. Should you get something in your eyes while wearing contacts, remove them immediately before using the eye wash, and make sure to tell your TF or medical personnel that you were wearing contacts at the time of exposure. Clothing You must wear proper attire to lab. This means no shorts or shoes that expose ANY part of the foot or leg are permitted in the laboratory. You will be immediately sent home to change if you

attempt to enter the lab wearing shorts, capri pants, short dresses or skirts, sandals, flip-flops, ballerina flats, Toms, boat shoes, etc. you will also receive a safety/clean-up point penalty to your grade for that lab. You will not receive a warning before incurring this penalty. The best way to comply with lab policy and protect yourself is to ALWAYS wear long pants (a sturdy pair of jeans is best) and sneakers or boots that cover the entire foot and ankle. The possibility of ruining your clothing exists, so do not wear clothes you cannot live without. Most damage to clothing shows up only after you ve washed it, so don t take it out on the machine! If you have long hair, tie it back. Lab Coats You must wear one of the provided lab coats over your clothing at all times while working in the lab. Neither gloves nor lab coats should ever be worn outside the laboratory they are considered to be contaminated! Do NOT roll up your sleeves while wearing a lab coat. If you feel you need to roll up your sleeves to work comfortably, return your coat to the rack and pick out a smaller size to wear! Gloves You must wear gloves whenever you are working in the lab. You will find latex-free disposable nitrile gloves (S, M, L, XL) on the white shelves. They are only designed to protect you from splashes and other incidental contact with chemicals. Strong acids, strong bases, and organic solvents will penetrate quickly through these gloves, so you should not continue to wear a pair of gloves if you have spilled anything on them. Even if you haven t spilled anything on them, you should change gloves periodically since they will tend to pick up traces of chemicals when you handle reagent bottles, glassware, and equipment. Changing gloves periodically will prevent you from spreading these chemicals onto your lab book and everything else you touch. Never rub your eyes or touch your face while you are wearing gloves. NEVER use cell phones (especially smartphones) or laptops while wearing gloves! The CCB teaching labs adheres to a no-music policy, meaning that you cannot be playing music from any device at any time during the lab session. This ensures a nondistracting lab environment where instructions and safety information can be communicated effectively at all times. Using cell phones while wearing gloves, as well as use of laptops or playing music in the laboratory, are considered violations of laboratory policy and safety, and will be penalized as such. We will not provide warnings. There are thick rubber gloves available that will give you more chemical protection than the nitrile ones. These gloves can resist even concentrated acids and bases for a time. They are a bit awkward to work with and are usually only used when working with strong acids or bases, especially nasty chemicals, and any other time your TF instructs you to do so. Even though the gloves are resistant, you should wash them off if anything spills on them. Ask your TF where you can find these gloves if necessary. You may wish to wear a pair of the nitrile gloves underneath the rubber gloves for greater protection and comfort. In rare instances, the nitrile gloves may irritate your skin. Let your TF know if this happens. You should wash your hands several times while in lab, especially just before leaving.

Fume Hood Safety and Energy Conservation Fume hoods protect lab workers from inhaling chemicals by constantly pulling air into the hood and exhausting it out of the building. However, they will only protect you if operated properly. A lowered sash provides much greater protection against contamination or injury. Because they constantly pull air from the room when their sashes are open, fume hoods use an enormous amount of energy. A single open fume hood can use as much energy in a year as 3.5 houses! By simply closing the sash when you are not using the hood, you can reduce energy consumption by 60%, or about $3000+ a year. Here are the basic instructions: Use the fume hood for all chemical manipulations. Keep everything at least 6 inches back from the hood face. Don t lean into the hood or put your head into it when contaminants are present. Try to keep the sash lower than the level of the yellow arrow sticker. The lower the sash, the greater the protection and energy savings. Close the sash entirely when you have finished with your work. The Campus Energy Reduction Program, a part of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, is working hard to reduce energy consumption in FAS labs. You can help by keeping the sash down as much as possible. Food and Drink It is very important to eat before coming to lab. You ll be on your feet for up to three hours, and without providing energy for your body, you may become tired and/or light-headed. Food or drink in the laboratory is prohibited. Smoking is not allowed in the Science Center, especially in the laboratory. If you start to feel ill during lab and think some food or a drink may be the remedy, let your TF know and you may go grab a quick snack. Chemicals If you spill anything on your skin, immediately begin to wash the area with lots of water and soap for 10-15 minutes, and have your labmate notify your TF. If you spill a chemical in your hood or on the floor, tell your TF, who will help you clean it up. If you spill a large amount of chemicals or a particularly dangerous chemical on your body and/or your clothes (i.e., if the chemical soaks through your lab coat), you will need to use a safety shower. Get your TF s attention however you can, and proceed directly to a safety shower, remove all affected clothing (trust us, modesty should be the last thing on your mind if you ever need the safety shower), and pull the chain. The TFs will direct other students attention away from you and provide a fresh lab coat for you when the rinsing is done. Wash your hands thoroughly before you leave the lab. There is soap at each sink for this purpose. Constantly washing your hands and wearing gloves can take a toll on your skin, so we provide hand cream on the white shelves as well. Nothing else should ever go down the sink! Keep the lab clean. If everyone cleans up after themselves, the lab will be safer for everyone and easier to work in. The TFs are authorized to assign students to clean up certain areas of the lab. Dispose of all chemical waste only in the appropriate waste containers.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available for every chemical that you will be using in the lab. They can be accessed online at http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/msds. MSDS give toxicity details, safe handling protocols, and information on what to do in case of exposure. In general, it is often difficult to ascertain how harmful chemicals actually are. Always err on the side of caution. Your exposure is well under the suggested limits if you use safety procedures. A note about chemical warning labels: it is an unfortunate fact that, in order to protect themselves in case of lawsuits, chemical companies have sometimes become a bit overzealous when labeling chemicals. For example, the warning label on sand states: Chronic inhalation hazard. Overexposure may cause lung damage. Suspect cancer hazard. May cause cancer. It also suggests you wear protective eyewear, hand protection, and standard lab clothing when handling sand. Imagine how that would feel on the beach! So what should you believe? Use your head, and, as stated before, err on the side of caution. If you have any questions about the chemicals with which you are working, ask your TF or the Head TF. The lab was designed and the procedures were written so that your contact with hazardous chemicals is minimized. You simply cannot do chemistry without chemicals! You can, however, think about what you are doing to stay safe. Glassware Be aware of the dangers of handling glassware. Careless handling of glassware is a major cause of laboratory accidents. When using glassware, always follow these safety rules: Never use glassware that is broken, cracked, or chipped. Examine all your glassware closely before using it. Glassware that is cracked should be disposed of in the appropriate glass disposal container. Glassware that is chipped should be given to your TF for polishing. Beware of hot glass. Glass cools very slowly, and hot glass looks exactly like cold glass. Be especially careful when connecting pieces of glassware together and taking them apart. Don t force anything. If you can t get two pieces of glassware together or apart, ask your TF for help. Injuries If you are injured, no matter how small the injury, tell your TF. In the case of minor injuries (small cuts, minor burns, splinters, stuck by a needle, etc.), first aid can be given on-site with our laboratory first-aid kits. In the case of anything worse than a minor injury, you will be escorted to UHS by a TF or HUPD officer. Never leave for treatment without notifying your TF! After treatment of any injury or exposure, you will be asked if you wish to continue that day. You will not be penalized if you are unable to finish during that session, even if it s because you simply feel unwell or uncomfortable returning to the bench. Contact the Head Lab TF to make other arrangements in that case.

Fires and Serious Chemical Spills The dangers from fire and spills can be minimized and effectively handled by observing the following procedures: Think! Safe laboratory practices should prevent most fires and spills. If a fire does occur, immediately step away from it and notify a TF. Most fires occur inside of a fume hood and will burn themselves out on their own. The TFs are trained to use a fire extinguisher if it is necessary. Do not try to be a hero -- you are not responsible for putting out any fires. There is a fire alarm on the wall outside the main entrance if a fire should get out of hand. Notify your TF of all spills. Small spills are easily contained, and your TF help you to deal with them. If the spill looks large or is of something particularly nasty, notify your TF immediately and move away from the area. Evacuation If the fire alarm goes off, immediately turn off all electric devices, walk to the main doors to the lab and exit to the right and down the stairs. When you reach the first floor, exit the Science Center and move away from the building. The Head TF will inform you if a different evacuation route is necessary. If any TF tells you to get out of the lab or a certain area, do it! The meeting point for PS10 lab students is in front of the Peabody Music Building. Violations of Safety & Laboratory Policy All Harvard laboratories are subject to unannounced safety audits at any time, conducted by any member of the teaching staff, laboratory supervisory staff, and members of environmental health and safety agencies. Anyone in the labs teaching staff or student who is found to be in violation of Harvard s laboratory safety policies at any time will be penalized on the spot with no warning. The undergraduate teaching laboratories follow a simple three-step escalation for any students who do not adhere to safety regulations and laboratory policies in general, as follows: A first offense will garner a verbal warning, and loss of one or both personal safety/clean-up points for that experiment. The course will follow up with a written warning in the case of particularly serious offenses. A second offense will result in immediate dismissal from the lab, as well as a final written warning of exclusion from the course (see Handbook for Students, Exclusion from a Course). All points for that week s pre-lab quiz and safety/clean-up will be lost. The student may petition to be allowed to make up the lab on a case-by-case basis. Subsequent offenses will result in dismissal from the course, necessitating a formal petition to the Director of Undergraduate Laboratories for readmittance to the course.

Safety Equipment Know where the nearest safety equipment is at all times; you never know when you or your neighbor will need it. In case of any incident, notify a TF immediately. First Aid Kits There are two first aid kits: one on the wall right near the main entrance and another by the exit to the general chemistry laboratory (Science Center 212). In these you will find bandages, burn ointments, pain relievers, antacids, antibiotic creams, eye drops, etc. You may use any of the provided supplies, but please notify your TF that you are doing so. If any of the supplies has run out, bring it to the attention of the Head Lab TF so that they can be restocked. Eye Washes There are emergency eye washes along both the front and back walls of the room, as well as to the left of the center bench hoods. If you get a chemical in your eyes, hold your head such that your eyes are fully immersed in the streams of water and blink continuously for 10-15 minutes. If you notice that your labmate has gotten something in their eyes, calmly escort them to the eye wash and help them rinse out their eyes. It is not the end of the world if you need to use the eye wash; if you feel a burning sensation in your eyes, you may want to give them a rinse for a few minutes just to be safe. If you are wearing contact lenses, you must remove them before using the eye wash to minimize further injury. If you need to use the eye wash, then a subsequent trip to UHS to have your eyes examined is necessary as well. Safety Showers Safety showers are located in three places along the back wall of the lab, directly opposite three of the eye washes, as well as to the left of the center bench hoods. To operate, pull the handle down. The showers put out a massive deluge of really cold water, so be prepared. Immediately strip off any contaminated clothing while under the shower. Don t be modest, be safe. The showers are not self-locking, so you ll have to pull the handle down every 20 seconds or so. Fire Blankets Fire blankets are located in three places along the front wall of the room. If someone s clothing or hair is on fire, either douse them with water under a safety shower, or wrap them in a fire blanket and roll them around on the floor. Electrical Disconnect Never touch or strike a person in contact with a live electrical circuit! Disconnect the power first by pressing one of the Emergency Electrical Disconnect red buttons located along the front, back, and right-hand walls. Know where they are located and which will shut off power to your particular section. Fire Extinguishers Fire extinguishers are located along the front wall and are also attached to the sides of the rows of benches that face the front/back wall. In case of fire, notify a TF immediately. The TFs are trained to use fire extinguishers should it become necessary.

Spill Control Kits Any chemical spills, regardless of size, should be reported to your TF and the Head TF immediately. They will supervise the clean-up, or evacuate the lab and obtain professional assistance if deemed necessary. Large spills of relatively non-volatile or non-toxic chemicals can be contained using the absorbent pillows and spill kits, which are located throughout the lab, but never attempt to clean up a spill on your own without consulting your TF and the Head TF. Fire Alarm A fire alarm is located on the wall just outside the entrance to the lab. It is there for a reason should you ever need to pull it, you should already be on your way out of the lab! Operations Center Telephone A telephone that automatically connects to the Operations Center is located just to the left of the entrance to the lab. The Harvard University Operations Center is a communications, dispatch, and response center providing 24-hour, 365-day Standard and Emergency Response Services to the Harvard community. Regular phone calls cannot be made from this phone. The Operations Center can be called to dispatch police, fire, ambulance, and facilities maintenance personnel. The TFs will be the only ones who use this phone; however, you should be aware of its function.

Disposing of Chemical Waste Massachusetts and Federal law require Harvard to adhere to strict regulations for the identification, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes. Operations that do not meet regulatory requirements can result in substantial penalties, including fines of up to $27,500 per day, per violation. You as a student are the most important element of our laboratory s hazardous waste management system. Proper handling of waste will keep you, your colleagues, and the environment safe. Adhere to the following guidelines and always ask a TF when you have a question regarding the disposal of waste in the laboratory. There are no dumb questions where lab safety is concerned!!! Organic chemicals, including acetone, never get poured down the sink! Regular Trash Paper towels, paper, disposable gloves, tissues, etc. that are not contaminated with organic chemicals can be disposed of in the regular trash barrels at the end of each row of benches. NEVER dispose of chemicals, anything contaminated with chemicals, or anything made of glass in the trash cans! Glass Disposal Boxes All disposable glass, broken or unbroken, should be disposed of in the blue and white cardboard Glass Disposal Boxes at the end of each row of benches. These boxes help prevent the Science Center staff from getting cut when disposing of broken glass. Only glass that is clean and has been rinsed of all chemicals can be disposed of in these boxes. Pipets, glass scintillation vials, test tubes, glass bottles, TLC plates, broken thermometers, and any other broken laboratory glassware are the most common items to be disposed of this way. Rubber pipet bulbs are obviously not made of glass and should not be disposed of in here (in reality, they should not be thrown away at all they are reusable!) These boxes are not trash cans and should not be treated as such! Buckets for Chemical Waste There is a waste hood specifically dedicated to PS10 Lab that contains 5-gallon containers for chemical waste. Dispose of any chemical waste you generate only in the appropriately labeled containers. The procedure for each lab contains a section detailing how to properly dispose of the waste generated for that particular experiment. Always ask your TF if you have any questions!

TF Name: Student Name: Lab Safety Assessment Complete this lab safety assessment and hand it to your TF as you enter the lab. 1. Please provide one sentence on the importance of safety goggles and when they should be worn. 2. When should you eat and/or drink in the lab? 3. Describe proper attire for lab, including footwear and hair. 4. What should you do if you spill something on your skin or clothes? Please include time frame and location of device in your lab. 5. What should you do if you splash something into your eyes? Please include time frame and location of device in your lab. 6. What should you do if you break glassware? 7. What should you do if you cut yourself? (Be able to point out where the First Aid Kit is in your lab.) 8. When should you alert your TF of a spill, breakage, fire, or any other emergency? 9. When should you perform work in the fume hood? 10. What should you do in case of a small fire? In case of a lab-wide fire? (Be able to point out the location of fire extinguishers and fire exits in your lab.) 11. Chemicals for the day s lab are usually placed in a central location for every one s use. If you take too much, what should you do with the excess? 12. Where should you put chemical waste at the end of lab? 13. What should you do immediately before leaving lab? 14. When should you wear gloves? When should you change gloves?