Occupational health and safety in the laboratory Ronald Maheux Technical coordinator Slideshow (version August 2015) 1
Plan of the presentation General rules Procedures Chemicals Waste management Find the errors? 2 2
General rules Laboratory Biosafety Manual Read the Laboratory Biosafety Manual available on the CRCHU de Québec services website : http://services.crchudequebec.ca/services/sstprevention/m anuels-de-securite/ Other manuals available Biorisks Radioprotection Animal Housing Facility Everybody must comply with standards, policies and regulations 3 3
General rules In the laboratories, it is mandatory to 4 4
General rules But it is forbidden to 5 5
General rules Also, at all times... Bermuda shorts, skirts, dresses, sandals or flipflops, naked legs or feet, even during the summer. Outdoors boots Jewelry and watches 6 6
General rules Labs are not locker-rooms! 7 7
General rules The laboratory, a hazardous place Handling of chemical, biological and radioactive compounds Absorption through the skin and respiratory tract Utilization of potentially hazardous instruments or devices Procedures that are potentially hazardous to you and to others Therefore, you must protect yourself! 8 8
General rules Individual Protection Equipments Clothes (>80% cotton) covering the whole body Lab coat (>80% cotton if one uses a burner or if risk of flames) Safety goggles and faceguard Soft contact lenses (not rigid) with safety goggles Adequate gloves Closed shoes 9 9
General rules Individual Protection Equipments (summary) Mandatory equipment Lab coats Safety goggle Closed shoes When doing manipulations: Appropriate gloves 10 10
General rules Lab Coat Wearing The lab coat must be fastened closed, preferably with snaps Sleeves must not be rolled up Must be worn in manipulation areas and when transporting hazardous materials between two sectors Wearing is optional in circulation areas Do not put lab coats away in a locker Use lab coat hooks before crossing to a different area In all cases, use your common sense 11 11
General rules Lab Coat Types There are 4 types of lab coats : Chemical lab coats Biological lab coats with a blue identification mark or biologidal protection clothing Animal house lab coats which are worn over animal house clothing Disposable lab coats, etc. 12 12
General rules Safety Goggle Wearing Mandatory use in manipulation areas: they protect from projections, vapours and moving objects Optional use in circulation areas Always kept clean and to be changed periodically Must be worn directly or over your glasses (more resistant material) Safety goggles adjusted to your vision are available through Université Laval ($200) Always use your common sense 13 13
General rules Manipulation areas and circulation areas in the laboratory 14 14
General rules Other protection Respirators (Policies are being written) Ear plugs or ear protectors/muffs 15 15
General rules Disposable and non-disposable lab gloves Provide protection against : Chemicals Radioactivity Biologicals Cold or heat Physical hazards (cuts, pricks, etc.) Do they provide an absolute protection? A single type for all uses? Frequency of changes? 16 16
General rules Gloves phone receivers cell phones MP3 player buttons door knobs faucets elevator buttons Never wear gloves outside the laboratory Caution! Gloves don t mingle well with: 17 17
General rules Hand washing 18 18
General rules Glassware rinsing Rinse dirty glassware well before putting it in the wash trays 19 19
General rules Bottle labeling Bottles on lab benches must be properly LABELED Even bottles containing pure H 2 O Watch for labels peeling off Remove labels before washing Avery special labels that dissolve in water Product s name, concentration, owner, date of opening or of manufacturing 20 20
General rules Labeling of vacuum mount systems Must be labeled Implosion hazard Distillation flasks without cracks (watch for stellate cracks) Always use specially designed glassware for vacuum distillation Surround glassware with electrician adhesive tape or insulation netting This applies also to lyophilizers! 21 21
General rules Shared equipments Laboratory microwave ovens and refrigerators 22 22
General rules Shared equipments Balances and ph-meters 23 23
General rules Centrifuges, ultracentrifuges and rotors Rotors : Never use a broken rotor Make sure that its content is well balanced When possible, use unbreakable test tubes Avoid filling up centrifuge tubes up to the lid Use proper stoppers Keep a log book for each rotor Don t exceed the maximum allowable speed of the rotor Don t stop the rotor with your hands Centrifuges : Close the centrifuge well before using Wait for the rotor to stop by itself before opening the centrifuge Complete the log book entry Clean the rotor and centrifuge after use 24 24
General rules A centrifuge blows up at Cornell University in 1999 (NY) 25 25
Presentation contents General rules Procedures Chemicals Waste management Find the errors? 26 26
Procedures How to prevent cuts? Do not attempt to catch a falling object Collect broken glass with a brush and a dust pan, then throw all this away into a «Glass Fisherbrand» bin. Also discard glassware that is either cracked or has a broken tip into that bin. 27 27
Procedures The use of burners Gas pipe must be adequate, in good condition and must be inserted deeply Light up quickly at the base of the burner flame tip Flame must be adjusted in 2 ways, i.e. the gas flow rate and the air inlet opening Remove any flammable object around and over the burner Hot plate may be very hot, be careful Caution! The hottest part of the flame is the tip of the blue cone 28 28
Procedures Needle handling Never let a tip exposed to open air Do not bend Discard into BIORISQUES bins NEVER IN A PLASTIC THRASH BAG 29 29
Procedures What to do in the event that you prick yourself? Make the prick bleed a little (only a few drops) Wash with water and soft soap (do not brush or use) Rinse with water Report all pricking events to the person in charge for your sector Never put back the inner needle cap back on the needle tip - NEVER AND UNDER NO CONSIDERATION(S) 30 30
Procedures Pipette handling Never PIPET with one s mouth Never point a pipette towards yourself or somebody else To insert a pipette teat, apply pressure near the teat-pipette junction 31 31
Procedures Rules for fume hood utilization Mainly used for working with aerosols and chemical vapors Keep only the essential materials inside the hood Set up all materials well inside the hood Keep the sash door closed as much as possible (shoulder level) in front of you (as a protective screen) Work at 15 cm from the edge; do not insert your head inside Close the sash door completely after use Specially labeled hoods: For radioisotopes For other specific uses 32 32
Procedures Explosion inside a fume hood 33 33
Procedures Ventilation or odor problem with the hood? Is the hood ventilation functional? (Normal flow rate: 100 cfm or 60 cfm at rest) Is the sash door fully closed? Are drains dry? (Circulate water regularly) 34 34
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Presentation contents General rules Procedures Chemicals Waste management Find the errors? 36 36
Chemicals Chemicals Do you know how to work with chemicals? 37 37
Chemicals Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS/SIMDUT in French) Note the WHMIS/SIMDUT pictograms on the labels Material Safety Data Sheets See: CSST website Scientific literature («The Merck Index», an essential classic) Other information available on the chemicals companies websites WHMIS/SIMDUT Training (by Mario Boucher) A single online training is required, but knowledge should be refreshed ideally every 3 to 5 yrs or when the person feels a need for it 38 38
Chemicals Compound Label and Datasheet (MSDS) Label : 1. Product identification 2. Name of the distributing company 3. Reference to the MSDS 4. Hazard pictograms 5. Fire or explosion risks 6. Preventives measures 7. First AID Material Safety Datasheet (MSDS) : Physicochemical properties E.g. melting and boiling points, vapor pressure, etc. Reactivity Toxicological properties Cancerogenicity, mutagenicity, etc. 39 39
Chemicals Ethidium Bromide Known carcinogen UV inspection after cleaning Circumscribe the potentially contaminated area To eliminate its use in CRCHU de Québec and to replace it with a non-toxic substitute 40 40
Chemicals Ethidium Bromide (circumscribed area) Use in circumscribed area, red tape and white Clearly identified waste 41 41
Chemicals Secure cylinders at the top 2/3 with a chain Compressed gas Move cylinders using handcarts always with the valve caps on Never roll or pull gas cylinders Never let the cylinders fall on the floor or rattle against each other Store, handle and use only if fastened vertically Put valve caps back onto the cylinder valves when not in use (whether tanks are full or empty) Carefully inspect all connections for leaks (use the bubble test) Handle empty cylinders in a similar fashion Sort out and then label empty and full (or not empty) cylinders Use the appropriate regulator for each gas. No teflon or adapter. 42 42
Chemicals Liquid N 2 transport Using a large-wheeled trolley, through the basement corridors and transporting only one container at a time At all times and for all container sizes, never circulate using stairs Use elevators identified to be suitable for that purpose 43 43
Chemicals Chemicals storage As a function of each product, the appropriate storage protocol must be used : Sort out acids and bases Organic solvents or volatiles into ventilated yellow cabinets Products that go under fume hoods Solid chemicals into closed cabinets Very toxic chemicals must be stored in a locked cabinet, Highly reactive compounds: far from water and heat sources 44 44
Chemicals Chemicals storage (ct d) No «high-rise» storage of products to places : maximal height at eye level Check WHMIS/SIMDUT datasheets for incompatibilities between reagents Improper classication, dirtiness, spills, presence of incongruous objects, etc. Use adequate and well-fitting caps (do not hold bottles by the lid) Flammable liquid storage vaults 45 45
Chemicals Transport of chemicals using an elevator Use a dedicated elevator or lift, if available A dedicated container or trolley must be used Lab coat must be worn It is forbidden to share an elevator with a person transporting hazardous materials Ex.: CHUL Block R Elevator #13; Block T Goods lift (#16) 46 46
Presentation contents General rules Procedures Chemicals Waste management Cherchez l erreur? 47 47
Waste management Chemical waste collection Chemical wastes Annual collection LabPack in June Form to be filled out Management and ecological disposal of liquid waste Organic and inorganic acids, bases and aqueous solutions (cans under the hood, next into barrels into the solvents vault) Halogenated and non-halogenated solvents (F, Cl, Br and I) (cans under the hood, next into barrels into the solvents vault) Ethidium bromide (can into barrels into the solvents vault) Oils and other products (specific disposal methods, on a caseby-case basis) DO NOT THROW WASTES DOWN THE SINK 48 48
Waste management Wastes in specific containers Halogenated and nonhalogenated solvents, organic and inorganic acids and bases in the fume hood Ethidium bromide 49 49
Waste management How to dispose of an empty bottle? Unscrew it and let the solvent residue evaporate in the fume hood Rinse with tap water Put in a box to be identified as «Glass bottle(s)» For broken glass, use the Fisher «Glass» bin instead 50 50
Waste management Biological wastes Solid biological wastes, syringes and needles in containers and appropriate bags (to be incinerated) Liquid biological wastes Liquid biological wastes and hazardous solids, into special containers to be heated or incinerated Management by a person from CHU de Québec Housekeeping Services Always consider human or animal tissues as potentially infectious 51 51
Waste management Radioactive wastes Solid wastes, per isotope, in bags or specific labeled translucent containers Liquid wastes in well-identified cans Scintillation vials with scintillator into a labeled barrel Long-term storage vaults Management by the person in charge of radioprotection in your sector 52 52
Presentation contents General rules Procedures Chemicals Waste management Find the errors? 53 53
Find the errors! Examples of frequent errors found in various laboratories (CSST) 54 54
Cluttered hood, used for storage Access to showers Find the errors! No goggles, no gloves, opened lab coat, pulled up sleeves, jewelry Coffee!!! Poor pouring technique No fire extinguisher on the wall 55 55
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Whom to call? CHUL 1- Emergency measures au 5555 2- Security Services at 42117 3- Technical Services via INTERAL or at 44000 or room J00-60 4- IT Services via Intranet or at 66200 5- Telecommunications via Intranet or at 12345 6- GBM Service via INTERAL 57 57
Whom to call? HDQ 1- Emergency measures au 5555 2- Security Services at 15062 3- Technical Services via INTERAL or at 15000 4- IT Services via Intranet or at 66200 5- Telecommunications via Intranet or at 12345 6- GBM Service via INTERAL 58 58
Whom to call? HEJ 1- Emergency measures au 5555 2- Security Services at 65891 3- Technical Services via INTERAL or at 66000 4- IT Services via Intranet or at 66200, 61675 (CMDGT) 5- Telecommunications via Intranet orat 12345 6- GBM Service via INTERAL 59 59
Whom to call? HSFA 1- Emergency measures au 5555 2- Security Services at 53404 3- Technical Services via INTERAL or at 53000 4- IT Services via Intranet or at 66200 5- Telecommunications via Intranet or at 12345 6- GBM Service via INTERAL 60 60
Whom to call? HSS 1- Emergency measures au 5555 2- Security Services at 87616 3- Technical Services via INTERAL or at 89000 4- IT Services via Intranet or at 66200, 87391 (ex-uresp) 5- Telecommunications via Intranet or at 12345 6- GBM Service via INTERAL 61 61
Your information source : «Gestion technique» Service http://services.crchudequebec.ca/services/gestiontechnique/ 62 62