GENERAL LABORATORY SAFETY

1.3 GENERAL LABORATORY SAFETY
1.3.1 Background
It should be noted that the safety rules contained herein   are guidelines only. Any individual engaged in laboratory work or activities must recognize that there are biological hazards, chemical hazards or radiation hazards, all of which are categories of risk the laboratory worker may be susceptible to. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that any statutory safety regulations or codes of practice are observed and that adequate information relating to the hazards is available.
1.3.2 Responsibility
The basic accountability lies with the Head of Laboratory Unit. He may in turn delegate responsibilities. However, it must be unequivocally clear that safety is everybody’s responsibility. The Unit Heads must alert co-workers on the possible hazards, their prevention, suitable waste disposal methods, the consequences of an accident, and the actions to take in case of an accident.
All employees and students are required to learn and understand the properties of the chemicals they work with as well as the operational features of laboratory equipment and to follow all precautions applicable to each task. In case of any sudden damage or injury, the employee and student should act to protect themselves and others in the area. He or she should also report to the supervisor immediately on any unsafe or hazardous conditions in their work area.
1.3.3. General Laboratory Safety
1.3.3.1 Emergency Planning
There is the need to be acquainted with the layout of the building and the location of emergency exits, emergency exit routes applicable to a particular laboratory, emergency telephones, fire–fighting equipment and how it works, emergency shower, and first aid equipment.

1.3.3.2 Corridors and Entrance
All corridors, doorways, especially emergency exits, stairs are always kept free from obstruction. These include trolleys and portable equipment, delivered stores etc. Likewise, fire blankets, showers and extinguishers must be kept clear of other equipment.
Care was exercised when opening and closing doors when entering or leaving the laboratoryand one should never run in thelaboratory or long corridors.
It is also important for you to know the position of the main laboratory controls for electricity, gas and water and see that they are free from obstructions.
1.4 LABORATORY HYGIENE
• Appropriate personal protections were used and hands regularly washed when working with chemical regents, especially before any meals.
• Food and drink should were not stored or prepared in laboratories, or chemical storerooms.
• Smoking in laboratories was strictly prohibited.
• Always use pipette fillers or measuring cylinder, never use mouth to pipette reagents
• Wearing of contact lenses in the laboratory was strongly discouraged.

1.5 BASIC LABORATORY PRECAUTIONS AND GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING FOR RESEARCH ROOMS
• Appropriate personal protective equipment was worn when you are working in the laboratory and remove them before leaving the laboratory.
• All work benches must be kept clean at all time and particularly free from chemicals and unnecessary apparatus.
• It is recommended to clean up work area after each experiment. Any apparatus which may have been contaminated with harmful chemicals should be rinsed before being left for final cleaning. Rinse should be containerized and/or neutralized as required. To protect the washing – up room staff, any apparatus containing dangerous chemicals must be rinsed thoroughly before being sent for further cleaning.
• All water supply gas and light were turned off, and doors locked if you are the last person to leave the laboratory.

1.6 GENERAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
1.6.1 Fume cupboards
• Experiments involving the use of toxic chemicals were carried out in fume cupboards as far as possible. Suitable respiratory protection should always be on hand. In particular, wear eye protection, wear protective gloves, and clean up both the work area and equipment thoroughly after use.
• Operations such as pouring flammable solvents or fuming acids, sieving powders or using chemical aerosol sprays were carried out in the fume cupboard.
1.6.2 General handling and Storage of Chemicals
• All containers of chemical reagents were labeled  properly with their chemical name, concentration, date of preparation, and your name. Toxic chemicals should be marked clearly poison, toxic or other suitable signs and carry a special warning.
• Laboratory reagents and chemicals were capped and placed on the appropriate shelves immediately after use, with their labels in the front.
• Flammable solvents were stored in an approved storage cabinet or well- ventilated area away from burners, hot plates, power sources, etc.
1.6.3 Handing Glassware and Sharps
• Damaged glassware was not stored in cupboards; you may either send it for repair or should be properly disposed in a separate labeled container for sharps disposal.
• Cut ends of glass rods and tubing should always be fire-polished before use.
• Always use gloves or sweep up broken glass and pick up any fine glass articles with wet paper toweling.
• Care is always taken in handling and disposing of drawn glass capillaries and hypodermic needles. They should be disposed in the appropriate ‘sharps containers’.
1.6.4 Pressurized Gas Cylinder
• All cylinders were labeled with its gas and the date in use.
• Compressed gas cylinders in the upright position were always supported and secured.
• Always use only right and permitted valves and regulators on compresses gas cylinders. Regulators must be free from any oil and grease.
• Leakages were always checked in the joints.
• Turn off a gas cylinder at the main valve after use release any excess pressure in the regulator.
• Always move large gas cylinder on an approved cylinder trolley. Do not drag, roll or slide cylinders.
• Warning notices were displayed where cylinders are used and stored. Stored pressurized gas cylinders in a cool, well ventilated place.
• The cylinder valve seating was freed from dust by blowing before screwing on the regulator head.
1.6.5 Hot Plates
To avoid an electrical spark hazard, only hot plates that have completely enclosed heating elements and solid state circuitry should be used in laboratories. Hot plates have been known to be the source of slow-starting laboratory fires.
1.6.6 Hosting Clamps
Rubber or plastic tubing being used for connections between bench services and equipment as well as all tubing leading to cup sinks or drains must be securely clamped.

1.7 HEALTH
1.7.1 Injury
Any accident resulting in suspected or actual personal injury must be reported to the safety office and state your location and nature of the accident so that emergency response personnel can be summoned for on-site assistance.
1.7.2 First Aid
When a major occurs, call the emergency contact number. The victim should be kept warm, lying down, and quit until medical assistance arrives. It is better not to move the injured person unless he or she is immediately threatened by further injury.
1.8 REPORTING
The necessary information regarding any accident should be promptly transmitted to the Safety office personnel on an incident report form. Keeping records of accidents is crucial to preventing further accident. Please remember that reporting ‘near accidents’ can be equally important to improving the safety of the laboratory.
1.8.1 General Laboratory Waste
The disposal of laboratory waste was being highly regulated and mishandling/management of any of these wastes carries great liabilities. Waste management programs required a high degree of cooperation from all personnel on campus to collect and label waste material from laboratories, specifically, biological, radioactive, and chemical wastes. Biological waste includes animal carcasses and bedding specimens, tissues, cell, bacteria and virus cultures, and needles, syringes and other sharps. Radioactive wastes are materials that have come in contact with radiochemical. Chemicals waste includes those generated in laboratories and other workplaces. Specific guidelines for disposal of chemicals, radioactive, and biological materials are provided in other sections. It is important not to mix any potentially hazardous waste with the normal laboratory waste.
In order to protect custodial workers, separate broken glass and sharps from the general wastes and put them in labeled cardboards or plastic boxes for collection. Broken thermometers containing mercury should be placed in a plastic bag, sealed, and disposed of in the same manner as chemical wastes.
1.8.2 Fire
1.8.2.1 Fire prevention
• All employees/students had a clear understanding of the fire drill
• Hot plates for other heating devices should not be placed against walls or close to bench partitions.
• Gas tubing must be checked regularly. Rejecting that shows hardening or cracking.
• Naked flames should only be used after due consideration on nay adjacent apparatus and experiments.
• Flammable liquids and compounds liable to give toxic fumes should never be poured directly into the sink or laboratory drainage systems. This applies also to compounds liable to give off toxic fumes.
• Flammable liquids should only be stored in special cabinets equipped with drip-trays or sumps.
1.8.2.2 Fire Extinguishers
• Knowledge of the position of fire extinguishers in the laboratory was known and learns the conditions under which they can be used. Extinguishers should be placed in a prominent position and unobstructed and the positions of the fire hose reel, water buckets and fire blanket.
• Remember that ordinary combustible materials (wood, paper) can be readily extinguished with water. Dry sand is a very effective means of extinguishing alkali metal fires, so is dry soda ash.
• The common type of the extinguisher used in the laboratory is BCF.
1.8.2.3 Fire Blanket
• Each laboratory should have a fire blanket for extinguishing fires on clothing.
• A person whose clothing catches fire should lie horizontally while another person extinguishers the fire with the blanket.
• Never use a fire blanket on any apparatus.