The exposure to hazardous chemicals will be negated by proper use of personal protective equipment any strict adherence to the safety rules. Each student is responsible for his or her conduct in the laboratory. The eyes are most vulnerable. GOGGLES will be required at all times. The student is responsible for buying the chemical resistant/impact goggles. Aprons and gloves will be provided by the lab. The instructor has the right to ask any student to leave the lab if they are not strictly following the safety procedures.
Be prepared for the lab that you are performing that day. Knowing the chemicals and the associated hazards of that particular days lab will keep many serious events from ever happening.
Know ahead of time whether the chemicals are flammable, corrosive, toxic, etc. and adjust your procedures for handling them accordingly.
Know where the safety equipment is located and how to use it. The instructor will go over available safety equipment in the first lab.
Keep alert and avoid events by keeping a neat area around where you are working. Keep all books, coats, backpacks, etc. off the working surfaces.
Clean up all spills according to the procedures that your instructors approve of (listed at the end of the lab procedure) and USE THE CHEMICAL WASTE JARS for the indicated (labeled) chemicals only. Dispose of nothing into the sink unless specifically approved by the instructor.
Return all glassware to the correct cabinet CLEAN. Acetone (in wash bottles) and a red acetone waste jug are available to clean soap resistant stains in your glassware.
You are required to sign out your glassware. You will be responsible for the condition of that glassware for the full semester. If you break the glassware then you will be billed for its replacement cost. Treat your glassware gently and secure it safely when not in use.
Keep the balance area clean. Wipe up any spills of chemicals on the balance pans with a wet paper towel or according to any other specific directions of the instructor.
Basically keep a clean, uncluttered safe work area and remain knowledgeable about chemicals, practices and HAZARDOUS WASTE procedures that you are using that lab period !
Chemistry Laboratory Safety Rules
1. No student will be permitted in the laboratory without an instructor present. Only students registered for science classes may use the lab. These students may use the lab resources (reference books, etc.) without an instructor, but they are required to follow the lab rules and only allowed in as space dictates.
2. Material Safety Data Sheets ( MSDS ) for all chemicals used in our labs done in organic chemistry are supplied in notebooks kept in the prep room (426) and the chemistry lab (429). It is recommended that these be read before each lab. Most of our chemicals are purchased from Fisher Scientific. The MSDS for these chemicals are located on their web site , Http://www.Fisher1.com. Just go to the chemical catalogue, select the chemical and scroll to the end of the ordering information. If it has an MSDS, then there will be a graphic that is labeled "MSDS". Click on that icon and you will go to the MSDS.
3. Chemistry students are required to wear safety goggles at all times in the laboratory. Any student who fails to comply with this rule will be asked to leave the laboratory. Students are required to purchase their own chemical splash goggles. Goggles are available at the bookstore.
4. All students must wear protective aprons while in the laboratory. Aprons are provided by the college. Students may not wear white lab coats. ( These designate instructors and/or staff — people that can be asked to assist you in an emergency)
5. No student will be permitted in the laboratory with bare feet, sandals or shoes with exposed toes. Legs should also be covered.
6. Students with long hair should tie it back away from the face.
7. Soft contact lenses may not be worn in the laboratory. They are porous and will allow diffusion of chemicals.
8. No unauthorized experiments may be performed in the laboratory.
9. No smoking, eating or drinking in the laboratory.
10. Know the location of chemical spill kits, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, eyewashes, showers and first aid kits.
11. Know the emergency evacuation route out of the building.
12. Report all injuries ( cuts and burns ) to the laboratory instructor immediately.
13. No students will be allowed into the prep room (410) for any reason.
14. Read the label twice before taking any reagent. Especially note concentrations, molarities and specific hazard labels.
15. * KEEP THE BALANCE AREA CLEAN AND FREE OF SPILLED CHEMICALS OR USED WEIGHING PAPERS/BOATS *
16. Take only the amount of reagent indicated. Larger amounts will not be more effective and may lead to uncontrollable reactions.
17. NEVER put broken glass into undesignated wastebaskets. There are special cardboard containers designated for this.
18. Always follow instructions for disposal of any chemicals given in your prelab by the instructor. BE AWARE of special handling procedures for hazardous waste. Few of the chemicals that organic use can go into the trash or down the drain. Most require special handling, so look for the WASTE bottle before you dump something out.
19. NEVER use flammable liquids near a flame or an ignition source.
20. When inserting glass rods or thermometers through rubber stoppers, use a lubricant and a gentle twisting motion while grasping the thermometer as close to the stopper as possible. Use a glove for protection against cuts in case the glass does break.
21. If an acid is to be diluted, pour the acid slowly (with stirring) into the water. Never pour water into acid !
22. Any chemical spilled on the skin must be washed off immediately and skin flooded with water for several minutes. If a chemical has gotten into the eyes, then the eye wash must be used for a minimum of 15 minutes.
23. NEVER taste a chemical !
24. NEVER inhale gaseous fumes. If you are to determine the odor of a gas, fan a small amount of the vapor towards your nose with your hand.
25. Keep alert at all times to what you are doing and what is being done around you. Do not hesitate to report unsafe procedures performed by others.
26. IF YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE PREGNANT OR YOU KNOW YOU HAVE SEVERE ALLERGIES PLEASE DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE WITH YOUR DOCTOR AND YOUR INSTRUCTOR!
27. The college has adapted specific procedures for protection against bloodborne pathogens. Basically this requires that before anyone exposes themselves to anothers blood or body fluids, they are wearing protective gloves and ,if necessary, glasses. The instructor is aware of these procedures and will enforce them as necessary.
28. Lab assistants are available to answer specific questions on personal lab safety or lab experiments. The faculty member is in charge of the specific lab class and is responsible for enforcing the lab safety rules. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Along those same thoughts, we must be aware of the hazards associated with the chemicals that we may come into contact with. Labeling of chemicals with their associated hazards is now required by OSHA. There is a simple system designed by the National Fire Protective Association (NFPA) that we use to indicate the more hazardous chemicals. It is a numeric system from 0 to 4 where 0 is the least hazardous and 4 is the most hazardous. This symbol is a diamond with 4 inner colored diamonds that represent:
BLUE - Health
0 - No Hazard
1 - Can cause irritation on contact
2 - Can cause injury on contact. Requires prompt treatment
3 - Can cause serious injury despite medical treatment
4 - Can cause health or major injury despite medical treatment
RED - Flammablity
0 - Will not burn
1 - Ignites after considerable preheating
2 - Ignites if moderately heated
3 - Can be ignited at normal temperatures
4 - Very Flammable
YELLOW - Reactivity
0 - Normally stable. Not reactive with water
1 - Normally stable. Unstable at high temperature & pressure. Rxts w/H2O
2 - Normally unstable but will not detonate.
3 - Can detonate or explode but requires a strong initiating force or heating under confinement.
4 - Readily detonates or explodes
WHITE- Specific Hazards
COR - Corrosive ALK - Alkali
AC - Acid OXY - Oxidizer
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) have developed another method of expressing the extent of a hazard of a chemical. This is called the Threshold Limit Value (TLV). The TLV is expressed in units of mg/m3. This is the maximum concentration that anyone one should be exposed to over a 8 hour time period with no adverse affect expected. There is also a Short Term Exposure Limit value (STEL) which are usually higher values but are for only very short exposure times. The lower the TLV, the more serious the hazard of the chemical. Both of these values are used for controlling exposure to hazardous volatile liquids. Once the concentrations of these volatile liquids exceed the TLV or STEL then other measures must be used in the lab to reduce the aerosol concentrations of the chemical. We have a multiple hood system in the lab to keep the volatile liquid from even being contacted outside of the hood system. This obviously requires that the user of the chemical confines the major handling of that chemical under a hood. Keep volatile, flammable chemicals in a hood during the lab period and always recap the bottle immediately after use. Get the liquid only when you are ready to use it. Do not dispense the liquid into an open beaker and leave it on the desk open to the air! There should be very little odor evident in the lab as the experiments are being performed if the safety rules are being followed.
TLV's & STEL's are located on Material Safety Data Sheets for each hazardous chemical. It can occur as a dust, mist or vapor. The MSDS are located in the Prep Room (426) at the back of the lab. Feel free to ask to see one. Your instructor will be aware of the hazards of each chemical that you are expected to use and will communicate these to you before each lab. Your lab book also has warnings on hazardous chemicals.
The college has implemented the SOP for protection against bloodborne pathogens. Blood as well as other body fluids, has the potential to carry many types of bacteria, virus or protozoa that are communicable on contact of unprotected skin or other body areas. Your skin is a very efficient barrier against these hazards as long as you have no cuts or abrasions. Other surface areas (eyes, mouth, ears) have tissue that do not have these barriers. Whenever there is the potential of contact with blood that is not your own you must protect yourself against possible infection by putting on gloves and (if necessary) glasses before exposing yourself to the blood. Thin latex gloves are quite sufficient for use as a barrier against these hazards. These gloves are located in the safety cabinet at the front of the chemistry lab (next to the white board). The best method is to have the individual who has been cut (if possible) deal with any direct contact of their blood themselves. Cuts require pressure applied to the area with gauze (first aid cabinet) or paper towels. The instructor will assess the severity and further procedure for use of first aid.
Hazardous Waste Requirements
Emergency spill kits are located in the emergency spill cabinet located at the front of the lab. Each chemical will have a different method of collection depending on the associated hazard. The lab is supplied with neutralization tanks that receive the water from these sinks. Acids and bases (e.g. hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide) that result in nontoxic salts when neutralized may be disposed of in the sink (after neutralization with sodium bicarbonate for collection). And they also maybe disposed of in the sink even if not spilled. Any acid or base that has been contaminated with a hazardous chemical has now become a hazardous chemical and cannot be disposed of down the drain, but must be collected and stored for a semiannual pickup. Solvents (non-listed) may be collected on paper towels, and, as long as the towel is not so wet that the solvent can be squeezed out and collected, can be put into the trash. Absorbents for listed solvents are considered (contaminated) hazardous material and must be collected along with the solvent. On the next page are the different spill cleanup and disposal options. Each reactant, product, or still pot may have a different spill cleanup and/or disposal. In the lab write-up, these methods will be referred to by their associated letters and you will need to refer back to this page.
Each hazardous waste will have a separate, labeled (for disposal) container to prevent any further reactions. The container will be compatible with the type of hazardous waste put in the bottle. For these two reasons, you will be responsible for putting your waste into the correct waste container. These waste bottles will be put out with the lab prep. These bottles must be closed unless you are actively filling them.
These Handbooks are on the computer. Just double click their respective icons.
Emergency Chemical Spill or Disposal Method (small quantities)
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT MUST BE WORN
A - nontoxic - no hazardous properties or chemical components.
Spill - wipe up with paper towel (wet paper towel if a solid) and put into the trash.
Disposal - pour into sink and wash down with water.
Spill - neutralize with sodium bicarbonate (Baking soda), collect with dust pan, put both into the sink and wash down with water.
Disposal - pour into sink and wash down with water.
B2 - Acid/Base - HAS toxic heavy metal constituents
Spill - select sodium bicarbonate in labeled container. Collect into container, date and store for pickup.
Disposal - There will be a bottle for these wastes. Put them into the correct disposal container
C - Water Base- Heavy Metals and mixtures
Spill - absorb with paper towel or pillow (etc.). These absorbents are now considered contaminated and must be collected into a HW bottle located in the spill cabinet. Please use the correct absorbent for the size of the spill. (See instructor for help) These containers must be labeled as hazardous waste and with the chemical constituents and dated. Leave the bottle in the hood. The instructor will notify the appropriate persons.
Disposal - There will be a bottle for these wastes. Put them into the correct disposal container.
D - Solvent - Non-listed - and mixtures
Spill - Absorb liquid with a paper towels (if small, no collectible amount). Throw paper towel into trash. If the amount is collectible, use Spill-x bottle, absorbent pad or pillow and collect. Label and put in hood.
Disposal - There will be a bottle for these solvents. Put them into the correct disposal container.
Spill - Depending on the size of the spill, absorb with either Spill-X-S, a pillow to contain the spill. These absorbents are now considered contaminated and must be collected into a bottle located in the spill cabinet. Please use the correct absorbent for the size of the spill. (See instructor for help) These containers must be labeled as hazardous waste and with the chemical constituents and dated. Leave the bottle in the hood. The instructor will notify the appropriate persons
Disposal - rinse the glassware with the smallest amount of acetone needed to remove the chemicals and dispose of in the Red Justrite container that is labeled acetone wash. DO NOT put any other wastes into this container!
F - Solvents (listed) and mixtures
Spill - Depending on the size of the spill, absorb with either Spill-X-S, a pillow to contain the spill. These absorbents are now considered contaminated and must be collected into a bottle located in the spill cabinet. Please use the correct absorbent for the size of the spill. (See instructor for help) These containers must be labeled as hazardous waste and with the chemical constituents and dated. Leave the bottle in the hood. The instructor will notify the appropriate persons.
Disposal - There will be a bottle for these solvents. Put them into the correct disposal container.
Spill - Do not sweep as to put dust in the air. If possible, wipe up with a wet paper towel and put into a bottle. Bottles are located in the spill cabinet. Label as hazardous waste and include the chemical constituents. Do not return to the stock bottle.
Disposal - As a product from a reaction, where further actions may be done (i.e. m.p., etc) you will be asked to save the solid in an envelope that has been labeled with the contents and your name. When you have finished with the product, then the envelopes with the compound will be collected in an appropriate container. Otherwise, there will just be a labeled container for the solid put out with the lab.
H - Mercury - Elemental The mercury spill kit is located in the chemistry spill cabinet at the front of the chemistry laboratory. Our Chemistry program no longer uses Mercury salts.