Safety in the Malaspina Chemistry Laboratories 1. Emergency shower 2. Eyewash fountain 3. Fire extinguisher 4. Sand bucket 5.

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1 i Safety in the Malaspina Chemistry Laboratories (used and modified from Safety Precautions in the Chemistry Laboratory, University of Victoria Chemistry Department, with permission) Note that all students must attend the safety talk at the first lab session and must complete the safety quiz with a mark of 70% or better. 1. Emergency shower - This is located in the common area between room 205 (the first-year lab) and room 201 (the upper-year lab). This is to be used when: 1.) someone has been badly splashed with corrosive liquid (e.g. concentrated acid or base); 2.) someone has been badly splashed with organic solvent (the shower keeps the vapour pressure down and gives a few more minutes to remove clothing); or 3.) when someone s clothing is on fire. Pulling the handle downwards releases a large amount of water. When necessary, remove clothing to avoid chemicals being in prolonged contact with the skin. More extensive washing can be done with showers (which have both hot and cold water) located in the ground floor washrooms. 2. Eyewash fountain This is located in the common area between the first-year lab and the upper-year It is to be used when material has been splashed into the face or eyes. Thorough flushing of the eyes (a minimum of twenty minutes is recommended) is essential for even minor splashes. Call your instructor immediately and don t worry about spilled water. 3. Fire extinguisher Very small flames can be smothered using a beaker. For larger flames, a CO 2 extinguisher is located inside the lab entrance. To use, pull the pin on the side of the handgrip, direct the nozzle at the base of the flames and squeeze the handgrip. This type of extinguisher is used for organic liquid fires and minor electrical fires. Do not use on sodium, potassium, or metal hydride fires. Report all uses of extinguishers, however minor, to the instructor. The equipment will be recharged as a partially used extinguisher has the potential for creating a severe hazard for the next user. 4. Sand bucket A sand bucket is located in the common area between room 205 (the first-year lab) and room 201 (the upper-year lab). Use for fires involving active metals, e.g. sodium, potassium, or lithium. 5. Fire blanket - This is located in the common area between the first-year lab and the upper-year It is used to smother flaming clothing on yourself or other students. Since speed is essential, use your lab coat or roll the victim on the floor if you have to go any distance for the blanket. 6. Spill kits Sodium bicarbonate is available for small acid or base spills. For other spills, spill kits are located in a large mobile box in room 207 and are available for the cleanup of liquid spills (other than water) up to about 2 L. Bear in mind that the used absorbent may have to be treated before disposal, so seek advice from your lab instructor before taking action. If necessary, store the waste in a fume hood, so that any fumes are suitably drafted away from the Note that there are special spill kits for elemental mercury (such as from a broken thermometer). It is very important that all traces of mercury are retrieved from a i

2 ii spill area as soon as possible. Mercury has a significant vapour pressure that will cause long-term problems for those constantly working in that area. 7. Procedure in case of fire a. Assess the situation. (As noted above, very small fires can be extinguished with an upside down beaker.) If the fire is small and can be easily extinguished, clear the immediate area of people and flammables and use the fire extinguisher. If it is not small, or you have any doubt as to whether you can deal with the situation, clear the immediate area of people and sound the fire alarm located inside the lab entrance. This will ensure that the building is evacuated. The Malaspina emergency number (6600) should also be called, but not until the fire alarm has been activated. (Activation of the fire alarm automatically alerts the fire department.) Personal safety should be the priority in such an emergency. b. If the fire alarm sounds. Make your experiment safe. Pull out all plugs from the electrical sockets so that security personnel can quickly check that everything has been turned off. Stop all chemical additions including gaseous reagents but leave any cooling water and inert atmosphere gases (i.e. nitrogen, helium or argon) running. Close any open windows (to cut down the oxygen supply), fumehood sashes (to prevent fumes traveling from room to room through the ducts) and leave the room by the outside entrance. Assemble at the garden area in front of the first floor of the building so that the lab instructor can check attendance. 8. Procedure in case of earthquake Duck, cover and hold. When the shaking has stopped, evacuate the building as in the case of the fire alarm sounding. Watch for falling debris, both inside and outside the building. Keep well away from any structures, trees and fallen power lines. Be prepared for aftershocks. Assemble your classmates in one group so that the lab instructor can check attendance. No one may enter the building unless an emergency coordinator has indicated that it is safe to do so. 9. First aid Report all injuries, no matter how minor, to your instructor, who will take appropriate action. 10. Eating, drinking and smoking. These are forbidden at all times in the laboratories. It is also forbidden to leave food and/or drinking containers on the benchtops they must be kept inside your bookbag or backpack, or left on the window ledge outside the Failure to comply may result in confiscation of the food or drink bottle by your lab instructor. If you need to have a drink or snack during the lab period, you must wash your hands thoroughly and eat outside of the 11. Glasses Safety glasses must be worn at all times and are available through the campus bookstore. For the first year labs, you may wear prescription glasses instead. For upper-year labs, wearers of prescription glasses must also wear safety glasses which fit over the prescription glasses. These are also available through the campus bookstore. Note that no one will be permitted to start the lab without proper eye protection. People who remove their safety glasses during the experiment may be subject to mark reduction on their lab report; repeat offenders may be asked to leave the lab at the discretion of their instructor. ii

3 iii 12. Lab coats The use of lab coats is encouraged as additional protection from chemical spills. A limited number of lab coats are available for use in the first year lab; they can also be purchased at the bookstore. 13. Footwear Appropriate footwear is required. Sandals, slip-ons and open-toed shoes are not permitted in the lab as they do not provide sufficient protection against broken glass and chemical spills, or may prevent quick movements if needed in an emergency. 14. Gloves Protective gloves will be provided and should be used when necessary. 15. Waste disposal - see section below regarding the proper disposal of glass and chemical waste. Each lab writeup also contains disposal information for the waste that is generated. It is your responsibility to ensure that your wastes are disposed of in a proper manner. If you have any questions about disposal of a certain substance or solution, please see your instructor before disposal. 16. Fumehoods - All dangerous or odourous experiments should be done in a fumehood. All experiments requiring an overnight (or longer) reaction time should also be carried out in a fumehood. They should be labeled clearly with the name of the student(s), the experiment performed, the substances in the container, and the date. 17. The use of Walkmans and other distracting electronic devices is forbidden in the 18. Never return reagents to the original containers. Do not pipet from the original containers. 19. Bags and coats should be tucked under benches and should not obstruct the aisles. 20. If you have any doubt as to the safety of a given operation, consult your instructor or the lab technician. If you have a medical condition (either temporary or permanent) that may be compromised by performing an experiment, please see the instructor in advance of the scheduled class. A signed note from a doctor may be required at the discretion of the instructor. 21. You are not allowed to work outside the specified daily laboratory hours for the course except by special permission from the instructor. 22. If a lab is missed due to illness, or you are unable to attend due to illness, it is your responsibility to inform your instructor as soon as possible. A signed note from a doctor will generally be required. 23. A chemical laboratory is a hazardous environment. A little carelessness could leave you or other students disabled for life. Do everything you can to ensure your own safety and that of others. Maintain a clean and uncluttered working area. Even tiny amounts of corrosive chemicals can cause ulcerated burns so immediately clean up any spill, no matter how minor. Minimize your exposure to organic vapours and other noxious gases by using fumehoods. Inform yourself of the hazards of the materials with which you are working. Above all, be safetyconscious every minute you spend in the laboratories. Each student is responsible for leaving the bench and adjacent sink clean and tidy. 24. Material safety data sheets are posted on the side wall of the laboratory and are also available on the internet at Each lab writeup also contains important safety information for the chemicals which you will be using, as well as disposal information for the waste that is generated. It is your iii

4 iv responsibility to familiarize yourself with this information before coming to each 25. You are responsible to report all incidents to your instructor or the lab technician. It is also critical that you help your neighbour if they need assistance (e.g. helping him/her to the eyewash fountain, extinguishing burning clothing, etc.). CHEMICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE TEACHING LABS (This section is adapted from the U. Vic. Lab manuals with permission.) Laboratory waste is divided into five categories: a) Landfill Waste. These wastes are placed in the garbage cans located in each This would typically be paper towels used for hand drying or wiping up minor spills (dry off solvents in the hood first), used containers (non-glass), nonrecyclable paper, bagged loose powders such as column packing or vermiculite (and other shipping material) and used gloves. No glass (including Pasteur pipettes) is allowed. b) Glass. All glass including Pasteur pipettes should be collected in the glass disposal container located in the common area between the two student labs. It should be cleaned, as it will also be taken to the landfill. c) Organic Liquids. The waste containers for disposal of organic liquids are located in one of the lab fumehoods. These are separated as to whether they contain halogens or not. Any solvent combination which contains a halogenated solvent (e.g. methylene chloride or chloroform) must be placed in the waste container labelled Halogenated organic waste. Non-halogenated solvents go into the other appropriately labeled waste. Both are sent off the island for burning. It is important that the separation be correct, so that the appropriate fuel proportions can be adjusted to maintain complete combustion. Some water is an allowable component of a mixture, but obviously undesirable in large quantities. Remember that any solute that is included will also be combusted. This is particularly dangerous where heavy metals are concerned, as vaporised metal will spread deposits over a large area of ground. Please note that if there are significant quantities of solid material in the solvent mixture, the solvent should be separated from the solid before disposal of the solvent. The solid should be dealt with as outlined below. d) Solid Chemicals. Containers for solid waste are also located in the fumehoods. Please note that there may be different containers depending on the identity of the solid (e.g. lead waste, silver waste, etc.). Please note any special waste disposal information that is given in your lab manual or by the instructor. For example, lead, thallium and mercury and their salts are common items to separate since they are expensive to dispose of. All solids are appropriately packaged, recycled if iv

5 v feasible, or shipped to a commercial chemical waste company (off the island!). So that they can be dealt with in the best fashion possible, it is important that the containers be secure and labelled with as much information as to the contents as possible. e) Other Waste Solutions. Containers will be provided for the collection of these solutions (e.g. solutions of metal ions). It is important that the volumes are kept reasonable. It should be noted that large volumes of these solutions are more expensive for disposal and therefore the volume must be reduced by either precipitation of the metal, extraction, or concentrating of the solution on a rotovap. The collected solutions will then be further concentrated into a viscous mass and packaged for disposal as solid waste. This task is made a lot easier if large volumes of solutions are avoided. If you are unsure what to do about disposal of a chemical, talk to a lab instructor first. DO NOT POUR IT DOWN THE SINK! There are special methods and equipment for dealing with chemical spills (both small and large). Again consult your instructor. v