Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland

Safety presentation 25 May 2012 Research safety refresherJ M Patterson Building Room # 1216 LalehEmdadi EmdadiL@umd.edu advised by: Dr. Dongxia Liu Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland College Park, MD, 20742 05/25/2012

Outline UCLA chemistry graduate student lab accident, death Responsibilities of the PI, safety officer, researchers Sources of information General laboratory safety Chemical storage Chemical waste management Emergency response procedures Hydrofluoric acid safety Additional specific topics related to Liu Group lab 2

UCLA research assistant died from injuries Seriously burned in a laboratory fire Not wearing a lab coat, was wearing gloves and safety glasses Did not use the safety shower, flames smothered by a post-doc using a lab coat Occurred on Dec. 29th, 2008 during the UCLA holiday shutdown Sustained burns over 43% of her body, died 18 days later THE IMPORTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH SAFETY IS VITAL TO BEST LABORATORY PRACTICES 3

Responsibilities of the PI Primary objectives: Ensuring that potential hazards of an experiment have been identified Enforcing university safety policies and safe work practices Investigate laboratory accidents (paperwork necessary) Ensure every employee is suitably trained in laboratory safety measures Conducting periodic audits of the research space Performance measured by: Keeping documentation of safety training Keeping documentation of laboratory audits under the PI’s control 4

Responsibilities of the researcher Primary objectives: Assuring that potential hazards of specific projects have been identified and addressed before work is started Attending safety training sessions Following safety guidelines applicable to the procedures being carried out Reporting hazardous conditions as they are discovered Ensuring fellow researchers are complying with safety measures Performance measured by: Assessment of employee’s adherence to topics covered in safety training both individual adherence and ensuring group adherence 5

University lab safety plan The Department of Environmental Safety (DES) has prepared a university-wide document concerning lab safety: http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/index.html 6

Chemical hygiene plan New lab employees may register for classroom training at: https://www.des.umd.edu/apps/TrainingClass/index.cfm An online Chemical Hygiene training course is also available to UM laboratory Employees at the following web site: https://des.umd.edu/TrainingClass/index.cfm A pdf file of chemical hygiene plan is available at: http://www.des.umd.edu/os/ch/chp.pdf New laboratory employees should complete the Chemical HygieneTraining Program for Laboratory Workersand Hazardous waste generator (Chemical waste generator)from the DES website: https://www.des.umd.edu/risk_comm/edu/training.cfm

Laboratory Safety Guide and References The Laboratory Safety Guide is a separate document prepared and distributed by the Department of Environmental Safety which is available online at: http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/index.html http://www.des.umd.edu/ls/labguide/lg.pdf 8

Laboratory Safety Guide and References Recommended reference sources concerning safe operations in laboratories include: CRC Handbook of Laboratory Safety CRC Press, Inc. Guide for Safety in the Chemical Laboratory Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Improving Safety in the Chemical Laboratory John Wiley and Sons Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories National Academy Press Safe Storage of Laboratory Chemicals John Wiley and Sons Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories American Chemical Society 9 9

Sources of information: PELs Permissible Exposure Limits Appendix B of the OSHA includes exposure monitoring information: http://www.des.umd.edu/os/index.html 10

Sources of information: PELs Specific chemicals having a high degree of acute toxicity: Information is available on this webpage: http://www.des.umd.edu/apps/chemlists/acute.cfm 11

Medical Consultation and Examination Employees who work with hazardous chemicals in the laboratory should be referred for medical consultation, examination, and/or surveillance (as appropriate to the circumstances). The University has established procedures for responding to job-related injuries. These procedures should be followed in the event of hazardous exposure due to the use of hazardous chemicals in the laboratory. Instructions and forms for reporting injuries and chemical exposures are available through the DES web page: http://www.des.umd.edu/risk_comm/wcomp/ 12

Sources of information: MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) • Available online through links from the DES website. • Hard copies of MSDS for many laboratory chemicals are also available in our lab. http://www.des.umd.edu You can ask DES to provide you the MSDS of the chemical that you use. Telephone: 301-405-3960 13

General lab safety: Common sense Wear goggles and a lab coat whenever you are in the lab, use gloves around chemicals and powders. Do not open a door with a gloved hand. If your work bench is messy or dirty, clean it. Do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes, “short pants and skirts are not permitted...long pants should be worn to cover skin.” Label unattended bottles, use overnight reaction sheets when necessary. No sharps or broken glasses (or glass containers) in the regular garbage can. We have special box (or trash can) to collect them. Do not eat or leave food anywhere in the lab, including in the garbage. Strongly discouraged from wearing headphones in the lab. Do not pour any chemicals in lab sinks. 14

General lab safety: Centrifuge • Do not fill your tubes at more than 80% capacity (<40 mL for regular conical tubes), balance loads with Δm < 0.2g • Make sure that lids are tightly closed • After taking your samples out, inspect the sleeves for any leaked fluid and clean with water • With solvents, make sure you have the proper centrifuge tubes in terms of material and RPM rating Residue around basin Clean the liners! 15

Chemicalstorage: Room 1216 J M Patterson Building Chemicals should be stored in the proper cabinets NOT ON YOUR BENCH, IN YOUR DRAWERS, OR IN THE FUME HOOD We have different cabinets for: • Acids and bases (you should never put acids and bases in a same cabinet!) - Waste acids and bases (we collect them and return them to DES to recycle) - Solvents/organic liquids (Flammable) - Solids Acids Waste Acids Organic liquids (Flammable) Solids Waste Bases Bases 16

Chemicalstorage: Room 1216 J M Patterson Building Chemicals should be stored in the proper cabinets NOT ON YOUR BENCH, IN YOUR DRAWERS, OR IN THE FUME HOOD Do not put the chemicals directly in the cabinets. All the chemicals should be placed in a plastic tray first. Plastic tray Please if you buy new chemicals for your research project, label the bottle with your name and the date . 17

Liu Group exit procedures • When leaving the group (either as an undergraduate, graduate, post-doc, or visitor), you must do the following: • Dispose of all remaining hazardous waste bottles • Dispose of or give your remaining chemicals to a group member • Clean out your lab drawers • Place glassware in common glassware shelves • Dispose of or give your remaining valuable samples to a group member • Courtesy: if there is an instrument or technique you alone are trained on • and it may prove useful, please train a group member 18

Chemical waste management UM Hazardous Waste Green Tag Before the Department of Environmental Safety (DES) can pick up your hazardous waste, an UM Hazardous Waste green tag must be attached to each container. These tags are available at cost from Chemistry Stores. You Have to Write the Full Chemical Name on This Green Tag. Do Not Abbreviate the Name of the Chemical. Moreover, You Should Write the Volume Percentage of Each Chemical on This Tag. Example: Instead of writing H2O, you should write water. You should write Methyl MethAcrylate instead of MMA. Green Tag

Chemical waste management You can request chemical waste pickup by filling the request form: http://www.des.umd.edu(choose Regulated Waste Pickup Request) Enter the full chemical name and its volume percentage (use green tag) here

Emergency Telephone Numbers 21

Emergency response procedures Evacuate: leave the area, alert others in the area Remove contaminated clothing, use safety shower or eye wash Confine: close doors and isolate the area Report: Call DES (or 911 in an after-hours emergency), contact the safety officer and the PI Secure: Block off the area until response personnel arrive REPORT ALL ACCIDENTS TO THE SAFETY OFFICER AND THE PI In the event that you need to seek medical attention, within 24hr you MUST fill out a worker compensation form with the PI 22

Emergency response procedures First aid kit Emergency Response Guide Safety shower MSDS Fire extinguisher Eye wash The showers need to be checked regularly for performance 23

Hydrofluoric acid safety Extremely corrosive to all tissues of the body Burns from dilute (< 50%) solutions do not become apparent until several hours after exposure Undissociated HF penetrates the skin, fluoride ions then cause destruction of soft tissues and decalcification of the bones Vapors can cause severe burns to the eyes, leading to blindness Fatal if inhaled or ingested Precautions: rubber gloves, smock, face shield, safety glasses, lab coat 24

Additional topics: sonication Continuous use of the sonicator heats the water well above room temp, possibly harming experiment reproducibility for others that wish to use it 25

Additional topics: quenching autoclaves Long axis Long axis INCORRECT CORRECT Do not obstruct the drain, possibility of flooding the lab Mind the proper alignment of the basin Do not leave the water running unattended while quenching the autoclaves Wipe off the autoclaves with a paper towel as they are removed from the water When done, remove water from the basin and return to where it was retrieved If your samples are quenching for a long time, move bucket away from sink area 26

Additional topics: empty cylinders Always use a cart to transport cylinders, no matter how empty Push back against the holder and fasten to hold in place Empty cylinders should be labeled “Empty” and transported back to the shed 27

Additional topics: Lab etiquette Don’t take items from lab drawers without the approval of the owner it may be vital to their research Don’t make a mess of a bench area that is not yours Don’t deplete someone’s chemical without alerting them that it is running low Replenish common lab supplies as they run out: paper towels, parafilm, etc. Lower the sash on the fume hoods If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP 28

Additional topics: Research hours Researchers are strongly encouraged to prioritize research so that work with hazardous chemical, biological, or physical agents occurs only during working hours (8am-5pm, M-F). After-hours work (on nights and weekends) should be restricted to non-hazardous activities such as data analysis and report writing. If hazardous materials must be used at night or on weekends, ensure that at least one other person is within sight and ear-shot to provide help in an emergency. Undergraduate workers are prohibited from working alone in the laboratory unless there is a review and formal approval by the department’s RSO and/or safety committee and/or advisor.”

Conclusion: safety is a group issue IF YOU SEE SOMETHING IN THE LAB THAT IS NOT CORRECT, PLEASE SHOW INITIATIVE IN GETTING IT CORRECTED! Measuring performance: Follow protocol for waste disposal Keep your area, fume hoods, and equipment clean Always wear goggles and a lab coat in the lab and gloves when necessary Proceed with caution when using HF Everyone needs to help when it comes to safest practices USE COMMON SENSE Questions? 30

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Maryland