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Health & Safety Training for Little France Incubators

An online training package for staff and students working with incubators on the Little France campus, providing information on safety measures and guidelines.

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Health & Safety Training for Little France Incubators

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  1. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Welcome to an on-line health and safety training package intended for staff and students working within UofE buildings on the Little France campus Information contained within these pages is intended for use by University of Edinburgh staff and students only.

  2. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS This on-line training package is intended for laboratory-based workers, but is not a substitute for more detailed training which may be organised by laboratory managers. Last updated: February, 2018

  3. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Please take time to view the following material, and direct any urgent questions to your H&S Advisor, Laboratory Manager, or the Little France Buildings H&S Manager (the contact details for whom are shown on the penultimate page of this presentation). Thank you

  4. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS A risk assessment should always be undertaken to underpin safety related to work with pathogens and genetically modified micro-organisms, etc. The risk assessment should take into account the nature of the potential hazards not only in terms of the work involved, and the potential for harm likely to be associated with the substances to be handled, but also the techniques to be carried out.

  5. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Regardless of the nature of work that is to be done using an incubator, there are certain safety-related features that are more or less applicable to all such tasks, and which you should design into your work plan. The following guidance is based on measures described more fully in Section 14 of the Safety Manual for University buildings on the Little France campus, which you will find at: http://docstore.mvm.ed.ac.uk/HealthAndSafety/manual/Manual14.pdf

  6. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Laboratory incubators may come in several different forms, including: • General purpose microbiological incubators; • CO2 incubators – commonly used for cell culture; and • Orbital or shaking incubators

  7. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Characteristics usually sought in a laboratory incubator include: • Good regulation and consistency of temperature, humidity etc; and • Fast recovery times after the door is opened and closed.

  8. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Check, before use, that the incubator is in a good state of repair and operating within normal/expected parameters. Do not use the incubator if you have any doubts about its performance.

  9. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS While incubators are not in in themselves particularly high-risk items of laboratory equipment, there may be hazards associated with electricity (which is why they must be included in periodic electrical safety checks), and gas leaks may be associated with CO2 incubators. There is also the potential for contamination within an incubator.

  10. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS While using CO2 incubators, care should be taken to ensure that doors are not opened for any longer than necessary, not only to protect incubating cells etc, but also to limit the volume of potentially asphyxiant gas escaping into the laboratory environment.

  11. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS • For that reason, thought should be given to the most suitable location for CO2 incubators, ensuring that these are not placed in confined spaces, and that staff are made properly aware of the risks associated with leaving these to vent uncontrolled into rooms. • Checks should be made, routinely and periodically, to confirm that gas supply connections to CO2 incubators remain secure.

  12. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS • Consider also the contents of culture vessels being placed within the incubator. If these contain hazardous materials, including infectious substances, and containment is breached, the substance may well have contaminated the inside of the incubator and may then spread out into the surrounding environment. • Users should prepare a spill management and disinfection plan before commencing work.

  13. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Problems and Questions Refer all other enquiries to your H&S Advisor, Laboratory Manager or the Little France Buildings H&S Manageras soon as possible.

  14. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS Lindsay Murray Health & Safety Manager, The University of Edinburgh, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine (Little France/Bioquarter Campus) Room SU225, Chancellor’s Building Ext: 26390 lgm@staffmail.ed.ac.uk

  15. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE INCUBATORS You have now completed this on-line training package summarising the correct use and potential limitations of incubators. Please also attend any additional training that may be organised by your senior laboratory manager. Thank you

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