All employees are able to access the SDS by going to the “Z” drive-Community-Safety Files-MSDS/SDS and then proceed to the Lab chemicals and find what you need.
An approved sharps container must be available in the lab area for disposal of all sharps. Disposal of sharps in the container prevents accidental exposure to custodial workers. Also, the container can be disposed of in a landfill. In the lab, sharps generally include all needles and all damaged or broken glassware. These should all be discarded in the sharps container. With regard to needles, never recap a needle under any circumstances.
All flammable materials must be stored according to housekeeping procedures in the fire prevention plan. An open flame should only be used when necessary and, before lighting an open flame, all flammable substances must be removed from the immediate area. All occupants of the laboratory must be notified in advance of using an open flame. An open flame or oven should never be used to heat flammable liquids.
Someone in management, a shift or crew leader, must be notified when you are working alone in the laboratory or when working on chemical systems outside of normal hours. They must also be notified when you have completed your work and are leaving the facility.
Fume hoods will be used during procedures that produce toxic, offensive, or flammable vapors; during operations which require heating or evaporating a solvent; when transferring hazardous laboratory chemicals from one container to another; when using equipment during an operation which may produce splashing, sprays, fires, or a minor explosion; and when making acid or caustic solutions.
If a fume hood is not available in the laboratory, these types of laboratory procedures and chemical operations will not be conducted in the laboratory.
Fume hoods require daily, quarterly and yearly monitoring. Each fume hood will be fitted with an anemometer or other air velocity measuring device to enable the user to determine that the hood is operating properly.
Each day or when operated the air velocity must be measured by an anemometer and recorded.
Every quarter, each fume hood will have the velocity of the air flow at the face of the hood measured by using an anemometer or a velometer. The face velocity measurements will be taken in a grid pattern to determine the uniformity of air delivery to the hood face. A sets of measurements should be made with the hood sash fully opened and with the hood sash in one or more partially closed positions. The face velocity measurements will be recorded by laboratory personnel and maintained at the hood location.
Some chemicals present a greater hazard when combined with other chemicals; therefore, chemicals must be stored only with compatible chemicals and in accordance with the list titled “Incompatible Chemicals In Storage & Reactions” (found in the written program). Care should be taken to maintain all chemical markings, placards, and labels, so proper use and security is maintained.
Laboratory chemicals will be stored in a safe manner with the labels facing outward and following approved methods. All liquids, with the exception of pH buffers and metal standards, will be stored in the liquid chemical storage area or an approved chemical storage cabinet. Acids and bases will be separated on different shelves or in different cabinets.
Organics (alcohols, ketones, etc.) will be separated from acids and bases and will be stored in a flammable cabinet. All dry chemicals will be stored in the dry chemical storage area. Concentrated chemicals must be returned to the proper storage area when not in use. Prepared working reagents may be left on counters as long as they are properly labeled.
If laboratory employees use hazardous chemicals, the employer must develop and implement a written chemical hygiene plan to protect them.
If the plant’s laboratory is, because of the nature of the work performed, exempt from the requirements of OSHA Regulation 29 CFR 1910.1450, (Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories), it is not necessary to meet the requirements of a plan. However, for good safety practice, employers should establish the same safe work practices and laboratory procedures for the laboratory as are required under the OSHA rule.
"Laboratory use" means performing chemical procedures using small quantities of hazardous chemicals on a laboratory scale and not as part of a production process in an environment where protective laboratory practices and equipment are in common use.
