reserved for hifsa

Realise that the person responsible for your safety is YOU

DO NOT hesitate to ask for advice

Familiarise yourself with Health & Safety requirements.

DO NOT smoke, eat, drink or apply cosmetics in a laboratory.

Switch off mobile phones – even on silent they interfere with electronic instruments.

DO NOT use mobile phones or personal stereos, iPods etc in the laboratory. If you expecting/need to take an important call, do it outside the laboratory and when in a class, inform the person leading the teaching beforehand.

Read the appropriate in-house manual.

Do NOT sit on benches or lean against apparatus.

Be familiar with the meaning of the various safety signs that are in use in the workplace and on equipment and materials (generally green signs give information/directions, yellow signs indicate danger of some sort, red signs indicate prohibitions, blue signs identify protective requirements).

DO NOT wedge fire doors open or block fire escapes or exits.

DO NOT overload electrical sockets.

DO NOT tamper with electrical equipment or electrical supply.

Keep an accurate record of what is done in the laboratory: keep a logbook of experiments and maintain a methods/procedures book.

DO NOT wear protective gloves outside the laboratory.

DO NOT wear lab coats in the staff or student lounge.

Ensure that you have suitable personal protection: wear a clean lab coat (keep it buttoned with sleeves rolled down!) and use safety spectacles and/or gloves if appropriate. Wear suitable footwear – sandals are not safe if spillages are possible or if moving gas cylinders.

DO NOT leave clothes or other ‘outside’ items on the bench.

Keep the working area clean and tidy, removing items not immediately necessary for the work being done.

DO NOT store chemicals in volumetric flasks.

Keep all reagent containers closed when not in use – this is especially important for volatile, inflammable or toxic compounds.

DO NOT store chemicals in Quickfit flasks, unless it is ESSENTIAL moisture or air is excluded.

Make sure all containers are clearly labelled (contents, and your name, if appropriate, and date).

UNLABELLED SUBSTANCES WILL BE DISPOSED OF WITHOUT WARNING.

DO NOT pipette by mouth

DO NOT pipette directly from large containers (decant into a beaker or smaller bottle first).

DO NOT use more chemical than you require.

DO NOT Leave pipettes standing in tubes or bottles etc.

Always use pipette fillers or automatic pipettes if pipetting solutions.

DO NOT hesitate to report spillages.

Make sure that all spillages are dealt with according to COSHH assessments and reported immediately should you feel there to be a risk to any other person.

DO NOT pour solvents down the sink.

DO NOT mix chlorinated solvents (eg chloroform) with unchlorinated solvents (eg acetone).

DO NOT put biohazards down the sink.

Use the correct waste disposal procedures – mark material for disposal clearly with contents and your name – and give to a laboratory technician. Be especially careful when disposing of sharps and broken glass ASK THE TECHNICIAN.

DO NOT place items likely to leak or spill on top of instruments.

Keep ALL equipment (including glassware) away from the edges of the bench.

DO NOT tamper with instruments or use unnecessary force when adjusting them.

Read and follow any written instructions attached to apparatus or equipment.

DO NOT expect to work outside normal university working hours which are 9-5. If you have a lot of work to do, get in early and plan your time.

Complete overnight forms if necessary (authorised by Faculty Facilities Manager or Chief Technician).

DO NOT run in a laboratory.

Ask for advice if you are unfamiliar with a procedure.

Familiarise yourself with the location of eye wash stations and fire extinguishers.

Find out how the first aid and other emergency procedures operate.

Always report accidents and dangerous occurrences in the appropriate manner.

LABORATORY RULES