4. General rules
To minimize the risk of accidents and create a safe working environment for yourself and those around you, it is important to follow proper procedures in areas where chemical hazards are handled. Always wear protective clothing and eye protection before entering any space where chemical hazards are handled. Stay alert to protect yourself from unexpected accidents.
Personal protection
Personal protective measures:
- Wear a protective coat and safety glasses: Always wear a protective coat and safety glasses in the laboratory.
- Use correct protective gloves: When necessary, make sure you wear the appropriate protective gloves.
- Avoid consumables in the laboratory: Never eat, drink, smoke, handle snuff (snus), or chew gum or tobacco in the lab.
- Cosmetics and chemical areas: Never apply cosmetics, including hand cream and lip balm, in areas where chemicals are used or stored.
- No headphones/earphones in the laboratory: Do not wear headphones or earphones in the laboratory. In the lab, awareness regarding your surroundings is essential, as laboratory procedures demand your full attention. Listening to music or other material on your smartphone diverts your attention and can prevent you from hearing alarms in case of accidents.
Your workstation
- Cleanliness and tidiness: Keep the laboratory clean and tidy at alltimes. Broken glass and chemical spillages must receive immediate attention. Place broken glass in a separate waste container.
- Chemical handling: Do not taste chemicals or use your mouth for pipetting.
- Skin protection: Avoid skin contact with chemicals.
- Collaboration and Risk assessment: Never carry out hazardous work alone. The person in charge in the laboratory, in consultation with the safety representative, decides what constitutes a risk.
- Disposal regulations: Lund University has specific regulations for disposing of hazardous waste. Prior to carrying out experiments, find out how any waste products should be dealt with. Clean vessels and packaging that have contained chemicals before disposing of them as normal waste.
- Sinks: Ensure that sinks, including those in fume hoods, remain free of waste at all times.
- Labeling overnight experiments: Label experiments conducted overnight, during weekends, or holidays in a way so that the person responsible for the experiment can be contacted by phone.
- Risk considerations: The risk of electricity and water interruptions must be considered.
- Warning signs: Always place warning signs on equipment that may constitute specific risks.
Evacuation plan and fire extinguishing equipment
Find out where the evacuation plan, alarm buttons, and fire extinguishing equipment are located. Study the evacuation route and assembly points carefully. Also consider alternative evacuation routes. Corridors serve as evacuation routes. Therefore, do not block them with instruments, cabinets, or equipment. Make sure that the width of the evacuation route is at least 1.2 meters.
Risk assessment
A risk assessment must always be carried out before starting a new experiment. This process makes sure that the work you undertake does not pose a risk for you, your colleagues, or the environment. Additionally, understanding how to respond in the event of an accident or unexpected situation is important.
Risk assessments for handling chemicals with unknown properties must be carried out in the same way as for hazardous chemicals.
For information regarding risk assessment see section: 4.5 Risk assessment.