LABORATORY SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS
Chemistry Department
Middle East Technical University
The
following safety rules must be observed while performing any of the scheduled
laboratory experiments in one of the Chemistry Laboratories.
Students
who are found in violation of the safety rules will be given a warning for the
first offense, will be dismissed from the lab room for the second offense, and
will be withdrawn from the class (lab as well as lecture) for the third offense.
If a violation is observed at a particular lab table (such as spilled liquid -
water or hydrochloric acid etc), and those working at that lab table deny
responsibility, all students working at that table will be considered to be in
violation of the safety rules. Please sign the accompanying sheet (Safety
Certification) after you have read through the safety rules and regulations.
Please ask your instructor if any of the items need clarification.
GENERAL
RULES FOR LAB SAFETY
1.
SAFETY
FIRST - USE COMMON SENSE to avoid accidents.
2.
No
student is allowed to work in a laboratory unless Lab Supervisory Personnel
(Assistant) are present. DO NOT ENTER LABORATORY unless your assistant is
present in the lab.
3.
Any
student who endangers others' safety, or his or her own, will be dismissed from
the laboratory.
4.
All
students must WEAR SAFETY GLASSES (GOGGLES) AT ALL TIMES. Normal prescription
lenses are accepted! Violations will not be tolerated and repeated violation
will result in failure of the lab and the course.
5.
Shoes (no
sandals) must be worn at all times. Bare feet or open shoes (front or back)
are not permitted in the laboratory.
6.
All
students must wear lab coats at all times.
7.
No
eating, drinking, or smoking is permitted in the laboratory.
8.
Only
authorized experiments may be performed. Equipment should be performed only for
its intended purpose.
9.
No
chemicals or equipment may be removed from the laboratory.
10.
Do not
invite anyone into the lab.
11.
Any
student who is pregnant should not perform laboratory experiments. Accommodation
will be made if necessary to meet departmental requirements.
12.
If you
are or a student near you injured or if any type of accident or fire occurs,
IMMEDIATELY call your assistant for assistance.
13.
The
working space should be as uncluttered as possible to allow work space and avoid
accidents. Also, keep the aisles clear to prevent tripping over your gear. Place
jackets, coats, book bags, pocketbooks, etc. at/on the designated area. Ask your
assistant for help if needed.
14.
Keep
your work space clean and tidy. The working space, desk drawers, cabinets,
instruments must be kept neat and clean at all times.
15.
When lab
work is completed, all materials must be returned to their proper places and
used benches, instruments and glassware must be cleaned up.
16.
Any
student who has, or who develops a medical condition (epilepsy, asthma,
allergies, diabetes, etc.) should immediately notify the lab instructor.
17.
When a
fire alarm should occur, place the chemical and equipment safely to the nearest
possible table/bench, exit the building calmly and go to the designated area
outside. The instructor/technician should be the last one to leave the room, and
should close and lock the door. Remain together as a class. The instructor will
check to be certain that all students have exited the building. Do not wonder
away and stay together. When the "all clear" signal is received, return to the
classroom.
WASTE
18.
Only pure water can go down the sink.
19.
Follow
the instruction of waste disposals. Never discard chemicals through the sink
or to a regular trash.
20.
Only
discard the proper waste that is identified by the label on the waste
container/collector.
21.
Never
mix the waste. Mixing may result in explosions and serious injuries.
22.
Never
overfill a waste container. If it is full, request a new one from your lab
instructor.
23.
Laboratory specific wastes:
a.
Solid
waste must be discarded to solid waste container.
b.
Silica
waste must be dried in the student hood before poured into silica waste
container in the hood.
c.
Broken
glass should be placed into the broken glass collector. Never discard broken
glass to regular trash.
24.
Never
place regular trash into the waste containers. Normal trash can be thrown into
trash bins or to bins labeled as trash.
25.
Rinse
all disposable or broken glassware with water before discarding it in the broken
glass waste container. Rinse all regular glassware thoroughly with water before
returning.
26.
If you are
unsure on how to dispose of something, ask an assistant!
SAFETY
RULES
AND REGULATIONS SPECIFIC TO THE GENERAL
CHEMISTRY LABORATORY
·
Students should come to the lab
on time.
·
No student is
permitted in the laboratory without the instructor being present.
·
Each student must
have
his/her
own lab coat and
lab book
and
safety
goggles in the lab. Old books are
not acceptable. (Students can get the lab books and safety goggles from Halil
Memis (Room: B-02) and the lab coats from General Chemistry Lab.)
·
No one is
permitted in the laboratory with bare feet, sandals, or shoes (with exposed
toes) which do not provide adequate foot coverage.
·
Students with
hair shoulder length or longer should tie with a
hairclip. You cannot use beret, hat, turban,
etc
·
No
unauthorized experiments are to be performed in the laboratory.
·
Do not eat food, drink
beverages, or chew gum in the laboratory.
·
Report all
injuries (cuts, burns) to the laboratory instructor immediately.
·
Know the
location of fire extinguishers and fire blankets.
·
Know the
emergency evacuation route.
·
Leave glassware
clean and dry at the close of each laboratory period. Wash and wipe desktop with
paper towels. Be sure that gas and water are off. Each student is responsible
for cleaning up spilled chemicals or broken glassware.
·
Read the label
twice before taking anything from a container.
·
Do not take the
reagent bottles away from their places. Carry liquids to your bench in clean
test tubes or beakers and carry solids in clean beakers or on weighing paper.
·
Take the
exact amount of reagent indicated. Larger amounts will not be more effective and
may lead to uncontrollable reactions.
·
Never return
unused chemicals to stock bottles. Dispose properly.
·
Never use one
pipette for different chemicals.
Do not insert your pipette or dropper
into the reagent bottles. Use the one that is designated (labeled) for that
reagent.
·
Discard all
water-insoluble solids and organic chemicals in the special containers that are
provided.
·
Discard any
broken glass in broken glass collector, which is labeled as “Broken Glass Only”.
·
Never throw
matches, litmus paper or any solid waste into the sink
·
Never discard
any liquid containing chemicals into the sink without your assistant’s
permission.
·
When heating a
test tube, never point the mouth of the tube toward yourself or anyone else.
Some chemicals may eject violently when they start to boil.
·
Never pick up
hot objects with your hands. After heating glassware or crucibles place the item
on a wire gauze to cool.
·
To insert glass
tubing through a rubber stopper, lubricate the tube and stopper with water or
vaseline. Use a cloth or paper towel to protect your hand and hold the tubing
near the end to be inserted.
·
If an acid is
to be diluted, pour acid slowly into the water with constant stirring. Never
add water to acid.
·
Any chemical spilled on your eye should be washed off with plenty of water for
at least 15 minutes at the eye wash. Notify an instructor immediately.
·
Any chemicals
spilled on the skin should be washed off immediately and the skin should be
flooded with water for several minutes. Notify an instructor immediately.
·
Never taste any laboratory chemicals.
·
Never inhale
gaseous fumes or position your noise directly above the sample. If you need to
determine the odor of a gas, gently fan a small amount of the vapor toward your
nose with your hand.
·
In case of
fire, notify the instructor immediately. Turn off the heat source. If the fire
is uncontrollable, evacuate the room immediately, pull the fire alarm in the
hallway, and call the fire department.
·
If clothing
catches fire, use a fire blanket or safety shower. If no blanket or safety
shower is available, roll the person over the floor while covering with other
coats. NEVER spray a fire extinguisher
directly on a person.
·
Mercury vapor
is invisible, but toxic. A broken thermometer that releases liquid mercury
should be reported immediately to the laboratory instructor. Open the windows
and leave the room for 15 min.
·
In case
of a skin burn, notify the instructor. Minor skin burns should immediately be
placed under cold running tap water for 5-10 minutes.
·
Mobile phones
are strictly forbidden.
·
Students should use their own calculator. Mobile phones cannot be used as
calculator.
·
Each student is supposed to perform 6 experiments during a term.
·
Each experiment will be evaluated over 10 points:
·
A student can take maximum 2 make-ups, if he / she has a medical report. If the
student gets “0” from two experiments, he / she fails both from the lab and
course.
·
If you miss a lab with medical excuse, you must contact the lab coordinator
before missing the lab or as soon as possible after missing the lab.
Make-up dates are
announced
for each experiment.
·
The quizzes will be given at 8:45 (8:55, depending on weather conditions), 11:50
and 14:50.
·
You are responsible to clean your glassware and bench.
·
You should check your METU e-mails regularly
·
Be
familiar with the following terms and their effects.
Flammable
They burn.
Irritants
They irritate eyes, lungs and skin.
Toxic
They are poisonous, effective either the short or long term.
Carcinogenic
They cause cancer.
Teratogenic
They cause defects in the unborn fetus.
Mutagenic
They cause genetic mutations.
Explosive
They explode, usually on being mixed with air.
Corrosive
They burn the eyes, lungs and skin.
ACCIDENTS
SAFETY
FIRST - USE COMMON SENSE to avoid accidents.
1.
Make sure to be in a safe position/place before helping others. If you do not
know how to help to others STAY AWAY from the accident area and move to a safer
place.
2. Fire.
If a person’s clothing catches on fire, he/she needs help. Prevent him/her from
running. If he/she is close enough, put him/her under the safety
shower
because it is more effective than a blanket. If not, make him/her lie down and
smother the flames by rolling, wrapping with lab coats, blankets, towels, etc.
There are blankets located in the middle of the laboratories.
Never turn
a carbon dioxide extinguisher on a person.
If a
fire breaks out, (if time allows) turn off all burners and remove solvents,
place the chemical and equipment safely to the nearest possible table/bench,
exit the building calmly. If you do not use the fire extinguisher, leave the
room immediately to a safer place possibly outside. There are carbon dioxide
extinguishers in the laboratory and the positions and operation of these should
be known. Point the extinguisher at the base of the flames. Very small fires can
be put out with a damp towel by smothering. Only after the safety of all is
assured should the matter of extinguishing the fire be considered.
Because
a few seconds delay can result in very serious injury, laboratory personal
(assistants and technicians) will guide you on what to do and how to exit during
the case of such an emergency.
3.
Chemicals.
If corrosive chemicals are spilled on the clothing, immediate showering (with
clothing on) is the best remedy. When no safety shower is available remove the
affected clothing immediately, and wash the area for 15 full minutes either in
the sink or with the eye wash. Notify an assistant immediately and ask for help.
If chemicals are spilled on the skin, wash them off with large volumes of water.
Bromine should be washed off with water and the skin then massaged with ethanol
or glycerine. Do not apply a burn
ointment. If the
chemical
is spilled in the eye,
it should immediately be washed out thoroughly with water using the eyewash. If
acid was involved, a weak solution of sodium bicarbonate in an eyecup should
then be used. If a base, boric acid is effective.
If
corrosive chemicals are spilled on the desk, dilute them with a large volume of
water and then neutralize with sodium bicarbonate if an acid, or dilute acetic
acid if a base.
IN THE
CASE OF EMERGENCY
·
Report
the location of the emergency; give your name, telephone number, and building
and floor number. Meet the ambulance
or fire crew at the place you indicated or send someone else if you cannot go.
·
Report
the nature of the emergency, whether an explosion has occurred and whether there
has been a chemical or electrical fire.
·
If
individuals are involved, report how many and whether they are unconscious or
trapped.
EMERGENCY CALLS
Urgent service ( Hızır Acil)
: 112
Internal Services (İç Hizmetler)
: 210 2703 – 2704
METU Health Center
: 210 4960
Mesa Hospital
: 292 99 00
Medicana Hospital
: 292 92 92
Gazi Hospital
: 202 44 44
Hacettepe Hospital
: 305 16 90-91
Fire Notice
: 110