Legislation and Health and safety in the laboratory

Cameron Hawkins

Abstract

Risks are always high in scientific laboratories, because in the laboratory there is much more dangerous equipment, and data that needs to be recorded to much more accuracy than elsewhere. These risks must be identified and minimised as quickly as possible.

Risks

Risks are conditions that threaten the possibility of success. These could involve safety of the user, accuracy of the experiments, or the chances of success. Hazards are normally more specified into safety at work, or harm done to the scientist. For example, if a corrosive acid would be spilled onto the floor or the table where people would touch it, it would be a safety hazard. Hazards should all be avoided at all costs.

Harmful is a common description to risks, hazards, and hazardous equipment required for the experiment. Harmful chemicals are marked with a big X symbol on the container of the chemical. For example, a corrosive acid in a jar could be harmful.

Toxic is a description also given to many chemicals in the laboratory. Toxic chemicals are venomous if ingested into the body through any method. If a toxic chemical is ingested it can be lethal. Toxic chemicals are not necessarily harmful on contact with the skin but it should be avoided because it may be able to sink into the pours of the skin into the blood flow.

Flammable chemicals are chemicals that can catch fire very easily. Many of them do no other damage to the body, but if, for example, a flammable liquid or gas was in the room striking a match would be unwise.

Oxidising agent is an instrument that gains electrons from other elements in certain reactions and loses charge. These reactions are usually oxidation where the element reacts with oxygen.

Water reactives are substances that react violently with water, and are used in the lab very often. This can be a big safety hazard as it can react directly in water under dangerous conditions, or can produce a highly flammable gas in other experiments, which may lead to fire. These reactives are best kept in sealed containers until use.

Risk assessments

Risk assessments are very important in the field of science because in the laboratory there are hazards of safety as well as inaccuracy of the results. According to the HSE (the Health and safety executive) a risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what in the laboratory could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by failure to take reasonable control measures.  The HSE inspectors perform risk assessments and have health and safety reports of each science experiment to make sure experiments are being performed under acceptable safety conditions.[1]

Risk assessments are simple examinations of the working environment in order to prevent or remove any health and safety issues which can lead to accidents. They are very important because workers in an environment below suitable standards can take the firm to court and potentially sue the manager. Risk assessments can avoid that and should be performed not only in scientific experiments but in every practical activity.

Safe working practices

Fume cupboards are a primarily a use of exhaust ventilation from scientific experiments in action. They keep in an expected 9,999 out of 10,000 particles of the reaction’s substances depending on the brand and type, and so when using highly toxic materials a more enclosed container is recommended.

Wise and safe use of a fume cupboard would be to keep the sash at or below the marked maximum, wear a laboratory coat and appropriate gloves to reduce damage from skin contamination, do not walk past a fume cupboard in action or when being opened because it can disturb the airflow and may cause turbulence in the fume cupboard. Avoid putting your head inside a fume cupboard when in use with dangerous materials. Although it may be necessary for the experiment or if major changes to the equipment need to be made, but this should not be done if possible, nor should you use it as a chemical exhaust route purely for venting vapour or pouring liquid down its drain. When assembling any equipment, all vents, drains and exhaust slots should be fully operational and nothing should be clogged. [2]

Chemicals should all be stored safely in separate bottles or containers which must be clean to stop any mixing of chemicals or contamination, they must be made of a substance which will not react with the chemical holding it, they must have secure lids to prevent any vapours being leaked out, and these containers should be stored in a safe place where they cannot be broken or leak. These rules should be followed very strictly depending on how toxic, reactive, acidic, and flammable the chemical in question is. The chemicals should be stored where there are little or no electric devices which may give a spark from where they can ignite. Chlorinated chemicals are best stored in ventilated cabinets far from the flammable gases as they can react, producing toxic gases, and corrosive chemicals are to be handled with care all the time. Acids and alkalis can react very violently with each other and so are best stored far away from each other to prevent any contact. [3] Since most reactions produce liquids and gases, disposal of waste material is relatively simple legally, since liquids may be poured down the drains so long as the drainpipes will not erode and have leaks.

In case of any safety incidents, no matter how small and including near misses, the person affected should go to hospital if it is serious enough, and then an incident report must be filled out, outlining all details, including the incident (whether it was a fire, broken glass, or equipment), the person (name, gender, age) and the time, date, and any other details of the accident. Commonly, there are multiple causes for an accident, and these must all be outlined in the incident report. [4]

COSHH is a British instrument designed to handle usage of chemicals in areas such as these to protect workers from dangerous working conditions, and conduct surveys and risk assessments on laboratories throughout the country to do this. [5]

All scientists using specialised equipment must handle it with care, such as containers of chemicals or handling of Petri dishes of pathogens, so it is important to know how to handle them with care otherwise it may be spilled and contaminate the laboratory. Good housekeeping of the laboratory is important because it too can remove some very obvious risks in the laboratory. For example, food should not be brought into the laboratory because it may get poisoned by chemicals or pathogens being used in the laboratory never drink in the laboratory because any acid which might have been poured into the water would not be noticed by the scientist. Any glass which is broken in the laboratory must be quickly cleared up and disposed of safely to stop anyone getting cut. If a cut is made, or brought into the lab, it must be plastered over quickly because it can turn septic if entered by any pathogen or acid, and lots of protective equipment must be used or worn throughout the experiment.

Laboratory coats must be worn because they are white, showing any stains or signs of contamination on it clearly. If the coat shows any signs of contamination it must be thoroughly washed before it is used again. Lab coats also offer the skin protection from any acids making skin contact. If a dangerous acid makes contact with skin it must be immediately washed under a cold tap and an incident report must be filled out. If signs of corrosion continue, the scientist must be sent to hospital. These principles of protection and detection are used in lots of equipment for the experiment, including gloves, goggles, shoes, and glasses. They are not always white, but all offer the worker protection through the same method. [5]

Regulations and legislation

The HSE, the COSHH, and UKAS each have inspectors that perform regular reports on the health and safety conditions of each science laboratory to make sure the safety conditions are acceptable. If a laboratory fails, depending on how unsafe the conditions are, it can get ordered to shut down by the government, or it can be given an amount of time’s notice to improve, whereupon there will be another inspection. If there hasn’t been any improvement, the laboratory is shut down. These inspections are important to make sure scientific laboratories don’t have bad conditions because if a lab performs an experiment under bad conditions, this could mean publication of a report of inaccurate results, or harmful damage done to one of the workers, which may result in a law suit.

 [1] – www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment.htm

[2] – www.ucl.ac.uk/estates/safetynet/guidance/substances/fume_cupboards.pdf

[3] – www1.imperial.ac.uk/DFE42311-A6A0-4CA3-925C-38DABB25B9E

[4] – www.research.northwestern.edu/ors/emergancies/incident-report.html

[5] – www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/