Safety

Safety structure

Within Molmat, the following safety obligations are applicable. Although Molmat uses common laboratories, the chairman of each research group is ultimately in charge of ensuring the safety of each particular lab. As a result, every research group has a Safety Official to oversee daily safety procedures. All laboratories and users (internal and external) are subject to the fundamental safety regulations listed below. The same lab may be used by several research teams or businesses. Each of these users is required to coordinate their procedures and risk assessments (RI&Es) with the Safety Offical and responsible PI for that particular laboratory.

An employee, student, or guest may only work in these labs if the following requirements are met.

• Safety intro: Every lab user must go through a safety introduction. The sessions are always held on the first and fifteenth of the month. Following their instruction, the user signs a form.
• Unsupervised organic chemistry can be done in a lab by someone with a completed MSc degree in chemistry/chemical engineering or similar, such as BET track BME. BSc and MSc students as well as Interns are always supervised.
• Biology can be done unsupervised, but not alone in a lab, by a person with a finished MSc degree in biology, biomedical engineering or equivalent. BSc, MSc students and Interns always work supervised.
• Specific protocols: introduction is required to work with piranha, aqua regia and concentrated nitric acid and these introductions are signed off by the instructor and the PhD/PD student. 
• Experimental agreement: PhD/PD/student proposes and presents experimental plan to the responsible PI or safety official of the lab, preferably by use of one of the digital labjournals (Signals or Benchling). PI agrees and foresees that the PhD can execute the plan safely or that action is required to execute the plan safely.

 Richard Egberink, Marcel de Bruine, and Clemens Padberg are the people who have a first aid diploma. There is a plaster box in every lab. Always dial 053-4892222 in case of emergency.

Lab-check

The (bio)chemical work within Molmat Department is divided over 4 different laboratories.. Members of each of these laboratories are responsible for the order and cleanliness of their own lab, the general equipment (rotavaps, ovens, pumps, vacuum line, balances etc), the general fume hood (waste hood), cupboards etc. Everybody has to empty their own fume hood from solvent bottles and chemicals before going home every day. This means that only a leakage box and general set-ups can remain in the fume hoods. Fume hoods should be entirely closed when not at work or in the ‘werkstand’ for optimal extraction of air. On the bench only pre-cleaned glassware is allowed.

When a person or a lab frequently does not comply with these general rules measures will be taken. The measures range from organizing the Friday afternoon borrel, paying a coffee-plus or a borrel, cleaning out the waste room, organizing the biannual lab-cleaning, to forbid someone entrance to the lab or the building.

The responsibility lies with the lab-members themselves how to organize this!

Equipment

Members of laboratories are responsible for maintaining the order and cleanliness of their individual lab, as well as the general equipment (rotavaps, ovens, pumps, vacuum line, balances, etc.), fume hood (waste hood), cupboards, and so on. Every day, everyone must empty their fume hood of solvent bottles and chemicals before leaving for the day. This means that just the leaking box and general setups can be kept in the fume hoods. Fume hoods should be completely closed while not in use to ensure optimal air extraction. On the bench, only pre-cleaned glassware is permitted.

When a person or a lab repeatedly fails to follow these general guidelines, appropriate action will be taken.

The lab members themselves are responsible for organizing this!

Weekly lab safety checks are done by staff and are signed off. 

Everybody that wants to use equipment in our labs needs a proper introduction on the machine before they start using it. On our websites http://www.utwente.nl/tnw/bnt/Equipment/ or is a list with equipment responsibilities and locations. (see also Appendix C). The indicated person takes responsibility for general cleanliness of the apparatus and direct working area and the general introduction of the apparatus (you are only granted access and allowed to make reservations after this introduction). This person can urge people to clean and take care of the equipment.

General safety and hygiene rules

• Eating, drinking and smoking, carrying food or drink, applying cosmetics or putting in contact lenses and storing food and drink in the labs is prohibited. Avoid hand- face contact
• Personal possessions, like coats, sweater, or bag must be put away outside the labs.
• Wearing a lab coat is compulsory. It is prohibited to wear these lab coats outside the lab. Each lab has its own set of lab coats and should not be exchanged in between labs. A clean lab coat can be obtained in Cr4222 upon returning a dirty lab coat. Dirty lab coats will be washed by the UT.
• A lab is not meant to be a transit to/from an office.
• Wearing safety goggles is compulsory.
• Headphones or earplugs are not allowed in the lab. You need to be able to hear everything in the lab. However, Background music over boxes is allowed, as long as it is not disturbing for any colleague.
• Gloves are only to be worn to protect yourself from chemicals or to protect your substrate from yourself. Do not wear gloves outside the fume hood, in order not to contaminate doorknobs, keyboards etc. with your gloves. Chemicals need to be transported in such a way that wearing gloves is not necessary (i.e. in buckets, or boxes).
• The workspace is to be kept clean and tidy.

Safety glasses

You are obliged to wear safety glasses inside the Laboratories! Normal safety glasses can be obtained from the technicians. If you need special glasses when you wear prescription glasses in daily life, please contact the safety officer. He can give permission to buy special glasses from an Optician.

Safety gloves

Different gloves have different applications:

• Latex gloves: Recommended for use with acids, bases, alcohols and aqueous solutions (polar solvents). Not recommended for use with oils, greases and organics.
• Nitrile gloves: Recommended for use with oils, grease, acids, caustics and aliphatic chemicals (apolar solvents). Not recommended for use with aromatics, many ketones, esters and many chlorinated solvents.
• Neoprene gloves: Recommended for use with oxidizing acids, caustics, alcohols, oils, fats, aniline, phenol, glycol, ethers. Not recommended for use with chlorinated hydrocarbons.

The use of gloves is only allowed in the fumehoods to prevent contamination of door handles, other furniture, computers and equipment. If you need to move from one lab to the other, do not wear gloves, in order not to contaminate the door handles.

Safety synthesis

• Reactions using tap water must have secured water tubes. Adapt flow rate to reasonable proportion. Make sure that all unnecessary water taps are closed.
• Switch off (unused) oil pumps and disconnect simultaneously (unused) cooling devices.
• Switch off all (unused) rotary evaporators, their membrane pumps and their water supply.
• Write down the name of persons whose labbench and/or fumehoods are not empty. On the bench only precleaned glassware is allowed. No solvent bottles and no chemicals.
• Close all fume-hoods when not in operation and make sure the fume-hood is at “werkstand” for optimal extraction of the air.
• Overnight reactions have to be described on an ‘overnight blue form’, only valid for 24 hours, and signed by Richard or Regine (< 17.00h). If the blue card is missing write down the name in the logbook.

Different regulations are operative depending on the location:

ML-1 labs

These labs have limited entrance and are only inspected by their inhabitants (see Appendix D).

Laser labs

This lab has limited entrance and inspection takes place by the responsible persons (see Appendix E).

Storage room

Openings hours stockroom CR4222: 11.15 – 11.45h

Washing room

Inspection takes place by the responsible labgroup as stated on the corvee-list . Check the state of cleanliness of the freezers, fridges, SPS system, MilliQ system, dishwasher, ultrasone baths, autoclave, ice machine etc.

Laboratory Work Outside Regular Working Hours

Purpose and Guiding Principle

Within TNW, the guiding principle for laboratory work outside regular working hours (08:00–18:00) is: No, unless.

Work may only be carried out if it has been established in advance that it is necessary and safe.

The responsibility for this assessment lies with the supervisor. HSE-TNW provides support and advice where necessary and registers the notifications. The Faculty Board establishes the framework and monitors compliance.

Risk Assessment

A. Laboratory Work with Manageable Risk

Activities that are fully covered by a current risk assessment and work instruction, and for which the prescribed control measures can also be implemented outside regular working hours.

Permitted only after prior approval from the supervisor and registration using the Laboratory Work Outside Regular Working Hours Registration Form.

• The need to work outside regular working hours has been substantiated.
• A valid risk assessment/work instruction is available.
• The employee has received sufficient instruction and training.
• The employee has valid authorisation to access the relevant building/laboratory outside regular working hours.
• For laboratory work outside regular working hours, a qualified buddy must always be physically present in the relevant laboratory space. 
• Procedures for responding to incidents are known.

B. High-Risk Activities

Activities for which the risk assessment shows that adequate expert support, supervision or incident response cannot be sufficiently guaranteed outside regular working hours.

These include, in any case, activities involving H310/H330 substances, high-risk instruments and cryogenic liquids, where the nature of the risks means that these activities cannot be carried out responsibly outside regular working hours.

Not permitted outside regular working hours.

Process Overview

BOOKING LABORATORY WORK OUTSIDE NORMAL WORKING HOURS

Important: Please check whether the activity falls under ‘high-risk work’ according to the process. If it does, work outside normal working hours is not permitted.

For registering work outside normal working hours, click the link below:

Arbo & Milieu | TNW Intranet

Working with H310/H330 substances

Principle: Responsibility for safe working lies within the line organisation. HSE-TNW assesses the substantive justification and advises the FB. The FB establishes the framework, decides on release and supervises compliance.