These pages must be read by all lab users before commencing work. They contain important safety information as well as information on which areas of the lab are suitable for specific types of work.
The听laboratory manual听is designed to be a practical guide for laboratory users. It is not meant to replace the Departmental Safety Policy听but is intended to be read in conjunction with it. Some of the items covered by the Safety Policy (see Arrangements to cover activity/hazard) will be explained in more detail here and it is important that these are read and understood before any laboratory work is carried out.
- General Laboratory Rules
- No eating or drinking in the laboratory
- Lab coats must be worn at all times
- Safety glasses must be worn when deemed necessary by the risk assessment
- Gloves must be worn when handling chemicals/samples/hazardous substances
- Organic solvents must not be poured down the sinks
- Acids must not be poured down the sinks without being properly neutralised
- All spillages must be cleared up immediately
- No work is to be carried out in the lab unless there is another worker within earshot
- Undergraduate students may not work unsupervised in the lab
- You are responsible for your workspace 鈥 keep it tidy, leave it clean
- Label everything
All lab users should know:
- How to sound the fire alarm
- The location of the fire exits
- The location of the first aid box
- Who to contact in case of emergency and how
- So you want to use the lab
What do you need to do before you start work? This manual has information on the equipment in the lab, general safety regulations, protocols and 鈥渓ab etiquette鈥.
Decide what you want to do in the lab
- How many samples are involved?
- What type of samples are they?
- What type of information do you want?
- What type of analysis would you like to do?
- What methods do you intend to use?
- Is the type of work already carried out in the lab?
- Do you need specialist training before commencing work?
- How long do you want to spend doing it?
- How much is it going to cost and are the funds available?
- Is there a 鈥渇unding code鈥 (a six digit number...) to charge the work to?
Talk to Laboratory Supervisor
No work should be carried out in the lab without telling the lab manager听first. This is for your safety and for the safety of other lab users. It would be helpful if you come armed with the answers to the above questions.
Complete any training requirements听听听听听听
If there is mandatory safety training associated with the method or instrument you wish to use, this training must be completed before booking lab time.
Read the methods
If there is an existing method that is routinely used in the lab, then a copy of it will be available from the laboratory web pages. Print it out. Read it. Make sure you understand it. If you intend to develop a new method, read the section of this manual that deals with method introduction and development.
Read and sign the risk assessment
If you intend to use an existing lab method there will be a safety document associated with it. You must read and sign the document before starting any lab work. Each protocol will have its own risk assessment form. Those involving chemicals will also have a COSHH (Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health) information sheet. If the method you intend to use is new to the lab, a full risk assessment must be carried out before the work can begin. Electronic templates are available to help with this and advice can be sought from the lab team. Further details on risk assessment can be found elsewhere in this manual.
Booking time and space in the laboratory
The basement lab is used continually during the year and is always very busy. Consequently, each room and piece of equipment must be booked before use. The booking system is fairly flexible and if you happen to turn up on a day when a room is empty and not booked it may be possible for you to use it, but please try to get into the habit of checking first. You can check the availability of the room in question on the laboratory bookings calendar. 听For reasons of safety certain rooms can only accommodate one person at a time. You must not start work without booking first. It is essential that听the lab team are听aware of your presence in the lab and the nature of the work being carried out.
An email address has been set up for the听lab. This will automatically go to all听lab听staff and will allow anyone of us to deal with all听lab听issues (especially important in the absence of whoever you would normally email individually). We would like this to be used for any听lab听booking听requests that are not made in person. This will allow us to find the most suitable space for your work and also add any items of equipment that you may require (ovens, furnaces, balances etc.) 鈥 items that have been easy to forget with the online system.
Bookings听will be viewable听on the听lab听Outlook calendar. You can add this to your calendars by doing the following:
- Go to Calendars in Outlook
- Select the folder tab and open calendar
- Search for 鈥渵geo鈥 and the calendar ~Geog.LabBookings will appear at the top of the list (don鈥檛 forget the 鈥渵鈥)
- Select this and OK.
The听lab听Bookings听calendar will appear as one of your calendars. It is a 鈥渞ead only鈥 calendar so you will not be able to听book听directly through this, but you will be able to see what is already听booked. You may have to open the 鈥渄aily鈥 view to see all things听booked听on a particular day, as the boxes are too small to accommodate all items in the听lab. You can either come down to discuss what you want to听book听or email your听lab听booking听to the geog.lab听address and one of us will add you to the calendar and then email back to let you know what has been听booked. Please do not approach other lab users to try to make them change bookings or offer to "give your booking away".
Should there be a need to do this, the lab staff will do this on your behalf. It is important that the lab staff are aware of who is going to be using the labs There is also an email address set up for field equipment requests. Obviously, Ian will deal with most of these requests but if you email Ian and he is on holiday/off sick/on fieldwork, no one else will know about your request. If you email geog.field, we will all know about your request and will be able to help out in Ian鈥檚 absence. If you have booked the lab and find you cannot use the time booked, please let someone know. It can be very frustrating for those that need to use the lab if you don't turn up.
Browse through the rest of this manual. Find out about the equipment you want to use and the rooms you will be working in. The lab 鈥渞ules鈥 are here to make the basement a safe and efficient environment to work in. Please be considerate of other lab users and stick to the rules.
- Paying for lab work
Use of chargeable equipment and Consumables forms.
- Before starting work in the laboratory, the lab user must ensure that sufficient funds are available to cover the costs of any consumable items or equipment used. Usually there will be a project-specific grant code.
- When booking equipment, the user should be aware of the daily/sample charge and allocate sufficient funds from grants to cover estimated use.
- Students on the DTP programme must have their expenditure approved before starting work. No consumable items can be provided until they are authorised by the DTP administrator.
- The user will be expected to provide details of their project听code when booking the lab.
- While carrying out the work the user should make a note of听every item used 鈥 forms are available for this.
- The completed form should be returned to the lab supervisor when the work has been completed.
- If a form is not submitted within a week of completion of the work, the grant code will be charged at the maximum rate for the work being carried out.
Special items
If an item is requested that is not usually kept in stock and therefore has to be ordered specifically, the user will be asked for a grant code to charge the order against. This will usually be charged at the time of the order, not on completion of the work and these items do not have to be listed on the consumable request form.
- General Lab Safety
Every laboratory is potentially hazardous and all tasks performed in the laboratory involve an element of risk. Even weighing a sample on an electronic balance involves hazards:听
- The balance is powered by 240V mains electricity
- The vessel used for weighing may be made of glass
- The substance being weighed may be toxic
These hazards must be considered and the risks minimised before any work is carried out.
Many accidents occur because of ignorance or complacency.听If you don't know or are unsure about something,听ask someone who does know听and do not become complacent about routine tasks. Just because you have never spilt acid on your hands before doesn't mean you don't need to wear gloves, there is always a first time.
Many of the sections in this manual refer to safety issues. Lab users must read and make sure they understand these sections before working in the lab. If you do not understand, ask.
Safety regulations and guidelines are not written to make life difficult, they are there to protect you and the people around you. You have a听legal obligation听to adhere to safety regulations. If your negligence is the cause of someone else's injury, you are personally liable.
- Accident Reporting
All accidents, no matter how minor, must be reported to the Departmental Safety Officer and Deputy Department Safety Officer.
Although we all aim to prevent accidents, there are occasions when they happen. It is essential that听all accidents or incidents are reported听in the appropriate way - even if no one has sustained any injuries. Accidents听must be reported using the Safety Services online reporting mechanism.
Once submitted a copy of the report will be made available to the DSO for investigation. For insurance purposes, it is essential that Safety Services be notified of any incident within three weeks of it happening. In the event of an injury being sustained, contact one of the Departmental First Aiders or approach听: