Safety Regulations

Introduction

This manual provides guidelines and general basic rules for safe practices within the Department of Chemistry, with special attention to undergraduate teaching laboratories and research laboratories. Safety regulations are intended to reduce the chance of an accident. They are required reading for every person working in the Department. It should be emphasized that this manual is suggested simply as a starting point for good practices. It is not intended to establish universal laws, regulations and rules.

Laboratory safety has two principal goals. The first one is PREVENTION, the second is CONTAINMENT. It is beyond the scope of this manual to cover all potentially dangerous situations. Safety regulations are meant to reduce the chance of an accident and knowledge of the regulations is essential, but it will not prevent all accidents. This manual, the first one produced for Carleton University’s Department of Chemistry is a step in the right direction of an attempt to ensure common sense practices of safety in the laboratory. It should be revised from time to time, and all members of the Department are invited to contribute their ideas and comments for improvement in subsequent editions. The Chairman of the Department and Members of the Safety committee will be glad to receive advice and contributions towards future issues. Inflexible rules cannot be universally applied but the following summary of guidelines (plagiarized from elsewhere) focuses on a good beginning towards the prevention of irresponsible risks and behavior.

Summary of Safety Guidelines

1. Safety glasses or goggles and a laboratory coat should be worn at all times in the laboratory. use of contact lenses and open footwear is not permitted. Long hair must be suitably confined.
2. ALL students must have a current WHMIS training.
3. Undergraduates are not permitted to work alone in the laboratory at any time.
4. No one is allowed to work alone in the laboratory after hours (18:00).
5. Horseplay, pranks and unauthorized experiments are prohibited.
6. Eating, drinking and smoking in the laboratory are prohibited.
7. All accidents should be reported immediately to your research supervisor or another member of the staff.
8. The location of exits, safety showers, eye-baths, fire extinguishers and the nearest telephone should be ascertained before beginning work. Instructions on how to proceed in the event of a fire alarm are posted on every floor and must be read.
9. Reactions left to run unattended for extended periods of time should be labeled with the name and phone number of the appropriate research personnel.
10. Proper use of gas cylinders, vacuum pumps, distillation equipment and waste disposal containers should be reviewed with your research supervisor.
11. Proper procedures in the use and disposal of chemical compounds which are known to possess hazardous properties such as high toxicity, shock sensitivity, reactivity with water or air etc. should be reviewed with your research supervisor.

This manual is divided into 3 parts:

• Part I – addresses the rules for undergraduate laboratories
• Part II – includes further rules for Research Laboratories
• Part III – lists common chemicals which require special care in handling and/or storage.