ohsrm PART A
School of Molecular Bioscience
Hazardous procedure: Protein purification
Step 1. Identify hazards and hazardous jobs
Ref. #
1
2
Identify hazards by:
3
- Consulting with workers
4
- Observing work
practices
5
6
- Reading labels and
literature
7
- Reviewing incident and
injury
8
List & describe the hazards and hazardous jobs
Priority
Solvents (eg. butanol, methanol) used to precipitate proteins
may be flammable - cause fire if exposed to ignition source
Solvents (eg. methanol) used for protein precipitation or
chromatography may be toxic
Some reagents used to stabilise proteins (eg. protease
inhibitors like PMSF) are highly toxic
Some reagents used to stabilise proteins (eg. dithiothreitol
and mercaptoethanol) have a powerful stench; these are
irritants or toxins if inhaled
High-pressure chromatography systems contain liquids under
pressure, which can cause eye injury if they escape
Electrical equipment used for high-pressure liquid
chromatography may cause electrocution if faulty or used
incorrectly
Proteins and the DNA constructs / cells used to make them
may be biohazards, either due to their toxicity, potential for
infection, or their recombinant DNA nature
Related risks include French Press for cell lysis, sonication,
centrifugation, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, flammable
solvents, toxic chemicals, HPLC, disposing of chemical
wastes, risk group 2 microorganisms, human tissues, animal
tissues (see separate risk assessments for these)
3
3
3
4
5
5
6
N/A
Step 2. Assign priority for each hazard and hazardous job
For each of the hazards and hazardous jobs listed in Step 1, record a priority rating in the column beside that
hazard/job after referring to the matrix below. The likelihood of injury will be reduced if effective risk control
measures are already in place eg., safe operating equipment and procedures, trained staff etc.
Found a hazard? Think about:
How severely could it hurt someone? 
How likely is it to hurt someone?

very likely ++
could happen regularly
!!! kill or disable
!! several days
off work
! first aid
1
2
3
likely +
could happen occasionally
2
3
4
unlikely could happen, but only rarely
3
4
5
very unlikely -could happen, but probably never will
4
5
6
The numbers show how important it is to do something:
1 do something immediately
6 do something when possible.
PART A completed by: Nick Coleman
Date:
2/7/2010