General Orientation Training – Nizkorodov Lab
Last updated on February 8, 2016
Topics to be covered during this orientation include
Layout of the RH385 lab........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Layout of the RH354-358 labs .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Layout of the RH350 lab........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Locations of various items in the labs ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Locations of important places................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Location of important documents and software ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Buying chemicals and/or equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Updating Chemical Inventory (New Chemicals and Empty Containers) ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Solvent storage and safety ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Dry chemical storage and safety ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Cleaning and drying glassware (suggested procedures) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Correct usage of the hoods .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Keeping personal laboratory records..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Instrument/Equipment signup............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Dealing with unplanned power outages ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Dealing with planned power outages .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Dealing with celling drips and/or floods ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Group Member Safety Responsibilities: ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Safety Officer Responsibilities: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Disposing of hazardous waste................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Important websites ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Important seminars................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
1
Layout of the RH385 lab
2
Layout of the RH354-358 labs
3
Layout of the RH350 lab
4
The previous pages provide images of the RH385, RH 350 and RH354-358 laboratories, to which we have access. During orientation you must
familiarize yourself with the purpose of every bench, hood, storage cabinet, experimental area, etc. Guide: go over locations of these items (point out
features of hoods like vacuum lines, etc.). Orientee: write down the purpose of the major locations in RH385:
o Fume hoods:

Hood 1 contains ______________________________________________________________________________________

Hood 2 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________
o Toxic gas bottle cabinets

Toxic bottle cabinet 1 contains __________________________________________________________________________

Toxic bottle cabinet 2 contains __________________________________________________________________________

Purposes of benches vary based on projects. Make notes about the purpose of every bench:

Bench 1 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________

Bench 2 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________
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Bench 3 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________
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Bench 4 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________

Bench 5 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________
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Bench 6 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________

Bench 7 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________

Bench 8 contains _____________________________________________________________________________________

Cabinet 1 contains_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cabinet 2 contains ____________________________________________________________________________________

Cabinet 3 contains ____________________________________________________________________________________
o Benches
o Cabinets
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Orientee: write down the purpose of the major locations in RH350, 354, 358:
o Fume hoods and glove boxes:

RH358 hood contains __________________________________________________________________________________

RH350 hoods contain __________________________________________________________________________________

RH350 glove box contains ______________________________________________________________________________

RH358 bench contains _________________________________________________________________________________

RH350 benches contains ________________________________________________________________________________

RH358 cabinets contain________________________________________________________________________________

RH350 cabinets contain________________________________________________________________________________
o Benches
o Cabinets
o Refrigerators and Freezers in RH350

Refrigerator contains__________________________________________________________________________________

Freezer contains______________________________________________________________________________________
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Locations of various items in the labs
Guide: review where these items are kept
Orientee: write down their locations (e.g., “under bench 1”)
Safety-related:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Eyewash and shower _____________________________________________________________________________________
Spill kit _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Gloves ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tissues ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cleaning supplies ________________________________________________________________________________________
Fire extinguisher _________________________________________________________________________________________
Safety glasses ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Broken glass container ____________________________________________________________________________________
Sharps container _________________________________________________________________________________________
Tools:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Mechanical tools (wrenches, hammers, etc.) _____________________________________________________________________
Bolts and nuts ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Unistrut hardware __________________________________________________________________________________________
Propane torch for soldering __________________________________________________________________________________
Heat guns ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Epoxy and lubricants ________________________________________________________________________________________
Electrical:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Multimeters ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Wires and hot shrink tubing __________________________________________________________________________________
Parts for making cables and various cables _______________________________________________________________________
Electrical plugs ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Propane torch for soldering __________________________________________________________________________________
Soldering supplies _________________________________________________________________________________________
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o
o
o
o
Heat guns ________________________________________________________________________________________________
BNC cables ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Extension cords ____________________________________________________________________________________________
New batteries and used batteries container _______________________________________________________________________
Chemicals and synthesis:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Chemicals – solvents _____________________________________________________________________________________
Chemicals – solids _______________________________________________________________________________________
Chemicals – acids ________________________________________________________________________________________
Chemical waste __________________________________________________________________________________________
Chemicals needing refrigeration _____________________________________________________________________________
Synthesis supplies ________________________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – flasks ________________________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – volumetric ____________________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – beakers and Ernelmyers___________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – traps __________________________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – distillation ______________________________________________________________________________________
Glassware – large and unusual items ____________________________________________________________________________
Vials and bottles ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Pipettes (manual and automatic) ________________________________________________________________________________
Fridge/Freezer for chemicals ________________________________________________________________________________
Ovens_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Desiccators and dry boxes _________________________________________________________________________________
Stirplates and hotplates ____________________________________________________________________________________
Rotavap supplies _______________________________________________________________________________________
Nanopure water sources_____________________________________________________________________________________
Balances for chemicals only __________________________________________________________________________________
pH meter _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Shaker __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Purged glove box __________________________________________________________________________________________
Dewars __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Clamps __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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o Syringes _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Office-related:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Key for entering the lab if you locked yourself out (ask Sergey for the code)
Fridge for food __________________________________________________________________________________________
Office supplies _________________________________________________________________________________________
Printers (do not use the color printer for mostly B&W printing) ___________________________________________________
Label printer
Computer supplies ______________________________________________________________________________________
Paper and toners _________________________________________________________________________________________
Vacuum and flow:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Tubing – general purpose __________________________________________________________________________________
Tubing – conducting ______________________________________________________________________________________
Tubing – Teflon (for ozone only) ____________________________________________________________________________
Swagelok and other vacuum fittings __________________________________________________________________________
Mass flow controllers and rotameters__________________________________________________________________________
Pressure meters ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Purge air generators ________________________________________________________________________________________
KF flanges (for connecting pumps) ____________________________________________________________________________
Chambers and air filters ______________________________________________________________________________________
Pump oil __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pump spare parts ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Chemicals – solids __________________________________________________________________________________________
Water filters ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Vacuum glass rack (for pumping on small volumes of liquid) ________________________________________________________
Valves ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
O-rings ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gas regulators ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Gillibrator flow calibrator _____________________________________________________________________________________
Vacuum grease ______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Aerosol synthesis and collection:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Filters/MOUDI/other aerosol things _________________________________________________________________________
Sealer and Teflon sealing supplies ___________________________________________________________________________
Teflon roll (usually in the BFP group) _________________________________________________________________________
Balances for aerosol filters only ______________________________________________________________________________
Aerosol chamber supplies ___________________________________________________________________________________
Aerosol flow tube _________________________________________________________________________________________
Ozone generators _________________________________________________________________________________________
NOy box accessories_______________________________________________________________________________________
Ozone monitors ___________________________________________________________________________________________
SMPS ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Atomizers ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Neutralizers _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Impactors (PIXE style) ______________________________________________________________________________________
Spare TSI parts ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Electronics and instruments:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
HPLC instrument __________________________________________________________________________________________
GCMS instrument __________________________________________________________________________________________
UVVIS instruments _________________________________________________________________________________________
QCM instrument ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Various electronic instruments _______________________________________________________________________________
Power supplies ____________________________________________________________________________________________
MW generators and their supplies _______________________________________________________________________________
Radiation sources:
o
o
o
o
o
Replacement UV lamps _______________________________________________________________________________________
Laser supplies________________________________________________________________________________________________
Laser goggles ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Optics and optical mounts ______________________________________________________________________________________
UV illuminator supplies _______________________________________________________________________________________
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o Power meters ________________________________________________________________________________________________
o Ocean Optics spectrometers and parts_____________________________________________________________________________
***Items specific to experiments are found in labeled drawers
Locations of important places
Guide: review where these places are located
Orientee: write down their locations
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Location of electrical breakers in every lab
Other labs we use/share ____________________________________________________________________________________________
PS Stores (make sure orientee has an account) _________________________________________________________________________
Machine shop (explain how to place orders) ___________________________________________________________________________
Glassblowing shop (explain how to place orders) _______________________________________________________________________
Purchasing office (explain how to place orders) _________________________________________________________________________
Mass spectrometry facility (explain how to use) _________________________________________________________________________
Laser facility (explain how to use) OUR GROUP CODE IS: 199739_________________________________________________________
NMR facility (explain how to use)____________________________________________________________________________________
Meeting place for emergencies _______________________________________________________________________________________
Imageworks (for printing posters) _____________________________________________________________________________________
Location of important documents and software
Guide: go over where these documents are kept
Orientee: write down their locations
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
MSDS _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lab’s standard operating procedures and instructions _____________________________________________________________
Shared group files (like IP addresses, birthdays, etc.) _____________________________________________________________
Purchase orders (POs – online versions and older paper versions )__________________________________________________
Instrument manuals _______________________________________________________________________________________
Company brochures _______________________________________________________________________________________
Group software disks _______________________________________________________________________________________
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Buying chemicals and/or equipment
o
o
o
o
o
Know your short and long budget code (each student has a separate one)
Where to find and how to fill out a PO (purchase order)
Where to buy things

Gases – Airgas 800-224-7427 (tell them the ship to number = 1621651 and the room where bottles are to be deposited/picked up)

Optics – Newport Optics

Chemicals – Fisher (use username = uci; password = gofisher to show UCI prices; or Sigma Aldrich)

Synthesis supplies (like TLC plates or glassware) – VWR (cheaper than Fisher)

General supplies – McMaster Carr

Swagelok – Orange Fluid Systems

***if you can’t find what you’re looking for with these companies, search the internet
What to buy - review: very hazardous chemicals (check MSDS, is there another option?), chemical grades, chemical stability, etc.
Receiving chemicals, transferring them to the inventory, an labeling them - SEE BELOW
**buy only what you need (e.g. if you need 5 mL do not buy 500 mL!!! This is especially true if the chemical decomposes with time)
Updating Chemical Inventory (New Chemicals and Empty Containers)
o Refer to the document in the group dropbox titled “lab_chemical_inventory_instructions.docx”
Solvent storage and safety
o
o
o
o
Always wear gloves/goggles/labcoat when dealing with potentially-hazardous chemicals.
Solvents are kept in ventilated cabinets below hoods 1-2, and benches 1-3. There are separate cabinets for storage of flammables,
flammable/general, toxics, corrosives, and oxidizers.
Several squirt bottles are available for solvents.
Use organic solvents IN THE HOOD. Water can use used outside the hood.
Dry chemical storage and safety
Always wear gloves/goggles/labcoat when dealing with potentially-hazardous chemicals.
o
o
General dry chemicals are stored in the cabinet in RH350. Some dry chemicals that need to be kept cool are stored in the RH 350 fridge.
Dry chemicals that are hazardous (and/or smelly) must be weighed out IN THE HOOD (unplug and turn off the balance, relocate the
balance to the hood, plug in/turn on and weigh)
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
Reminder: Although silica gel looks harmless, it should always be weighed out in the hood because the particles can get into your lungs and
damage the tissue.
Cleaning and drying glassware (suggested procedures)
o
o
o
Glassware that contained pure organic compounds– wash with suitable organic solvent a few times and air dry or oven dry.
Glassware that is dirty –
 General procedure: Soak in a bath of Liquinox solution for at least 15 minutes. Scrub well with glassware brush. Rinse well with
tap water. Rinse again with DI water. Rough rinse with acetone (reuse the acetone for subsequent pieces). Final rinse with acetone
and oven dry.
Glassware that needs to be critically cleaned –

Acid procedure 1– coat glassware with concentrated sulfuric acid and let sit for at least 30 min. Rinse carefully and thoroughly
with tap water and keep rinse water in a large waste container. Neutralize both liquid in the glassware and waste container with
sodium bicarbonate until pH 7. Discard neutralized water down the drain. Rinse clean glassware with DI water and dry.

Acid procedure 2 – make up a strongly acidic solution and soak glassware for 1 hour. Remove glassware and save solution in a
suitable container. Place glassware in a large bucket of water. Neutralize the water in the bucket with the sodium bicarbonate.
Rinse glassware with DI water and dry.

Permanganate – make a concentrated potassium permanganate solution and place in a large (1 L or larger) beaker until 70% full.
Boil your glassware in the permanganate solution for 1 hour. Remove glassware and place in a dilute H2O2 bath, save the
permanganate solution for future use. Rinse glassware with DI water and dry.
Correct usage of the hoods
o
o
o
o
o
Hood lights should be ON whenever in use
Hood ventilation should be working
Don’t block the hood sash from closing all the way (feed lines underneath)
Don’t use the hoods as a storage place for old chemical solutions. If vials/containers have been there for months without use, get rid of it
or store in a proper place (the fridge for example).
At the end of the day, TURN OFF the hood lights and CLOSE the hood sash
Keeping personal laboratory records
Guide: Make sure orientee has a laboratory notebook! You can buy one in the PS stores (Sergey may have new notebooks stored in his office). Show
orientee an example of laboratory notes.
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Keeping laboratory records is mandatory! Your memory cannot be trusted, so record your experiment in detail every time.
Things to record:
o
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Date of experiment
Instruments used and their settings
Drawing/sketch/photo of setup the first time you used it
Chemicals (where you obtained them, purity, structure and formula, MW, etc.)
Weights/volumes/etc of all materials used – e.g., glassware or vials, chemicals, etc.
Initial conditions before experiments
ALL observations made at ANY time during experiment
Final conditions after experiments
Instrument/Equipment signup
These instruments require sign-up:
o
o
o
o
PTR-ToF-MS (online Google Doc)
ToF-AMS (online Google Doc)
UV-Vis (online Google Doc)
Chamber (online Google Doc)
Dealing with unplanned power outages
If an unexpected power outage happens, QUICKLY:
o
o
o
o
o
Shut down your computer (if it is power by an UPS)
Close all compressed cylinders
Lower the hood sashes
Stop chamber purge
Quickly shut shown all the instruments connected to UPS:
 PTR-MS computer and spectrometer
 CIMS computer, mass-spectrometer, turbo pumps, diaphragm pumps, MFC controllers
 UV/Vis instruments and their computers
 GCMS instrument and its computer
 HPLC instrument and its computer
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o
 SMPS instruments and their computers
 Both CRDS computers
For all instruments with on/off switches set the switches to the off position (or unplug them) – otherwise they may die when the power
comes back
 CRDS oscilloscope, delay generator, MFC controller, baratron controller
 Xe-lamp power supplies
 Chamber NOy monitor (also unplug its pump)
 Chamber O3 monitor
 Chamber MOUDI
 Chamber filter pump
 TDMA high-voltage power supplies
Dealing with planned power outages
Turn off equipment in the following order:
1. CIMS turbo pumps (water cooled) and Extel electronics
2. Booster pump (water cooled) and mechanical pump in the 3rd floor chase
3. Large Nd:YAG laser
4. Water circulator in the 4th floor chase (CIMS turbos must finish spinning down since they are being cooled by this water)
5. Close all gas flows and all gas bottles; close the inlet air for all zero-air generators
6. Turn off all mechanical pumps
7. Turn off all stand-alone equipment (see list above)
8. Disable all UPS (so that they do not switch to emergency power) and turn them off or unplug them
9. For all instruments with on/off switches set the switches to the off position (or unplug them)
10. Unplug all expensive equipment from wall outlets
11. If the power outage is expected to be longer than 1 hour move all chemicals from the refrigerator to dry-ice cooled boxes and defrost the
refrigerators during the power outage
Dealing with celling drips and/or floods
o If the ceiling begins to drip or the lab floods, it is important to prevent water damage to equipment (especially ones that are difficult to move).
o Power down the corresponding equipment, but make sure it is safe to do so (i.e. you won’t electrocute yourself by unplugging it because
water is near the electrical input of the equipment).
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o Place a piece of polyethylene (it is in sheet form rolled up in a box above the large toolbox in RH385) over the equipment that is affected.
Group Member Safety Responsibilities:
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o
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WASTE DISPOSAL: Everyone in the group is responsible for the waste they generate. Make sure to label all waste containers
appropriately. For more information on how to store and label waste, please refer to the “Disposing of waste” section of this orientation
document. Request a pickup from EH&S within 6 months of the start date of the waste generation (waste pickup requests will be submitted
by different group members on a rotating basis to spread the load equally).
NEW HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL: If you are using a chemical that our lab has not yet used, make sure to follow the appropriate channels.
This involves: reading the SDS for the specific chemical, checking the EH&S webpage to see if it needs a special SOP, and following any
and all specific safety requirements from the appropriate agency(ies). If you need assistance with creating an SOP, notify the safety officer.
USING AN INSTRUMENT/CHEMICAL FOR THE FIRST TIME: If you are using a chemical/instrument for the first time, make sure you
have read all appropriate documentation, have been trained in its operation, and have signed all appropriate documentation in the safety
binders
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE): Always make sure to wear the proper PPE for any experiment you are performing.
Check the SDS/SOP/etc. for specifics.
GENERAL RULES: Safety is the top priority in the lab. Use common sense and if in doubt about anything, do not perform the
experiment/ask for assistance!!!
UNSAFE PROCEDURES: if you see a group member doing something obviously dangerous stop him/her right away and suggest a
saferprocedure.
Keep an eye on the following:

HOOD SASH: If the hood sash was accidentally left raised too high lower it.

HOOD FAILURE: if the hood is beeping, reset the hood, lower the sash, and verify that the lab has negative pressure. Notify facilities
if beeping resumes.

UNSAFE POWER LINES: if you see frayed or entangled power lines alert the person responsible for this section of the lab.

CIMS TURBO PUMPS: if they are blinking red and/or have stopped spinning it probably means that the water circulator in the 4th is
low on water and stopped. Refill it with water following the SOP and restart the circulator and the pumps.

CIMS DIAPHRAGM PUMPS: if they are noisier than usual or appear to have stopped turn the turbo pumps off by pressing on the
button in the bottom right corner of the front panel, and turn off the diaphragm pumps. Alert Sergey.

WATER LEAKS: if you see water leaking from the lab water circulation lines, turn off laser, CIMS turbos, and booster pump in the
3rd floor chase immediately.
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

UPS FIALURES: if the uninterruptable power supply is beeping, reset it and notify Sergey. It is time to replace the battery.
CHILLERS/HEATERS: if you see water or ethanol flowing for the circulating bath heaters/coolers, turn them off immediately!
Safety Officer Responsibilities:
o The safety officer (Student Representative or SR) serves as a conduit of information among the campus safety organizations, group members,
and the principle investigator.
o The specific responsibilities include:

Completing the Laboratory Hazard Identification checklist annually and helping to ensure that identified hazards are corrected and
addressed.

Helping group members create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Ensuring that group members complete all required training.

Help coordinate work unit specific training for new and existing members as necessary.

Maintain written records for the above (i.e. the Safety Binders).
o Additionally, the safety officer will periodically check the laboratories for potential safety hazards, but the ultimate responsibility for safety
will be the individual performing the work!!!
Disposing of hazardous waste
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Liquid chemical waste - each hood has liquid chemical waste bottles that you can deposit waste into. Make sure to note the difference
between aqueous waste and organic waste. There are a few types of organic waste bottles.
**Common solvent waste** - common solvents used for washing like acetone has its own waste bottle. These types of wastes are to be
redistilled with a Rotary Evaporator (bath temp ~ 30 C) to recycle the clean solvent and then only used for washing.
Solid chemical waste – these types of waste should be dissolved into the solvent it is compatible with and disposed in the liquid waste.
Solid non-chemical hazardous waste – solids contaminated with chemicals but does not dissolve (e.g., silica gel) needs its own waste
container that EH&S will supply and pick up separately.
Solid non-chemical non-hazardous waste – these go in the trash.
Glass waste and non-glass waste that needs to be incinerated go into the glass container.
Do not put bottle from drinks into the glass container.
Razors and other sharps go into the sharps container.
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o
Batteries go into the battery container to be recycled.
Important websites
Guide: go to a computer and show how to access these websites, go over what they are used for.
Orientee: write down the main function
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Group website ________________________________________________________________
Intranet and group chemical inventory _______________________________________________________
Chemical inventory of UCI Physical Sciences (cheminnovation) __________________________________________________
PS Stores inventory __________________________________________________
Any online sign-up sheets __________________________________________________
Scifinder , Web of Science, Google Scholar __________________________________________________
NIST chemical webbook __________________________________________________
CRC Chemical handbook __________________________________________________
Important journals like ACP, EST, etc. __________________________________________________
Important seminars
o
o
o
Group seminar (weekly on dates posted on group website in RH 390)– mandatory
AirUCI seminar (biweekly on Tuesday at 12 pm in RH 390) – mandatory
Pchem seminar (weekly on Tuesdays at 4 pm in RH 401) – optional but highly-recommended when there is a talk relevant to atmospheric
science
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