HSE-manual
Waste disposal
Risk assessment
Department of Chemistry
KJM-MENA 4010 module 30
Vidar Blekastad, August 2015
Culture
Our culture should be characterized by the fact that all staff and students take personal responsibility
for following the policies and procedures and contribute to a secure, safe and good working
environment.
Responsibility
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The head of the chemistry department has overall responsibility for all aspects of HSE.
All staff and students have a personal responsibility for ensuring that rules and procedures
are followed and for contributing to a safe working environment.
The local working environment committee at the Department of Chemistry (LAMU) treat
matters that relate to safety and working environment. The HSE coordinator is contact
person for this committee.
The HSE coordinator will contribute to the Departments effort to perform all work within the
framework of applicable HSE laws.
The Safety Deputies (Verneombud) are the employee’s representatives in the working
environment issues. The safety deputies has the authority to stop work that he (she) believes
causes immediate danger for life or health. They are represented in the local working
environment committee (LAMU).
For each laboratory there is a person who is responsible for that room. Room responsibility
role:
a) Have control and knowledge of the activities that take place in space.
b) Ensure that activities follow the established procedures.
c) Provide adequate labeling of laboratory chemicals.
d) Those persons responsible for rooms must be full time employees of the Chemistry
department.
e) The door should be labelled with information about the person who is responsible
for the room (name, phone number).
Behavior in case of accidents
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Alarm instruction. You will find a poster in every laboratory with information about behavior
in case of an alarm (you will hear a bell and a siren). Please note where this poster is located
and read the text. If someone is hurt, call an ambulance. If you are in doubt if an ambulance
is needed, you may call and ask the ambulance staff. If you need an ambulance, it is
important to know the address to the Chemistry building. You will find it on this poster.
Here is the text on the alarm poster:
ALARM INSTRUCTION
If you hear a fire alarm, you are obliged to leave the building! Do not re-enter the building until an
official clearance has been given.
Alert: Everybody in the area should be alerted. If you discover fire and don’t hear the bell, use the
nearest fire alarm pull box or call 110!
Assist:
Extinguish:
Control damage:
Guide:
Help persons who need assistance.
If you discover fire, try to extinguish quickly without taking any risks.
Close doors and windows.
If you know anything about the incident, inform responsible person.
PHONE NUMBERS:
FIRE:
AMBULANCE:
POLICE:
Security alarm centre, University:
ADDRESS TO THIS BUILDING:
KJEMIBYGNINGEN, Universitetet, Blindern
Sem Sælands vei 26
110
113
112
22 85 66 66
Room no:
In case of less serious damages (e.g. cut in a finger) you may go to the Emergency medical
center (Legevakten, Storgata 40, Oslo) in town. All taxi drivers know this place, Taxi phone
number is 02323.
Risk factors in the laboratory related to chemical handling
We will now look at the most important risk factors related to chemical handling and what we can do
to avoid these risks. In the next class we will learn about what we can do to reduce the consequences
if something happens after all.
• Chemicals in the eye. I have this on the top of the list because the eye is the only place on
the body which is not covered by skin. Therefore eye protection is required whenever you
enter a laboratory where chemicals are used. Work should be done in a manner that involves
minimal risk of splashing. All laboratories where chemicals are used are equipped with eye
wash bottle. The laboratory door has an “eye protection required” sign.
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Chemicals on the body. Some chemicals may damage the skin. You should wear laboratory
coat in the laboratory. Do not wear sandals and shorts when working with chemicals
Fire. A fire in the Chemistry building may have very big and serious consequences. All of us
should do our best to avoid a fire.
• Alarm system in the Chemical building
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Smoke/heat detectors (start the alarm bells and alert the fire department).
Avoid false alarm! Avoid fumes and vapors near the smoke detectors!
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Fire alarm pull boxes (start the alarm bells and alert the fire department).
If you see a fire, but don’t hear the bell, use the fire alarm pull box. If
something really serious happens, and you think it is necessary to evacuate
the building, you may use this fire alarm pull box.
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Firefighting equipment in the Chemical building.
CO2 extinguisher
Located in the laboratories
For small fires
(liquids). No
pollutions
Powder extinguisher
Located in cabinets for
firefighting equipment and in
some corridors.
More effective.
Pollute a lot
Fire hose
Located in cabinets for
firefighting.
Effective.
Not to be used on fire
in liquid
Fire blanket
Located at laboratory course
rooms and organic laboratories.
Fire in persons,
containers etc.
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Fire triangle
When we are talking about fire, it may be useful to look at the “fire triangle”. Three
things are needed simultaneously to make a fire: heat, oxygen and combustible
substance. If we remove one of the sides, the fire will stop.
HEAT
OXYGEN
FIRE!
COMUSTIBLE SUBSTANCE
Therefore:
- Heat: Do not keep chemicals near heat sources. Store flammable chemicals in fireproof
cabinets.
- Oxygen: Some fires (e.g. fire in a beaker) can be extinguished by prevent air supply. If a
big fire occurs, leave the room and shut the door!
- Combustible substance: Avoid more chemicals than necessary. Avoid big amounts if
possible. Do not store unnecessary mess! Keep the laboratory clear!!
Some terms you should be familiar with when you are going to use flammable liquids:
• Flash point: The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at
which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air.
• Ignition temperature: The lowest temperature at which it will
spontaneously ignite in a normal atmosphere without an external source of
ignition, such as a flame or spark.
• Boiling point: Tell us how easy the liquid evaporate.
Example of some flammable liquids
Flash point
°C
Ignition temperature
°C
Boiling point
°C
Diethyl Ether
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45
180
34,5
Gasoline
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45
250
32 – 250
Toluene
4,4
480
150 – 210
White spirit
65
240
175-225
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Exposed to chemicals. Some chemicals are toxic or hazardous to health. There are 4 main
routs being exposed to chemicals.
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Ingestion: This is the most serious exposure, but the less likely. It is strictly forbidden
to eat or drink in the laboratory. Do not drink water from the grey laboratory-taps;
they may contain small amounts of cadmium.
Inhalation is more likely and may be serious. Therefore we should always work in a
fume hood when we are working with chemicals, even if they are not classified as
hazardous today, they may be classified as hazardous later. There are different types
of fume hoods at our building, the two most common are these
OLD FUME HOODS
Switch on MAX when using it. The window opening should not be more than 30 cm.
When finish: Put the window down and the switch on MIN. If the red lamp is
lightening, notify technical staff or HSE coordinator.
NEW FUME HOODS
When green lamp is lightening, it is ready for us. Red lamp: try to lower the window.
If the red lamp is still lightening, notify technical staff or HSE coordinator.
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Skin contact. Some chemicals are corrosive or irritant. Work carefully, wear
laboratory coat. You may use disposable gloves. Remember: some chemicals may
penetrate the gloves, change them regularly.
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Burn injuries and cut injuries: Work carefully. If something happens, see “First aid in
the laboratory”.
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Frost injury. When handling liquid nitrogen, use shoes which are covered properly by
the trousers. Use gloves and eye protection.
Filling liquid nitrogen: See the SOP at our home page.
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Chemical spills. Spread an absorbent material over the solution. Collect the waste in
a container for later disposal. Absorbent material is to be found in an emergency
cabinet. If the chemical is emitting toxic or hazardous fumes, wear a gasmask which
also is to be found in the emergency cabinet.
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Accident with gas bottles. Only trained persons should handle gas bottles. The gas bottles
shall be secured to a wall or other firm support. If a gas bottle with regulation valve tips over,
it will behave as a rocket (due to the very big pressure) and do a lot of damage.
Transportation of gas bottles: Make use of a trolley which is designed for gas bottles.
Storage of chemicals in the laboratory.
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Flammable liquids should be stored in fireproof cabinets. When you need some liquid, take
what you want and return the bottle and shut the cabinet door.
Acid and bases should not be stored at a high level. If you lose the bottle you may get
corrosive liquid over you. Acid and bases can be stored e.g. in cabinets under the fume hood.
Incompatible chemicals should not be stored together.
Liquid hazardous materials should be stored in secondary containment
Refrigerators used for storing flammable liquids shall be designed for that purpose. Do not
use ordinary domestic units.
Flammable liquids
Acid and bases
Chemical transportation inside the building.
Liquid hazardous materials
Do not carry bottles like this, if you meet someone in the door, you may lose a bottle and then we
may have an accident.
This is much better.
Or you may have the chemicals in a container on a trolley. Remember: Do not have incompatible
chemicals in the same container.
WASTE TREATMENT
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Ordinary waste
This is an ordinary waste basket. This will be emptied by the cleaning staff every week.
Therefore we are not allowed to put anything in this basket which may harm the cleaning
staff: No sharp things and of course no chemicals.
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Paper waste is to be recycled. Collect in designated boxes. Empty in containers by the lift
every Thursday.
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Glass waste is to be recycled. Collect the glass waste in a bucket or something similar on the
laboratory. Take it outside the building and empty it in a big glass waste container in the
backyard of the Chemistry building. NB! The glass must be clean. If it is difficult or impossible
to get it clean, the glass may be given to the HSE-coordinator.
Glass waste
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Rubbish, old material etc.
Rubbish, old material. It is very important to get rid of empty cardboard boxes, styrofoam,
old furniture etc. as soon as possible. If this is stored in the laboratory or in the corridor, the
situation will be much worse in case of a fire. Take it outside the building and put it into a big
container designed for such waste. The container is located in the backyard of the Chemistry
building.
Hazardous waste
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Definition: Hazardous waste is waste that cannot be handled together with ordinary waste if
it can cause serious pollution or risk of harm to humans or animals.
Regulation related to the recycling of waste (“avfallsforskriften”)
https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2004-06-01-930
See chapter 11 “Hazardous waste”
Hazardous waste at Department of Chemistry:
o Chemical waste
o Solvent waste
o Electrical waste (EE waste)
o Hypodermic needles, infectious waste etc.
o Radioactive waste
Chemical residues are to be given to a waste company. The residues has to be sorted,
packed in a safe way and declared. This will be done by the department. Therefore residues
may be given to the HSE coordinator. NB! The chemicals must have a proper label. If the
chemical waste can easily be destroyed in an environmentally friendly and acceptable
method (e.g. neutralizing of some simple acids and bases), you may do this in the laboratory.
Solvent waste. Organic solvents like hydrocarbons, alcohols, halogenated hydrocarbons and
ketones may be collected in containers in the laboratory. Have separate container for
halogenated hydrocarbons. Have a proper label on the containers! You may empty them in
two tanks in the backyard of the Chemistry building, see picture. You may use your office key.
The amounts should be recorded in a book you will find in the cupboard near the tanks.
There is one book for each tank. Wear safety glasses and start the fan when you are pouring
out the liquids.
Solvent waste in the lab.
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Hypodermic needles, cannula needles. Put them into a dispenser or an empty bottle (relabel
the bottle). Shut it thoroughly. If the needles are not contaminated by hazardous material,
you may put it in an ordinary waste basket. If they are contaminated, you may give them to
the HSE coordinator or put them into yellow containers for “risk waste”, see next point
“Infectious substance”. If you have some equipment, gloves etc. which are contaminated
with hazardous substance, you may put them in yellow containers which are labelled
“infectious substance”. You will find these containers in the solvent waste cage (use your
own key). When the container is full, place it in the cage and take an empty one. Disposable
gloves etc. which are not contaminated are to be thrown into an ordinary waste basket.
Dispenser box for needles
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Cage for big tanks for solvent waste
Container for infectious substance
Electric and electronic waste (EE-waste) is to be collected in designated containers, you will
find them when you enter the Physic building from the backyard of the Chemistry building.
EE waste
Declaration of hazardous waste. All companies generating hazardous waste are required to
deliver their waste at least once a year to an approved waste collector. Upon delivery each
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type of waste (as defined by its Norwegian waste code) should be accompanied by a
declaration form.
How waste companies get rid of hazardous chemicals.
o Organic chemicals: Burned in connection with manufacturing of concrete (Norcem,
Brevik). Some solvents are recycled through distillation. Inorganic acids, bases and
other inorganic compounds: Neutralized in old mines (Langøya, Holmestrand). Some
chemicals are treated in special installations in Norway and abroad.
Langøya, Holmestrand
Norcem AS is a Norwegian manufacturer of cement in Brevik.
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Electrical waste, EEwaste is treated in approved installations. The waste is taken to
pieces and hazardous components are taken away and are treated as hazardous
waste. Some components are to be recycled.
“Infectious substance” (yellow containers) is burned in an incinerator.
RISK ASSESSMENT
We need risk assessment of master thesis (the supervisor’s responsibility) and experiments (the
student’s responsibility). You can do a risk assessment in different ways depending of what sort of
work you are going to do. The most important thing is to assess the risk before you do a new
experiment and to document in the journal. One simple way to do a risk assessment is to ask you
these three questions:
• What can go wrong?
• What can we do to prevent it?
• What can we do to reduce the consequences if something happens?
This may be put into a table, and the risk assessment of a master thesis may look like this:
What can go wrong
What can we do to prevent it
What can we do to reduce the
consequences if something
happens
Exposing to toxic and
carcinogenic substances
Work with chemicals in a fume
hood.
Get information about the
substances (MSDS).
contact a physician
Report it
Fire in the hood
Follow the procedure and work
carefully.
Keep the hood tidy
Extinguish with an extinguisher
or a fire blanket.
Keep the hood tidy
Explosion in the rotavapor.
Follow the procedure and work
carefully.
Follow the SOP for rotavapor
very carefully.
Have a shield between you and
the rotavapor. Eye protection.
Get help, contact a physician if
necessary.
Accident by handling gas
cylinders.
Get good instruction. Follow
SOP for gas cylinders.
Evacuate, alert other persons.
Example of risk assessment for a simple experiment:
Description of experiment:…..includes adding metallic Na to a beaker which contains EtOH
What can go wrong
What can we do to prevent it
What can we do to reduce the
consequences if something
happens
EtOH may catch fire when the
EtOH-beaker is placed in iceThe fume-hood is kept tidy. No
temperature increases
bath.
storing of unnecessary things.
Extinguisher near by
For simple experiments which do not represent any special risk when the procedure and HSErules are
followed. This means that you use the fume hood, eye protection etc. Then it is sufficient to write
that the experiment has been evaluated, that the MSDSs are read, and that the experiment does not
represent any additional risks (refer to the risk assessment of the master thesis) when the procedure
and safety rules are followed. Check that fire extinguisher and eye flush bottle are near and make
note of this in your journal.
If you are going to do a new experiment with several steps which may be risky, you may do a Safe Job
Analysis. Then you divide the procedure into subtasks and put into this form:
SAFE JOB ANALYSIS
Subtask
What may cause an undesired
Possible caution
event?
Safe job analysis may also be used if you are going to make a Standard operation Procedure for an
instrument or another procedure, e.g. Handling of gas bottles.
Subtask
What may cause an undesired
Possible caution
event?
Transport and storage
of bottles
Gas bottles toppling,
leading to uncontrolled
release of gas.
All gas bottles should be
securely fastened to a wall or
other immovable objects to
avoid toppling.
If transported for longer
distances, appropriate trolleys
should be used
Opening of gas bottles
after connecting them
Sudden high pressure could
cause connections to fail or
explode.
Stand a bit to the side of the
connection when opening a
bottle. Always take care to
ensure leak-free connections
before opening.
General use of
compressed gas
Release of some gases may be
a fire or health hazard.
Always take care to ensure
leak-free connections in all
parts of a gas system.
Always know the hazards of the
specific gas you are using
Check the possible leakage
after changing the reduction
valve of the gas bottle.
Risk is a product of likelihood and consequence. A method for risk assessment of incidents is by
using this matrix:
Red: unacceptable risk, immediate action is required
Yellow: considerable risk, precaution should be make plans for.
Green: acceptable risk, no precaution is required.
Example: A light bulb may fall down and hurt somebody: 1X2=2 Green, Acceptable
The forecast is hurricane: 4X4=16. Immediate action is required.
Material safety data sheet (MSDS) (=sikkerhetsdatablad) 16
points.
Material safety data sheets are build up according to global regulation. Therefore you always will
find e.g. hazard(s) identification in point 2 (this is the most important point) and first aid measures in
point 4.
1. Identification
2. Hazard(s) identification
3. Composition/ information on ingredients
4. First-aid measures
5. Fire-fighting measures
6. Accidental release measures
7. Handling and storage
8. Exposure control/ personal protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and reactivity
11. Toxicological information
12. Ecological information
13. Disposal considerations
14. Transport information
15. Regulatory information
16. Other information.
According to Norwegian acts, you must have a MSDS for all chemicals we are using and storing in the
laboratories. This may be in an electronic index file, you will find more information about this at our
HSE site http://www.mn.uio.no/kjemi/english/about/hse/msds/
Whenever you are going to use a new chemical, you should have a look at the MSDS before you
make the risk assessment.