Environmental -­‐ Health -­‐ Safety and Access Training for Opeil-­‐Laboratory Higgins Hall 130 Environmental Health and Safety InstrucBonal Training for Opeil-­‐Lab Higgins Hall 130 pictures of both north and south door Working in any experimental laboratory requires safety training sufficient to enable you to be aware of the hazards in the laboratory and to adopt safe-­‐work pracBces while in the laboratory. This short laboratory safety training is intended to help you gain knowledge of the specific hazards associated while working in Opeil Lab Higgins 130 and enable you to work safely. This training will include five separate areas: General Laboratory InformaBon and PracBce Personal ProtecBon Equipment: 1) Eye ProtecBon 2) Gloves 3) Laboratory Coats Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe Machine 3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine Waste Disposal: 1) Organic Liquids 2) Inorganic Liquids 3) Sharps Materials General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Miscellaneous Items: General Laboratory InformaBon and PracBce 1) Card key access: People who are authorized to have access to the laboratory can gain access by using their eagle card (BC ID) on either one of the doors. 2) No one should be allowed in the laboratory without some specific purpose. 3) People can have guests in the laboratory, but normally ask them to occupy the office area. Escort your guests. 4) No one (except BC faculty) can borrow equipment from the laboratory without the explicit permission of Fr. Opeil, SJ. 5) No food or drink are brought in or consumed in the laboratory. 6) Use computers and the www for scienBfic purposes in accord with Boston College IT policy. 7) No smoking is allowed in the laboratory. 8) Do not run in the laboratory unless assisBng with the health of another person. 9) Accidents happen. If you are injured go to the infirmary (located in the basement of Cushing Hall), if you need assistance, call 2-­‐4444, the BC police department. All seven phones in the laboratory have emergency informaBon posted on or near them. Do not hesitate to seek medical help. 10) Your mother does not work here, clean up ader yourself. General Laboratory InformaBon and PracBce 11) At the end of your work, return tools to their proper storage place. People who need to use tools should not search around the laboratory. Please, be considerate of others. 12) If your common sense tells you that something is dangerous, stop, listen to your common sense. Common sense can save your life. 13) All laboratory personnel are required to aeend Waste Disposal Training and General Laboratory Safety offered periodically by the Boston College Environmental Health and Safety Office. Boston College must comply with OSHA standards, Federal laboratory guidelines, MA state law and Home Land Security. 14) While going through this training exercise, tour the laboratory and idenBfy all the pictures that you see here. Relate each picture to the specific hazard that is idenBfied. 15) The windows in the laboratory are to inhibit sound but permit seeing if other people are in the laboratory. Do not tape over or cover any windows. The laboratory is not a private place. 16) If you start a fire in the laboratory and can not put it out with fire exBnguishers or a blanket, tell everyone in the laboratory to exit, make sure no one is led or injured. Exit the laboratory and pull the fire alarm. General Laboratory InformaBon and PracBce 17) If you create a chemical spill that you can not contain or it is outside the exhaust hood, call 2-­‐4444 and explain the details of the accident. If you say to the police there is a "chemical spill," this means that a special group of hazardous material personnel will arrive in 15-­‐30 minutes to deal with the accident. The cost of having a hazardous materials team to come to the laboratory is a minimum $10,000. There is no chemical, combinaBon or amount of chemicals in Higgins 130 that should cause such a spill under normal operaBons. Hazardous material response teams are for containment of serious chemical fires and noxious chemical spills like Bromine, and Chlorine. 18) If you start a fire or chemical spill inside the exhaust hood, do not panic. Close the hood to decrease the air flow and do not call the police or hazardous materials team. Watch the fire at a safe distance and then call Fr. Opeil, SJ. Exhaust hoods are designed to contain fires for up to 24 hours at very high temperatures. General Laboratory InformaBon and PracBce A First-­‐Aid Kit is located at eye level on the north wall of the laboratory to the led of the sink. Emergency Contact Numbers:
Boston College Police Emergency:
552-4444
Ambulance: 552-4444
Fire Emergency: 552-4444
Environmental Health
& Safety Office: 552-0308
Physics Office: 552-3575
First aid kit includes bandages, alcohol and aspirin. To contact:
Fr. Opeil, S.J.
Office/Home: 552-8450
Laboratory: 552-3589
Cell: 505-901-9488
General Laboratory Safety Equipment Fire exBnguishers are located near each entrance door. Fire blanket A B C General Purpose Fire exBnguishers Nitrogen Gas Filled General Laboratory Safety Equipment Safety Shower Eye wash staBon Personal ProtecBon Equipment: 1) Eye ProtecBon 2) Gloves 3) Laboratory Coats Eye ProtecBon: Wear eye protecBon during all laboratory work. Goggles are provided. They are kept at both entrances to the laboratory. Encourage everyone to don goggles. They can save your eyesight. Wear goggles! They can save your eyesight. Personal ProtecBon Equipment: 1) Eye ProtecBon 2) Gloves 3) Laboratory Coats Gloves: Handling chemicals (acetone, methanol, etc.), and samples require the use of gloves. Supplies are located in the drawer marked "Gloves". Serious injuries are avoided by using gloves when handling chemicals. Dispose of gloves in the trash. Personal ProtecBon Equipment: 1) Eye ProtecBon 2) Gloves 3) Laboratory Coats Laboratory Coats: In order to protect skin and clothing from chemical solvents or corrosive materials laboratory coats are available in the laboratory. They are suggested to be worn by all workers in the laboratory. Waste Disposal: 1) Organic Liquids 2) Inorganic Liquids 3) Sharps Materials Organic Liquids: These liquids include toluene, acetone, methanol and other solvents. None of these chemicals, in any quanBBes, can be disposed of in the laboratory sink. Acetone and methanol used for cleaning can be reused before disposing. The only place to dispose of used organic liquids is underneath the sink in boele labeled "Organic Waste". Never mix Organic and Inorganic liquids in the same vessel. Organic waste will be picked-­‐up by Boston College Environmental Health and Safety Personnel upon request. Waste Disposal: 1) Organic Liquids 2) Inorganic Liquids 3) Sharps Materials LABORATORY WASTE ACCUMULATION AREA ALL containers must be clean, labeled, and capped. This area must be inspected weekly. red top = acetone green top = methanol Waste Disposal: 1) Organic Liquid 2) Inorganic Liquid 3) Sharps Materials Inorganic Liquids: These liquids include acids and bases. Small quanBBes (< 50 ml) of these materials that are diluted at least 100:1 with water can be disposed of in the laboratory sink. As a pracBce, however, no chemicals, in any quanBBes, should be disposed down in the laboratory sink. Acetone and methanol used for cleaning can be reused before disposing. The only place to dispose of organic liquid is underneath the sink in containers labeled "Inorganic Waste". Never mix Organic and Inorganic liquids in the same vessel. Inorganic waste will be picked-­‐up by Boston College Environmental Health and Safety Personnel upon request. Waste Disposal: 1) Organic Liquid 2) Inorganic Liquid 3) Sharps Materials Glass, needles and razors: Broken glass, used microscope glass slides, used medical syringes, and used razors are disposed in specific containers located throughout the laboratory. Do not dispose of broken glass, used microscope glass slides, used medical syringes, and used razors in the trash. They could cause serious injury to other laboratory personnel or Boston College staff. Sharps and broken glass will be picked-­‐up by Boston College Environmental Health and Safety Personnel upon request. Sharps container Broken glass and syringes and razors General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Do not discard any chemical boele or container. Chemical Inventory labels must be kept and reported. No Organics down the sink. Chemical Hazard: Chemical hazards occur in the Opeil Lab by the presence of many elements, chemicals, solids, liquids, paint and epoxy adhesives. Proper personal protecBve equipment (PPE) must be worn while using chemicals (goggles and gloves always). Laboratory coats and breathing protecBon for specific applicaBons. Use the hood whenever possible. Chemicals either organic or inorganic are to be disposed of in the chemical wasted staBon underneath the laboratory sink. Hardened epoxy can be disposed of in the general trash. Safe handling pracBces for chemicals (MSDS sheets) are available in the laboratory for all chemicals. They can be found on top of the beige cabinet used for samples. Whenever possible, use the exhaust hood for handling chemicals. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Exhaust hood Do not discard any chemical boele or container. Chemical Inventory labels must be kept and reported. Chemistry storage cabinet Blue top = de-­‐ionized water General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Inorganic solids are also stored in the laboratory. Here are some examples. Do not discard any chemical boele or container. Chemical Inventory labels must be kept and reported. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Electrical hazards: Specific electrical hazards are present in the laboratory when using DC voltage and current sources/supplies. The two 5000 VDC (5 mA) and two 3000 VDC (10 mA) supplies are extremely dangerous and can be used only under supervision by Fr. Opeil. Electrical shocks on the order of 1000 VDC (1 mA) are lethal to humans. Using the high voltage supplies should be done using the "one arm rule" (Only one hand can be used at one Bme when touching live equipment, the other hand must be in your pocket.) Two person rule should be observed. The two person rule states that two people must be in the laboratory and aware of each other when any potenBally dangerous operaBons are performed. The Keithley 224 current source (max. output = 100 mA) is another potenBal hazard because of the amount of current available. CauBon should be observed in using this equipment. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Current and Voltage Sources/Supplies Keithley 224 Current Source High Voltage Supply General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Cryogenic Hazards: The two sources of cryogenic hazard are liquid nitrogen and liquid helium. Liquid nitrogen is used to cool a cold finger on a vacuum chamber and is held in a Styrofoam or stainless steel reservoir. Do not spill liquid nitrogen on your clothes or skin, deep burns can result. Keep extra liquid nitrogen in the approved dewar. The only liquid helium hazard occurs when the helium in the Quantum Design dewar is released suddenly when the magnet quenches. If this occurs, leave the laboratory immediately so the venBlaBon can force the He gas out of the building. The helium should dissipate in 15-­‐20 minutes. When returning to the laboratory, shut the QD PPMS off; it can not run without helium in the dewar. When the magnet quenches, the oxygen sensors alarms are liable to sound off. Exit the laboratory if the oxygen sensors alarm. The sensors should go off once 20% oxygen returns. If the magnet quenches, contact Fr. Opeil immediately. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Percent oxygen sensor Percent oxygen monitor 20 Liter Nitrogen Dewar QD PPMS dewar General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical Temporary Nitrogen Storage 3) Cryogenic Use this Dewar to directly transfer up to 5 liters of liquid nitrogen from the large laboratory (230 L) storage Dewars. 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal 5 Liter Nitrogen Dewar General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Pressure hazards exist in the laboratory in the form of compressed gasses. Currently, air, helium, oxygen and acetylene are the only compressed gasses. Compressed air (60 psi) is available in the laboratory and is used mainly for cleaning debris from parts and drying materials. A portable air compressor is also available and can produce up to 120 psi. The oxygen and acetylene tanks stored on opposite sides of the laboratory can be brought together only when they are to be used. There is a cart in the laboratory to accommodate both tanks. These tanks should be shut off when not in use. Soldering or welding with these gases is best done outside or in the exhaust hood. The most obvious and dangerous pressure hazard in the laboratory is the presence of helium gas storage tanks. Each new boele contains the equivalent of 11 liters of liquid helium and is stored at 2500 psi. These tanks should not be moved and if moved they must be transported in a wheeled dolly. Two such dollies exist in the laboratory for this purpose. If a tank is not being used it must have its cap securely screwed on. All tanks must be secured to a table or a wall bracket. General Hazards: Air gun 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Helium regulator Oxygen and acetylene Helium t anks Air compressor Water pump Oxygen and acetylene cart General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Helium Storage Tanks-­‐Pickup and Delivery When Helium empty storage tanks are scheduled for pickup and delivery, the rack outside the south door of room 130 is used as temporary storage. Only tanks with installed safety caps can be stored at this locaBon. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal The only magneBc hazard in the laboratory is the presence of a strong electro-­‐magneBc inside the Quantum Design PPMS. People with pace makers should not enter the laboratory without checking on the status of the magnet. Lights on both entrance doors are illuminated when the magnet is energized. The 10 gauss line extends one meter from the center of the electromagnet inside the Quantum Design PPMS. The earth's normal magnet field at sea level is on the order of 0.5 gauss. Signs posted at both doors clearly state that a magnet is inside the laboratory. If you are operaBng the magnet in the Quantum Design PPMS turn all warning lights on from the beginning of the program unBl the conclusion. The reason that a magneBc field is hazardous to a pacemaker is that the pacemaker is designed to slow down in the presence of strong magneBc fields. Thus people with pacemakers who enter the laboratory run the risk of having their heart stop because of the magneBc field. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Magnet sign switch board Magnet sign above PPMS Quantum Design PPMS dewar Magnet warning sign on door General Hazards: RadioacBve hazards: At this Bme there are no radioacBve materials or samples stored in the Higgins 130 laboratory. There is a current (September 2007-­‐2012) permit for using and experimenBng on radioacBve materials (e.g. Uranium, uranium alloys and compounds, and low level alpha emieers). 6) RadioacBve Special training and supervision is required for laboratory personnel to work on radioacBve materials. 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 7) Thermal RadioacBve materials can only be worked on in designated areas. RadioacBve materials must be stored in a secure locaBon and marked with radioacBve tags when not in immediate use. Only certain dedicated tools can be used to touch radioacBve materials/samples. A drawer in the sample cabinet is clearly labeled for storage of radioacBve material. All individual sample boxes in the sample drawer must be marked with the yellow and magenta radioacBve labels. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal RadiaBon Material Labels RadioacBve Storage Cabinet General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Thermal hazards exist in the laboratory and severe burns can result if proper care is not observed. Momentary contact with high temperature sources can result in third degree burns and permanent scaring of the skin. Hot plate: The Corning hot plate has a maximum temperature of 300 Celsius. This hot plate is oden used to melt solder. Care should be taken to not come in contact with the hot plate surface. High-­‐temperature vacuum dilatometer, resisBvity and Seebeck apparatus are capable of 700 Celsius. Severe burn hazards exist when using this apparatus. Care should be taken when using all solder irons. An oxygen-­‐acetylene torch is capable of temperatures in excess of 3500 Celsius. The torch should be used only under supervision or ader adequate training. General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal High Temperature Dilatometer High Temperature Van der Paux – Seebeck Apparatus General Hazards: 1) Chemical 2) Electrical 3) Cryogenic 4) Pressure 5) MagneBc 6) RadioacBve 7) Thermal Soldering Iron Drying Oven oxygen and acetylene Corning hotplate Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe Machine 3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine Grinding and wire brush wheels offer an important tool for removing ferric metals, rust, paint and scale (do not use these for aluminum, G-­‐10 or copper). Using these tools cause small metal bits to fly off at high speed. Eye protecBon must be worn at all Bmes when using the grinding and wire brush wheels. Your future eyesight is at risk if no eye protec3on is used. Only ferric materials should be ground on these wheels (do not use these for aluminum, G-­‐10 or copper). Do not use them without training or proper use, not all wheels do the same thing. Some are for coarse grinding, others are for finer applicaBons. Some wheels are for sharpening tools only. The operator must hold the object being ground securely. Allowing an object to be drawn into the machine can cause the wheel to explode, resulBng in severe injury to the operator. Normally wheels operate at 3400 RPM and use ½ horsepower motor. The motors must be secured by a C-­‐clamp to the working table top for safety. Loose fivng clothing can become wrapped into the mechanism. Care should be taken not use this equipment while wearing loose fivng clothes. A neck Be caught in this machine can kill you. Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe Machine 3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine Wire brush and rough grinding wheel Grinding wheels fine and extra-­‐fine for sharpening tools, and drill-­‐bits. Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe 3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine Always use the plexiglass shield (located to the led, shown in picture below) when operaBng the lathe. The Miniature Lathe is an important tool for shaping materials into cylinders and drilling axial holes. Using these tools can cause metal or other material bits to fly off at high speed. Eye protecBon must be worn at all Bmes when using the miniature lathe. Loose fivng clothing can become wrapped into the miniature lathe mechanism. Care should be taken not to be used while loose fivng clothing. Aluminum pan collects cuvng oil and water. Use only clear (mineral) baby oil for cuvng. Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe Machine Thallium is a nerve toxin, milligrams
can poison an adult human.
3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine The diamond saw can cut through almost any material. Normally the diamond saw is used for cuvng experimental samples. Care should be taken not to inhale the dust produced by cuvng any material especially samples. Please, bear in mind some materials in solid form are harmless, yet when they are in powdered form are considered toxic. Material resBng on a gloved hand or the lining of your lungs are two different things. For safety reasons the saw can be used in the exhaust hood and the wheel drawn through a water bath to minimize dust. Specific Equipment Hazards 1) Grinding and Wire Brush Wheels 2) Miniature Lathe Machine 3) Diamond Saw 4) Electrical Discharge Machine The electrical discharge machine is used to cut metals by holding the sample at one potenBal and dragging a wire over the sample at a different potenBal. The clear plasBc box covering must always be used to protect from high electrical potenBals (up to 300 VDC). Recycling in the Laboratory Temporary bench storage for mixed trash. We recycle! Put paper here. Put all mixed trash here. Miscellaneous Items: Ques3on? When dilu3ng acid should you pour water into acid or acid into the water? Answer: Always slowly add the acid to water. Reason: Acid can splash back at you and get on your skin or in your eyes, this is parBcularly dangerous if it is a concentrated acid. As you dilute acid in water, a lot of heat is generated from the mixture, and you want the larger volume of water to be able to absorb that heat. Laboratory Access and Safety -­‐ Hazard Awareness in Higgins 130 TO: All Under-­‐graduate Students, Graduate Students and Post-­‐docs FROM: Fr. Cyril P. Opeil, S.J. RE: Access to this Laboratory is Restricted! DATE: 29 May 2011 Accidents happen even in a well-­‐supervised laboratory. In order to avoid physical harm and perhaps even fatal injury to faculty, students and post-­‐docs laboratory access is restricted only to authorized people. RestricBons: Only authorized faculty, post-­‐docs, graduate students and undergraduate students are allowed access to this laboratory. All visitors must be accompanied and supervised at all Bmes when they are in the laboratory. Visitors are welcome to be seated in the office area on the south side of the laboratory. Graduate students and post-­‐docs are allowed to work alone and access to work in this laboratory unsupervised at all hours. (Indeed graduate students should plan to spend many of their waking hours in the laboratory.) However, special care should be taken, when working alone, to avoid hazardous situaBons and unnecessary risks. Undergraduate students are not allowed to work alone in the laboratory at any Bme. This "two-­‐person-­‐rule" is not puniBve, but is intended to create a safer environment. In parBcular undergraduate students must be supervised by a PI, graduate student or post-­‐doc, when using electric hand tools such as: bench grinders, lathe, hand drill, cut-­‐off saw, oxy-­‐acetylene torch or any other potenBally dangerous equipment. Laboratory doors are locked for your safety and protect laboratory equipment. Please, keep them locked. Use correct personal protecBve equipment at all Bmes. Fr. C. P. Opeil, SJ This noBce is posted on the entry doors of Higgins 130. This policy is intended to be observed by all people working in Higgins 130. The sole purpose of this new policy is to increase the safety within the laboratory workplace. It is the responsibility of each person to ensure that we get our work done and survive unharmed to tell the tale of our triumphs. Each year in the fall graduate students, post-­‐docs and undergraduates are required to review the safety Powerpoint presentaBon for Higgins 130. Proof of that review will require all who work in the laboratory to complete the form to the right. A copy of this form will be posted in the laboratory. Happy students are students working safely! Don't let this happen to you or your friends! Don't let this happen to you or your friends! Don't let this happen to you or your friends! Be safe, by working safely. Now let's get some data.