Project Students
Undergraduate Students working on Projects in the
Department of Physics
Health and Safety information
Your Supervisor
Your Project Supervisor is your primary
contact for advice and guidance.
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You are likely to be involved with -
• Working in laboratories/offices; maybe
outside; away from the campus.
• Valuable/Sophisticated/Sensitive/Hazardous
equipment.
• Fume cupboards/hoods
• Carrying out a Risk Assessment.
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And:
First Aid [please report all incidents].
Chemicals.
Personal Protective Equipment [PPE].
Electricity.
Radiation.
Magnets and magnetic fields.
Cryogenics.
High Vacuum/Pressure.
Specialised apparatus [seek advice].
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First Aid
• The department has
several first aiders.
• Security staff are trained
first aiders.
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Chemicals
• Most laboratory chemicals are hazardous.
• COSHH [control of substances hazardous to
health].
• Care with chemicals.
• Learn chemical symbols.
• Learn how to dispose of waste chemicals.
Yellow triangles =
advisory- warnings
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PPE
• What is it?
• How it should be used.
• When and where to use it.
Blue symbols =
Mandatory –
do it.
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Electricity
• Hazards.
Shock.
Burns.
• What is safe?
Voltages less than 25 V.
Used in protected environment.
• What you can and can’t do.
Connect cables and plugs. Y
Dismantle powered equipment. X
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Magnetic fields & Magnets
• Where?
– NMR
– Squid Magnetometers
– High strength permanent magnets [Emats].
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Offices
• What hazards are there in
offices?
• Seating
• Your workstation
• Pointing devices
• Environment
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Radiation
Where do we find it?






X-Ray generators.
High voltage systems – Vacuum.
Lasers.
High power light sources.
Radio frequency generators.
Radioactive sources.
New IAEA /ISO symbol for
internal component labelling
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Cryogenics/Heat
• Cryogenic fluids
• Transferring
• Cold surfaces
• Furnaces
• Flames
• Hot surfaces
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High Vacuum and Pressure
• UHV apparatus
• High pressure cylinders
• Transfer and handling
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Specialist Equipment
• Seek permission – advice
before attempting to use.
• Examples of these :
Laser machining centre
Electron microscopes
NMR
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Risk Assessments
You must prepare a risk assessment for your
project.
Briefly – a risk assessment is a method of finding the
acceptable level of RISK for a task / process / project.
It is developed by analysis of the HAZARD(S) and the
LIKELIHOOD of the hazard leading to harm.
[to an individual, the organisation or the environment].
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Risk Assessment - Procedure
HSE Publications
Five Steps to Risk Assessment
1. Define task and hazards.
2. Who is at risk?
3. Determine the Level of risk.
4. Record result, and Implement the
assessment
5. Review.
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HAZARDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Heat Cold Sharp Heavy Toxic Noise Asphyxiant Choking Physical -
liquid, gas, object.
liquid, gas, object.
tools, object, edge, point.
equipment, object.
chemical, gas, substance, liquid.
machine, tool, equipment.
reduced air, gas mixtures.
gas, smoke, dust, chemical.
poor seating / posture.
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Risk Control
To enable the consequences of the effect of the
Hazard to be reduced to -
AS LOW AS POSSIBLE
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Risk Control
Risk control is a method of managing the risk with the primary emphasis on controlling the hazards at source. For a risk that is
assessed as “high”, steps should be taken immediately to minimize risk of injury. The method of ensuring that risks are
controlled effectively is by using the “hierarchy of controls”.
The Hierarchy of Controls are:
Control
1
Elimination
2
Substitution
3
Isolation
4
Engineering
5
Administrative
6
Personal Protective
Equipment [ PPE]
Example
Removing the hazard, eg taking a hazardous piece of equipment
out of service.
Replacing a hazardous substance or process with a less
hazardous one, eg substituting a hazardous substance with a nonhazardous substance.
Isolating the hazard from the person at risk, eg using a guard or
barrier.
Redesign a process or piece of equipment to make it less
hazardous.
Adopting safe work practices and/or provide appropriate training,
instruction or information.
The use of personal protective equipment could include using
gloves, glasses, ear defenders, aprons, safety footwear, dust
masks.
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UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
Ver 005
RISK ASSESSMENT FORM
INFORMATION SHEET 1
[for COSHH assessments use sheet 2 overleaf]
Assessor
name
Supervisor [if required]
name
Date of assessment
Review date [dd/mm/yyyy]
TITLE
title
Description
description
Who is at risk of harm?
COSHH - use sheet 2
SIGNATORIES
names and/or titles
NAME
SIGNATURE
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HAZARD TYPE
LIST HAZARDS
HAZARD
HELP
PHYSICAL
CONTROL MEASURES
HELP
RISK
MATRIX
SCORE
HELP
HELP
FURTHER CONTROL MEASURES
HAZARD
RISK
HELP
HELP
cost
interruption
MATRIX SCORE
ACCEPT?
COMMENTS
HELP
1
2
3
CHEMICAL
1
2
3
FIRE
1
2
3
ENVIRONMENTAL
1
2
3
PERSONAL
1
2
3
OTHER
1
2
3
HELP - Risk Control
HAZARD
RISKMATRIX
impact
environmental
HELP - Matrix function
11
7
4
2
1
V. LOW
16
12
8
5
3
20
17
13
9
23
22
18
25
24
V. HIGH
certain to occur
no treatment
< £ 2K
< 1 hour
potential impact
LOW
first aid treatment
£ 2K - 25K
1 hour to 1 day
on site impact
6
MINOR
medical treatment
£ 25K - 100K
1 day to 1week
off site impact
14
10
SEVERE
hospitalisation
£ 100K - 1M
1 to 6 weeks
Regional impact
21
19
15
MAJOR
death or extensive injury
> £ 1M
> 6 weeks
National /
International impact
HIGH
MEDIUM
LOW
V. LOW
RISK
expected to occur in most
circumstances
likely to occur
could occur, but rarely
unlikely to occur.
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HAZARD TYPE
LIST HAZARDS
HELP
PHYSICAL
MATRIX
SCORE
HELP
HELP
HELP
SEVERE
HIGH
22
LOW
9
V.LOW
15
V. LOW
3
LOW
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CONTROL MEASURES
Extreme cold
1
2
3
CHEMICAL
RISK
HAZARD
1
Heavy/ awkward
vessels
FURTHER CONTROL
MEASURES
Ensure no contact with
cold fluid/gas. Use
special tools and PPE gloves, face shield
HAZARD
RISK
HELP
HELP
SEVERE
V.LOW
MATRIX
SCORE
ACCEPT?
10
YES
Dewars have wheels
MINOR
Asphyxiant gas
MAJOR
Work outside or in
monitored areas
COMMENTS
HELP
YES
none required
Take care when moving
Dewars over uneven
ground. They are heavy
and can easily be toppled.
YES
none
2
3
FIRE
1
none
2
3
ENVIRONMENTAL
1
Spillage
LOW
YES
2
3
PERSONAL
1
2
3
OTHER
Moving heavy
dewars
Handling very cold
items
Splashes
MINOR
Receive training
SEVERE
HIGH
22
Use caution – use PPE as
SEVERE
appropriate
V.LOW
10
YES
Receive training - use PPE
-gloves.
SEVERE
V.LOW
10
YES
YES
1
2
3
HELP - Risk Control
HAZARD
RISKMATRIX
impact
cost
interruption
environmental
HELP - Matrix function
11
7
4
2
1
V. LOW
16
12
8
5
3
20
17
13
9
23
22
18
25
24
V. HIGH
certain to occur
no treatment
< £ 2K
< 1 hour
potential impact
LOW
first aid treatment
£ 2K - 25K
1 hour to 1 day
on site impact
6
MINOR
medical treatment
£ 25K - 100K
1 day to 1week
off site impact
14
10
SEVERE
hospitalisation
£ 100K - 1M
1 to 6 weeks
Regional impact
21
19
15
MAJOR
death or extensive injury
> £ 1M
> 6 weeks
National /
International impact
HIGH
MEDIUM
LOW
V. LOW
RISK
expected to occur in most
circumstances
likely to occur
could occur, but rarely
unlikely to occur.
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Any Questions ?
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