Laboratory and Safety Tips from the Cores 1. When using the Typhoon or Chemidoc imagers with a wet gel. Please clean the screen when finished. 2. When using electronic devices in the cold room, leave them on if you intend to leave them in the cold room. When you turn them off, condensation occurs on the circuitry and when the next person turns them on, they short out. 3. Wearing gloves is recommended when working with hazardous compounds, mutagens, carcinogens, pathogenic organisms, etc. When you have these gloves on be mindful not to keep them on when working on computer keyboards, microscopes and other equipment. You’ve protected yourself by wearing them, but if you keep them on after handling these harmful agents and then touch an instrument or keyboard with them then you are exposing other people to them! 4. There are two types of rotor lids used on rotors for the floor centrifuges in the Molecular Core. The first has just one knob and the second type has two knobs. The lids used on the second type of rotor are so that you can seal the rotor inside a hood or biosafety cabinet before putting them in the centrifuge. You don’t have to use the second type that way, but must remember that the larger knob needs to be tightened first. This seals the lid and allows the bolt connected to the smaller knob to be threaded completely into the centrifuge drive. In the past, we’ve had students tighten the small knobs first and therefore the rotor was barely attached to the centrifuge drive shaft. When the RPMs got high, the rotor disengaged and floated on top of the drive and heated the shaft so hot that it melted all the plastic parts on the bottom. The service rep had to completely replace the centrifuge drive (~$40,000). This also is extremely dangerous because these are heavy pieces of metal that are spinning rapidly. There are many stories and pictures from centrifugations where rotors have failed and destroyed centrifuges and labs and injured people in the area! Laboratory and Safety Tips from EHS This past Spring, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) partially inspected the University’s Hazardous and Universal Waste program. DEC cited and penalized the University for improperly labeled and/or unsealed hazardous waste containers. Some of the sites were for repeat violations found in the same labs three years before. In order to prevent this from happening again, we ask that you abide by the hazardous waste rules listed below. We do expect DEC to be back to finish their inspection in the near future. 1. All Hazardous Waste containers must be labeled with the words “Hazardous Waste” and the contents of the container. No formulas or chemical abbreviations allowed. Hazardous Waste labels are available for free from the EH&S Office in Chemistry B73. Please do not date your waste, as EH&S dates the waste when they put it into their hazardous waste storage areas. 2. All Hazardous Waste containers must be kept sealed at all times, unless one is actively placing waste into the container. Open funnels do not seal waste containers. 3. If you have a full container of properly labeled hazardous waste, please contact Nay Gosai, the University’s Hazardous and Universal Waste Specialist at 442-­‐3495, to make an appointment for the pickup of the waste. 4. Do not mix hazardous waste streams together, as serious accidents have resulted from this practice, e.g., nitric acid and organic solvents. Always consult with Nay Gosai first before mixing any waste streams. 5. If you are unsure of how to dispose of a waste, please consult with Nay Gosai before disposing of the waste incorrectly, possibly causing harm to someone in the University Community or the environment. For any hazardous waste questions or concerns, Nay Gosai can be reached at 442-­‐3495 in Chemistry B73. For more information on the University’s Hazardous and Universal Waste Program, please go to the following link: http://www.albany.edu/ehs/pdf/ChemicalHygiene2015.pdf