General Laboratory Regulations
Institut für Anorganische Chemie
der
TU Bergakademie Freiberg
Directive
according to § 14 GefStoffV
These general laboratory regulations are in force in Institut of Inorganic Chemistry of the TU
Bergakademie Freiberg, in which dangerous working materials are handled. Each supervisor
(“Laborleiter”) may adapt or extend these regulations according to the prevailing conditions by
adding further information about working places and operating methods. These adaptations and
extensions may not reduce the safety objective of the general laboratory regulations.
The general laboratory regulations must be posted in any department at a central place. They
also have to be handed over to all employees before they start working. The employees have to
be instructed verbally about the content of the general laboratory regulations. The employees
confirm with their signature that they have received a copy of the general laboratory regulations,
that they were instructed about it and that they will obey the rules.
Beside this general laboratory regulations the Richtlinien für Laboratorien (BGR 120 / GUV
16.17) the Gefahrstoffverordnung (GefStoffV) and the Technische Regeln für Gefahrstoffe
(TRGS) are in force. They also have to be publicised continuously to the employees (by verbal
instructions).
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Contents:
§ 1 General regulations
§ 2 Working time regulations
§ 3 Dress regulations
§ 4 Order at work
§ 5 Safety devices
§ 6 Dangerous work
§ 7 Conduct in dangerous situations
§ 8 Working overnight
§ 9 Handling hazardous substances
§ 10 Handling gases
§ 11 Fume hoods
§ 12 Refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms
§ 13 Rotary film evaporators, autoclaves and centrifuges
§ 14 Waste
§ 15 Leaving the department
§ 1 General regulations
• The doors of laboratories in which hazardous substances are handled must always be shut.
• If is not absolutely sure that a process does not emit hazardous substances it must be carried
out only but in a laboratory with sufficient air change. Such experiments are usually
performed under a fume hood.
• Eating, drinking, smoking and putting on make-up are not allowed in laboratories in which
hazardous substances are handled.
• Warning signs at the door or at the working place must be applied to indicate special dangers
in the laboratory (for example laser beams, strong magnetic fields, ultraviolet radiation,
some hazardous substances) and to indicate appropriate protective clothing.
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§ 2 Working time regulations
Each department has to produce its own rules about the opening times of its laboratories.
There has to be a differentiation between main-working time (core time, e.g. Monday to Friday
from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and extra-working time (e.g. Monday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. and
Saturday and Sunday). During the main-working time all sort of experiments can be carried out
without any restriction.
During extra working time you have to take care that you are not working alone in the
laboratory. A second person must always be with you, so you could get help in case of an
emergency.
§ 3 Dress regulations
• When working with chemicals everybody must:
* wear goggles with side protection and if possible an upper protection
for the eyes
* wear a laboratory coat made of cotton or made of mixed fibres with
high cotton content
* wear on all sides closed non slippery shoes.
The team leaders are responsible that their subordinates wear their protective clothing.
• People who wear glasses must also wear goggles (either goggles with grinded lenses or
goggles with side protection that fit over the glasses).
• It is forbidden to wear laboratory coats in places to which people have access who don’t work
with hazardous material (e.g. office, cafeteria, refectory, lecture hall, library, toilet etc.)
• When working with some hazardous materials (corrosive, skin irritating etc.)
gloves must be worn. The material of the gloves should match the hazardous
material (for further information call 54 2167). Disposable gloves made of latex
or nitrile are very thin and only suitable as a protection against splashes and
dashes. They are penetrated within a minute or so. Absolutely unsuited are
house-hold or garden gloves.
• Gloves must not be worn outside the laboratory. They have to be taken off (inside
the laboratory) when using the telephone, working at the computer, opening
doors, handling taps etc.
§ 4 Order at work
The own working place and all the community equipment have to be kept in an orderly state.
The own working place in the laboratory should be cleared regularly (weekly). At least once a
year the chemicals in the laboratory must be checked if they are needed any longer. Else they
must be given away (for someone else to use) or disposed.
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§ 5 Safety devices
Everyone working in a laboratory has to know the place and the function of the safety devices
and also the emergency exits, the fire alarm boxes and emergency plans. The emergency exits
must under all conditions be open.
• Fire extinguishers are present in all laboratories. There are two versions:
* a carbondioxide fire extinguisher is located in every laboratory
* on the floors powder fire extinguishers are located
Used fire extinguishers have to be reloaded and returned to their place immediately.
• First-aid boxes must be placed at central places. They should be refilled after use.
• Even small injuries (without consulting a medical practitioner) must be entered in
a so called “Verbandsbuch” (bandage book) as a registration for the insurance (in case of a resulting unexpected health defect).
• Emergency showers and eye showers must be checked monthly. These checks
must be registered in written form.
• Eye washing bottles must be provided in areas without running water. The
content of these bottles must be exchanged at least once a month in case of
drinking water. In case of sterile disposable units they have to be chan-ged
according to the expiry date. Eye washing bottles must not serve as a
substitute for possible or existing eye showers.
• Gas masks are only allowed for special tasks (e.g. working with poisonous gases). After each
use they have to be cleaned and the filters must be removed and sealed on both ends. The
date and the period of use must be noted.
• Oxygen masks should be used as rescue devices. Gas masks are not suitable in case of fire
or chemical accidents because they cannot supply lacking oxygen and because their filters
quickly turn ineffective at high pollutant concentrations.
• The employees have to be instructed about the use of oxygen masks regularly.
§ 6 Dangerous work
This includes working with explosives, flammable, cancerous and toxic substances and working
with dangerous devices (evacuated or under pressure, autoclaves, sealed tubes, pressure
cylinders, open flames, hot hair dryers, hydrogenation, cleavage by ozone etc.).
• Dangerous works must be performed under precautionary measures (e.g. fume hood,
protective screen, special laboratory etc.).
• Employees performing dangerous works have to be instructed about potential dangers and
about emergency plans.
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• The team leader’s written allowance is required if dangerous works should be per-formed
outside the core time of the department. The team leader must ensure that dangerous
works are never carried out by one person alone. At least two persons have to be present.
This must be ensured by an arrangement between the employees. If necessary these data
may be noted in a so called “Kontrollbuch” (record book) which is stored at a central place.
§ 7 Conduct in dangerous situations
If it comes to a dangerous situation (escaping gases and vapours, leaking of dangerous liquids,
fire etc.) You should first of all:
• keep calm
• watch your own safety
After that You should:
• warn endangered people
• safe helpless persons if possible
• switch off dangerous experiments
• switch off gas and electricity
• let the coolant always flow further on in any apparatuses
• close doors and windows and switch off the fume hoods in case of fire
• wash eyes and skin after contact with any chemicals (by means of an
ordinary shower, an eye shower or an eye washing bottle)
• if necessary give first aid
• call the responsible personnel:
-group leader tel.:
-safety inspector tel.:
-fire department tel.: 112 (from every telephone)
-police tel.: 110 (from every telephone)
• In case of severe accidents (fire-fighters and police present) the following persons must be
informed: the responsible “Sicherheitsfachkraft” (safety representative, tel.: 2577).
• If anyone received any injuries the emergency doctor has to be called. In case of a transport
to a hospital the appropriate operating instructions, “Sicherheitsdatenblatt” (safety data
sheet) or other information about the material should be given to the ambulance men to
take with them.
• Make sure that an external rescue team will find the entrance.
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§ 8 Working overnight
Chemical reactions which need to be continued over night must only be performed in an
appropriate experimental setup which eliminates dangers of fire, explosion or flooding. Contact
your group leader or “Laborleiter” for details about the experimental setup. You need a written
permission called “Dauerversuchsschein” signed by the head of the Institute to perform such
experiments.
§ 9 Handling hazardous substances
Hazardous substances are substances and formulations which posses one or more of the
following properties:
very toxic
toxic
corrosive
harmful
irritant
dangerous for the
environment
chronic
damaging
explosive
extremely
flammable
highly flammable
sensitising
oxidising
They may be hazardous substances by itself or substances that produce hazardous pro-ducts when
mutagenic*
endangers
unknown
worked with. Substances and formulations
that usually
pass
on pathogens are also hazardous substances.
reproduction
*
properties*
The table show the legal symbols for toxic substances and physical and chemical hazards.
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There are four protective classes for the work with hazardous substances according to their toxicity:
These protective classes demand several precautionary measures for the work with hazardous substances
in the laboratory.
very toxic
toxic
corrosive
harmful
irritant
chronic
damaging
explosive
extremely
flammable
highly flammable
oxidising
mutagenic*
endangers
reproduction *
unknown
properties*
dangerous for the
environment
sensitising
protective class 1:
Fundamentals
(low danger)
small amounts (< 100 ml/g
per sub-stance), little contact
protective class 2: Basic
Measures
(includes the precautions of
the protective class 1)
typical amounts in a
laboratory
(1 litre or kg per substance)
protective class 3: Highly
dangerous
(includes the precautions of
the protective classes 1 and
2)
independent of the amounts
used and the actual
exposure
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Protective class 1

The following rules belong to the Protective class 1:

Hazardous substances and chemicals have to be stored in vessels that cannot be
mistaken as vessels for food.

All vessels containing hazardous substances (including waste containers) have to be
labelled distinctively with their name and the appropriate symbol (s).

Hazardous substances which are stored in breakable vessels may only be transpor-ted in
safe transport containers (e. g. plastic buckets or metal boxes).

Only small amounts of hazardous substances should be stored.

Appropriate hygienic measurements should be carried out (e.g. cleaning the wor-king
area regularly).
Protective class 2
The rules of protective class 1 are also valid in protective class 2. The following rules are
added:
• Hazardous substances have to be substituted if possible.
• Only small amounts of hazardous substances may be stored in the laboratory:
2.5 Litres of liquids
1 kg of solids
Larger quantities have to be stored in safety cabinets or in appropriate store rooms.
• Techniques should be used that exclude or minimise the exposure to hazardous substances.
•(exposure: contact to hazardous substances in a higher than ubiquitous concentration)
• The air must be ventilated (usually eightfold).
• The hazardous substances must be registered and regularly updated (at least once a year) in
the “Gefahrstoffkataster”
• Guide books for all hazardous substances must be provided in the laboratory.
• The threshold limit values must be checked (by calculation or measurement).
• It is necessary to wear personal protective clothing (laboratory coat, goggles, closed shoes,
covering breeches).
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• Laboratory clothing and outdoor clothing have to be stored at different places.
• Provisions of the industrial medicine should be initiated (medical check-up, toxicologi-cal
consultation).
Protective class 3
The rules of the protective classes 1 and 2 are also valid in protective class 3. The follo-wing
rules are added:
• Dangerous substances may only be handled in closed compartments (fume hoods).
• Only small amounts may be stored and handled in the laboratory:
- 500 ml of very toxic liquids
- 100 g of very toxic solids
- lecture bottles in case of very toxic gases (10 l compressed gas cylinders are only
allowed if no lecture bottles are available).
• The threshold limit values must be checked by measurement (or by
an equivalent method):
• The stored substances must be locked away. Toxic substances must be stored separa-tely
from extremely or highly flammable substances:
• Only authorised persons are allowed to enter the laboratory (only
proficient persons).
Protective class 4
The rules of the protective classes 1,2 and 3 are also valid in protective class 4. The following
rules are added:
• Only small amounts of hazardous substances may be stored and handled (as in Pro-tective
class 3).
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• The concentration of the hazardous substances in the air must be measured (no other
methods are per-mitted).
• Hazardous areas have to be marked with warning signs.
• Only authorised persons are allowed to enter the labo-ratory (only proficient
persons who work with the hazardous substances).
General regulations:
Persons younger than 16 years (e.g. schoolchildren) may not handle hazardous sub-stances, not
even under supervision.
Persons between the age of 16 and 18 years (e.g. trainees, students doing a period of practical
training) may handle hazardous substances only under the supervision of pro-ficient personnel.
Being proficient means to have worked with hazardous substances in the laboratory for several
years.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers may not handle substances which are carcino-genic,
mutagenic or harmful to the foetus. Usually they may not work in laboratories in which such
substances are handled. They may only work in such a laboratory if it is ensured (by technical
and/or organisational means) that they will not get in contact with these hazardous substances.
§ 10 Handling gases

Gas cylinders may not stay in a laboratory over night. They must be stored
overnight in a safe place (e.g. safety cabinet, open air laboratory etc.).

Rooms in which gas cylinders are stored outside of safety cabinets need an indication label
at the door.
Gas cylinders that contain toxic, corrosive or extremely flammable gases should be as small
as possible (lecture bottles). They have to be stored outdoors or in safety cabi-nets. If no
regular tubing can be installed the gas cylinders must be placed and fixed in a fume hood.


Gas cylinders that contain toxic, corrosive or extremely flammable gases should be as small
as possible (lecture bottles). They have to be stored outdoors or in safety cabi-nets. If no
regular tubing can be installed the gas cylinders must be placed and fixed in a fume hood.

Highly toxic gases (e. g. hydrocyanic acid, carbon dichloride oxide, hydrogen sulphide) may
only be handled in special rooms with especially good de aeration. Handling these gases
requires a written permission of the team leader.

The gas cylinders at the working place must be secured against falling down by means of a
steel clamp or a chain.

Gas cylinders may only be transported by means of special gas cylinder carts and with the
valve bonnet screwed on. It is strictly forbidden to carry gas cylinders by hand.

When transporting gas cylinders or insulating vessels with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium in
lifts the outside control has to be used. No person may take the lift together with gas
cylinders or insulating vessels.

Insulating vessels containing liquid nitrogen must always be covered to prevent the
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condensation of oxygen out of the air. However the lid may not seal the vessel tightly
because this will give rise to a hazardous excess pressure.
§ 11 Fume hoods

The sash of a fume hood should always be closed if possible. For handling experi-ments
in the hood the sliding window panes should be used.

The sliding screens for outlet air which are still present in the back of old fume hoods
should always be open.

The function of fume hoods must be monitored constantly (old design: with paper stripes
or wool fibres, new design: with optical and acoustic signals).

Sitting in front of a fume hood during a chemical reaction with the sash open is not
allowed.

Fume hoods have to be regularly checked by service technicians and labelled as functioning (green label) or malfunctioning (red label). Red labelled fume hoods may not be
used.

Discovered malfunctions must be reported immediately and the defective fume hood
may not be used until repaired.
§ 12 Refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms
 Only closed vessels with a label containing the name of the substance and the name of
the owner may be stored in refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms. At least once a year
they should be checked if they are needed any longer. Else they should be given away
ore discarded.

Flammable liquids that require cold storage may only be stored in refrigerators without
any source of ignition sparks inside (lighting removed, thermostat outside, automatic
defrost disabled). These refrigerators are labelled with the opposite sign. The amount of
stored substances is limited to 1 litre per item.

Refrigerators that were not modified as described above may not be used to store
flammable liquids (danger of explosion) and must be labelled with the opposite sign.

Refrigerators and cold rooms for the storage of toxic substances need a lock and must
be kept locked.

Refrigerators that contain substances which tend to explode when reaching room
temperature must be connected to the emergency power supply.

Refrigerators and freezers must be defrosted regularly. At least once a year it should be
checked if the stored substances are needed any longer. Else they should be given
away ore discarded.

The storage of liquid and solid food together with chemicals in cold rooms, refrigerators
and freezers is absolutely forbidden.
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§ 13 Rotary film evaporators, autoclaves and centrifuges

Operating instructions must be supplied for devices which may cause danger for the
employees even in the regular operating mode. The employees have to be instructed
regularly about the handling of these devices.
§ 14 Waste

All sorts of waste have to be collected separately in the appropriate vessels.

Only the cans provided by the waste delivery point may be used. The use of other containers especially of old cleansing agent containers is forbidden.

Please avoid mixing of waste especially of solid inorganic waste.

The vessels must be labelled unambiguously and stored at a safe place (e.g. in a drain
pan inside of a fume hood or in a safety cabinet)

Waste vessels may not be stored in sinks.

Spilled mercury must be adsorbed by means of adsorbing granules (available at the
waste delivery points). The ancient method with zinc powder or sulphur powder as adsorbents is less effective and complicates the disposal.

Reactive and especially hazardous substances (alkaline metals, metal hydrides,
cyanides, catalysts, acids, bases etc.) must be deactivated/neutralised before their
disposal
§ 15 Leaving the department

The following items should be considered when employees leave a laboratory:

Any chemicals must be given to other users (with a record of delivery) or to the “Chemikalienbörse” (recycling centre for chemicals, for delivery points see § 14) or they have to
be disposed.

The laboratory should be left tidy and cleared-up.
Freiberg, date …
Signatures:
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