STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Computing, Engineering & Sciences
SAF: 011 EQUIPMENT WITHIN BIOMEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL
SCIENCES
This safety code deals with specialised equipment that may be Harmful if procedures are not correctly followed for their use.
Centrifuges
All new centrifuges must conform to the safety requirements set out in British standards BS 4402, the maker’s instructions and recommendations must be followed.
 Care must be taken to ensure that centrifuge tubes are not flawed or cracked, and that all head, buckets etc, are regularly inspected by a competent person.
 Ensure that centrifuge tubes are appropriate to the rotor type
 Ensure they are correctly balanced to within 0.01g and are sealed effectively.
 Ensure that the centrifuge lid is properly closed before attempting to start the rotor.
 Any spillage’s must be reported a technician immediately.
 Do not attempt to open the centrifuge lid before the rotor has stopped completely and full safety features have disengaged.
 The Ultra centrifuge (R230) is only to be used by Technical staff
Autoclaves
 All autoclaves and other pressure vessels must be notified to the
University Insurance surveyor (see Appendix 3.3 Faculty Health & Safety policy). Notification of newly acquired equipment is required before it is brought into use, to ensure compliance with pressure systems regulations.
 All pressure vessels should be cleaned out regularly and residues that may cause corrosion removed. Maintenance of all autoclaves must be arranged so that a competent engineer inspects them at regular intervals.

 Manufacturer instructions must always be followed and safety devices must never be tampered with or over-ridden.
 Laboratory staff/Researchers unloading bottles of autoclaved culture media, which may still be near boiling point, must wear appropriate protective clothing and as a safe working practice allow cooling before transfer.
Electrophoresis equipment
The potential for injury from electrophoresis equipment arises because not only are large quantities of electrical energy involved, but also the supporting medium is commonly immersed in either saline or buffer solution
 Power supplies to the tank must be switched off before the lid of the tank is opened
 In addition supplementary protection is to ensure that all tanks have shrouded sockets, which are separated from the corresponding pins inside by the action of removing the lid. So, opening the tank automatically removes the power.
 Leads from the power supply must never terminate in unshrouded pins
Microbiological safety cabinets
A microbiological safety cabinet is an item of local exhaust ventilation equipment which offers some degree of protection to the user from airborne biohazards, by removing the hazard at source, before it can enter the breathing zone of the operator.
Air extracted if filtered through high efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) to ensure that biohazards cannot escape into the outside environment. Such filtered extracted air should always be discharged to the outside of the building, rather then recycled back into the laboratory.
The Biological and Biomedical Sciences has two class 2 cabinets (located in room R216), these are designed to give operator protection and protect the worker from contamination.
There is a further cabinet in Room R220 (cell culture facility) with a HEPA filter.
Air is drawn in through the front aperture and the cabinet is designed so that the air is HEPA filtered before it passes across the work surface. Operator protection is afforded by a laminar downward flow producing a ‘curtain’ of air between operator and the work surface. Contaminated air is again extracted through one for more HEPA filters.
These microbiological safety cabinets are subjected to vapourisation, containment and filtration tests on an annual basis, to ensure their safe operation and suitable records are maintained, with the technical team leader for the area

Horizontal laminar flow cabinets are not safety cabinets, as they propel clean filtered air across the work surface towards the operator. They should never be used for work involving potential biohazardous material. A Laminar flow cabinet is located within lab R121 for fungal work.
Cryogenic storage
Cryogenic storage of biological material in non-pressurised liquid nitrogen dewars occurs within Biological and Biomedical Sciences located in Room
R220.
 Eye protection most appropriately in the form of a full-face visor, gloves, and suitable footwear must be worn when cryogenic liquids are handled.
(Procedural risk assessments have been completed for the transfer of
Liquid Nitrogen around the Science Centre).
 Materials stored at Liquid Nitrogen temperature should always be stored in the vapour phase inside the dewar, rather than in the liquid phase, unless the materials are in a container designed for immersion in the liquid phase.
 Great care must be taken to ensure that ingress of air into vessels containing Liquid Nitrogen does not lead to condensation of oxygen.
Evaporation of Liquid Nitrogen and solid Carbon Dioxide into a poorly ventilated room can lower the oxygen concentration to such an extent that a person entering could loose consciousness and die.
UV Radiation
Equipment emitting UV radiation is used for producing fluorescence. UV radiation extends from the blue end of the visible spectrum to the X-ray region and is divided into three distinct bands and different properties of penetration and potential for damage.
 UV-A 400-315nm
 UV-B 315-280nm
 UV-C 280-100nm
Short wavelength radiation is strongly absorbed in air and consequently, hazards to health arise from sources emitting radiation with wavelengths longer then 200nm.
Biological effects depend on the wavelength concerned. Since the radiation has such low penetrating power, the effects are confined to the eyes and skin.
Within Biological and Biomedical Sciences we view fluorescence via a transilluminator. The main effects on the eyes are due to exposure to UV-B and UV-C, namely conjunctivitis and photokeratitis. In conjunctivitis the membranes lining the inside of the eyelids and covering the cornea become inflamed resulting in discomfort.
Photokeratitis is due to inflammation of the cornea and can cause severe pain. The severity depends on duration, intensity and wavelength exposure, the effect being a maximum and a wavelength of 270nm. The symptoms

may appear 6-12 hours after exposure and subside after 24-36 hours, with no permanent damage. The eyes do not develop a tolerance to repeated exposure to ultraviolet.
The absorption of UV-A radiation in the lens of they eye is thought to produce progressive yellowing with time and may contribute to the formation of cataracts, causing partial or complete loss of transparency.
Within Biological and Biomedical Sciences the UV tansilluminator is set up within the darkroom facility (R235), with UV glasses and UV face shields supplied. Examination for fluorescence is kept to a minimum.
UV lamps often operate at pressures below or above atmospheric and may produce a risk of explosion particularly during lamp replacement and maintenance work.
The Labcaire PCR workstation located in room R219 utilises UV as a contaminant control. Procedures for its use are attached to the unit and must be adhered to at all times. Technical staff will instruct on its proper use.
High frequency noise
Excessive sound can be unpleasant and disturbing and noise exposure is known to result in progressive deafness, which is additive to normal agerelated hearing loss.
Within Biological and Biomedical Sciences one pieces of equipment emits excessive noise, the Soniprep 150 (A cell disruptor), headphones must be worn when the machine is activated and if possible placed in an isolated room. A record is maintained of duration of time the machine is used for, (up to date for six minutes at any one phase).
Version 2, August 2014 (Audra Jones)
Next review date: August 2015