General Lab Rules – Hansen Laboratory
Revised February 8, 2016
Thelabisforworkingandnotforsocializing.Pleasebecourteoustothepeopleworkinginthelab
anddothesocializingsomewhereelse.
Foodanddrinkarenotallowedinthelaboratoryexceptfortheareawherethecomputersare
located.Donotleavedirtyfooddishesorcoffeecupsinthesink.Washthemimmediately.
Don'tuseyourbenchasadesk‐booksandpapersaretobestoredinyourofficeandnotthelab.
Keepdirtybootsandfarmclothesfrommessingupthelab(usetheenvironmentalphysiologylabas
muchaspossible).Whenyoucleanfarmclothesinthewashingmachineinthesurgery,leavethe
machineandareainacleancondition.
Donotusetheareainfrontoftherefrigeratordoorsasapermanentstorageareaandminimizethe
clutteronyourlabbench
Takeallrulesandregulationsregardingbiohazards,radioactivityandrecombinantDNAseriously.
Takeresponsibilityforseeingthatthingsareorderedbeforetheyrunoutandthatcommonstocks
aremadeupbyyoubeforetheyrunoutonthenextguy.Ifanitemneedstobeordered,pleaseplace
itontheorderlistpostedonthechemicalcabinet.
Therightsideofthelaboratoryisamolecularbiologyarea.Glovesaretobewornatalltimeswhen
workinginthisarea.Don'tcompromisetheseareasbyplacingyourbarehandsonthebenchesor
equipment.Thesameistrueforreagentsaslabeledformolecularbiology(handlewithgloves).
Keepthecabinetswheremolecularbiologyreagentsarestoredclosed.
Don'tforgetthefollowingaboutdishwashing:
o Ifsomethingonlycontainsbuffer(i.e.,noproteinororganicreagents),itdoesnotneedtobe
washed.Rinseit6timesindistilledwaterimmediatelyafteruseandplaceontheracktodry.
o Rinseplasticcontainersusedtotransportovariesofbloodbeforeplacingtheminthe
biohazardtrash.Thecontainersshouldbestackedtominimizeuseofbiohazardwaste
space.
o Culturewareshouldbeplacedinthesoapy‐filledcontainers(cleaningsolution)afterrinsing
andremovinglabels.
o Forotherdishes,rinseoutwithdistilledwaterandremovelabelsbeforeleavingtobe
washedbythedishwasher.Donotleavedirtydishesinthesinkorlayingaroundinlocations
otherthanonthedishcarts.
o Electrophoresisequipmentwillbewashedandputawaybythepersonusingthem.
o Cultureglasswareandmolecularbiologyglasswareshouldbekeptseparatefromgenerallab
glassware.Don'tmixthethreesourcesofglassware.
o Don’tleavedirtydishesinthesink!!
Bloodshouldbemixedwithbleachbeforedisposaldownthesink.Rinsebloodtubestoremove
tracesofbloodandthendisposeofthemintheglassbiohazardcontainer.
Ifbloodspillsonthesurfaceofthehood,removewithWindexpriortocleaningwithEtOHtoprevent
thebloodfromfixingtothehood.
Makesurethereisnooilonanymicroscopebeforeleavingthecultureroomandthatallmicroscopes
areturnedoffandcoveredtopreventdegradationbydust.
Garbageshouldgointhecorrectreceptacle:
o Regulartrash:Thesearetheordinarywastecansinthelab.Theyarenotforanythingthat
containschemicalorbiologicalresidues.
o BiohazardWaste:Thisisalargecardboardboxacrossfromthehoods.Thisisforalllab
wastethatcontainschemicalorbiologicalresiduesexceptradioactivewasteorwaste
requiringautoclaving(virus,bacteria,transfectedcells).Intheembryocultureroom,thereis
another,plasticbagforbiohazardwasteaswellasalargecardboardboxinfrontoftheIVF
roomforbucketsthatcomefromtheslaughterhouse(disposeafterwashing).Inthecell
cultureroom,thereisawhitetrashcanforthiswaste.
o RadioactiveWaste(currentlyinactive):Thereareseveralreceptaclesforradioactivewaste,
categorizedaccordingtoisotopeandwhetherthewasteisliquidorsolid.Theyarelabeled
withradioactivetapeorsigns.
o LiquidChemicalWaste:Deliverchemicalwastetothelabmanagerfordisposal.Inthelab
manager’sabsence,placethewasteunderthefumehood.Nevermixchemicalwastes
together–eachbottleorcontainershouldcontainonechemicalproductonly.
o DONOTTHROWORGANICSOLVENTSDOWNTHEDRAIN.
o SpecialBiohazardWaste:Whenworkingwithviruses,bacteriaandcelllinestransfected
withDNA,wastemustbeeitherautoclavedormixedwithbleachandplacedintheregular
biohazardtrash.Autoclavablebagsarelocatedinthelabunderthesink.
o OvaryBin:Thisislocatedinthewalk‐infreezer.Donotthrowpaper,aluminumfoilor
anythingexceptovariesinthisbin.Othertissues(uterus)canbediscardedintheoffalroom
inthemeatlab(again—nothingbuttissueshouldbediscardedhereorwewillbebanned
fromusingtheMeatLabfordisposalofovaries).
o Sharps:Therearesharpscontainersonallthebenches.Donotrecapneedlesbeforedisposal
!!!!Donotoverfillasharpscontainer.Getanewone(locatedinthemainlab)iftheonein
yourworkareaisfull.
Cultureroomwasteshouldbedisposedofasfollows:
o ‐‐Regulartrash‐thereisablackbagintheembryocultureroomandanotherinthecell
cultureroomthatistobeusedforwastegeneratedfrommediapreparation,towelsand
anythingnotcomingincontactwithcells.
o ‐‐Biohazardwaste(anythingcomingincontactwithcellsbutnotvirusesorbacteria)–inthe
embryoculturelab,thereisasmallplasticbinlinedwithabaginwhichwasteisdeposited.
Thiswillberemovedassoonisfullbythepersonfillingitandthebagreplaced.Forthe
cultureroom,biohazardwaste(exceptformaterialcontainingvirusesorbacteria)goesin
thebiohazardbinlocatedinthelab.
o –SpecialBiohardWaste‐Whenworkingwithviruses,bacteriaandcelllinestransfectedwith
DNA,wastemustbeeitherautoclavedormixedwithbleachandplacedintheregular
biohazardtrash.Autoclavablebagsarelocatedinthelabunderthesink.
o ‐Donotoverfillgarbagereceptacles.
Labeleverythingradioactive(i.e.,everytube)withradioactivetapeandisotope!!!!
RemembertopickupitemsthataresittingintheBusinessOfficeandbringthemtothelab.Checkthe
clipboardandsignouttheboxes.EitherputonJim'sdeskorplaceinthecoldroomorfreezer.You
arealsoencouragedtoputthingsawayintheirpermanentlocationifyouknowwherethatis.Ifyou
putitemsawayyourself,signanddatethepackingslip(firstcheckingthateverythingontheslipis
actuallyinthebox)andputthesignedsliponJim'sdesk.Also,labelwiththeinitialsPJHandthedate
receivedontheitemsthatcamein.Regardlessofwhatyoudo,notifyJimthattheitemscamein.
Keepalllogbooksuptodateincluding:
o radioisotopeuse(currentlyinactive)
o semeninventory(excludingthetwotankslabeledforIVF)
o celllinelogs
o columncalibrationlogs
Takestirbarsoutofsolutionsimmediatelyafterpreparationofthesolutions,rinseinD.I.water,and
placeinacontainerlabeled“dirtystirbars”.Therearetwoofthesecontainers(labandmolecular
biologyarea).
Labelallbuffers,samples,etc.(everything)storedinthelab,freezers,refrigerators,etc.withyour
initialsanddate.Whenappropriate(samplesstoredlongterm,allgelsandfluorographs,etc.)putthe
pagenumberofyournotebookthatdescribesthematerialonthecontainer.
Allsamplesstoredinthewalk‐infreezershouldbekeptinoneofthenumberedplasticboxeslabeled
PJH.Aninventoryofwhosesamplesareineachboxwillbepostedonthewallofthecoldroomnear
thefreezerdoor.Labelthebox(es)assignedtoyoubywritingyournameonatapesticker(not
directlyonthebox).Twoboxes(#17and#18)areforcommonly‐heldlabreagents.
Allsamplesstoredinthe‐80freezershouldbekeptinoneofthenumberedboxesthatareplacedin
racksnumberedA,B,Cetc.Aninventoryofwhatisineachboxispostedondoorofthefreezer.
Always,recordsamplesplacedinthe‐80freezerontheinventory.Donotwriteonthenumbered
boxes.Justdescribewhatisintheboxontheinventorysheetpostedonthedoor.Allboxesinthe‐
80freezershouldbeidentifiedwithasingleletter‐digitcode(A1,B4,etc.)thatcorrespondstothe
rackcode.Don’tuseotherlabelingsystems.
Allreagentsandsamplesstoredinthe‐20freezershouldbekeptinoneofthenumberedboxesin
oneoftherackslocatedinthefreezer.Therearetworacksystemsforthe‐20Cfreezer.Oneisfor
bottlesofreagents(locatedsecondshelf).Theseracksareorganizedalphabeticallyandarelabeledas
such.Thesecondracksystemisforsamplesandcustom‐madereagents(locatedtopshelf).These
racksarelabeledasAA,BB,CC,etc.Aninventoryofwhatisineachboxispostedondoorofthe
freezer.Allboxesonthetopshelfofthe‐20freezershouldhaveatwoletter‐digitcode(AA1,BB4,
etc.)toidentifythebox.
Donotuseboxesthathavebeenreservedforthestorageracksinthe‐20or‐80freezersforany
otherpurpose.Theyshouldalwaysbestoredinthestorageracks.Samplesinthoseboxesthatare
notinthestoragerackswillbemoved.
Notifythelabmanagerifyounoticeifanystorageboxistoofull.
Makesurethebalanceandthebenchwherethebalanceislocatediscleanaftereachuse.Eachtime
thebalanceisused(evenifitappearsclean),usethepaintbrushinthedrawerunderthebalanceto
cleanthearea.
Keepyournotebookuptodate‐puteverythingyoudointhelabinyournotebook,includingfailed
experiments.
Helpeachotheroutandkeepcommunicatingproblems,usefultips,etc.toeachother.