Laboratory Safety
& Ensuring a Safe
Lab Experience
Procedural Protocols &
Guidelines for Laboratory
Safety at
CCBC
© 2013 CCBC School of Mathematics and Science
What is Lab Safety?

The prevention of infection by disease
organisms; ingestion, inhalation or
absorption of toxic materials; and trauma
due to cuts, blunt objects, high or low
temperatures or chemicals.

Basically– everything you need to know to
keep safe when working in lab!!
Why Lab Safety?
Potential hazards exists in the lab work that
can lead to accidents and injuries.
 Therefore, the safety rules and regulations
must be adhered to at all times.

Objectives:

Identify potential safety hazards in the lab.

Be able to identify and locate safety
equipment & know their purpose.

Be able to follow the CCBC Science lab
guidelines.
To ensure your safety:
 You
must know how to prevent an incident
with a potential hazard.
 You
must know how to properly respond if
an incident was to occur.
Potential Hazards Include:





Chemicals
(toxins/poisons/irritants)
Sharp and blunt objects (glass,
dissection tools, weights)
Bio-hazardous materials
(microbiological samples,
preserved specimens)
Heat or fire (hot plates & bunsen
burners)
Electric & Gas
Toxic Substances
Toxic
substances enter our body by:
Inhalation
Ingestion
Injection
Absorption
In Case of Emergency


In case of an Emergency you must Contact Public
Safety at (443) 840-1111 (x1111 on a classroom
college phone). Describe the incident and your
location so they can contact the proper emergency
response team & direct them to your location.
Phones or wall units for contacting Public Safety
are located in each lab.
phone
wall unit
How to Prevent Infection,
Poisoning, or Injury

It is possible that bacteria, viruses, or toxic
chemicals are present in the lab. Students must
follow these guidelines:
 Do not eat, drink, smoke, or chew anything while
in the lab. This is a must. No exceptions!
 Keep hands away from face.
 Treat all substances as dangerous until
identified.
 No running or horseplay in the lab.
How to Prevent Infection,
Poisoning, or Injury





Persons, especially children, not enrolled in the
course are never permitted in the lab.
Students must return all items such as slides,
models or microscopes to their proper location.
After class, wash glassware and leave in the
drainer to dry. Please maintain a clean and neat
lab.
Clean and disinfect lab benches before leaving and
wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, as
appropriate before and after each lab.
To prevent electrocution, keep water and
conducting materials away from electrical outlets.
How to Prevent Infection,
Poisoning, or Injury

Come prepared for lab. Students must
wear proper lab attire. This includes:
Safety goggles
 Proper Shoes
 Lab coats, aprons, or clothing that covers the
body to the knees.
 Gloves
 Long hair tied or pinned back.

Safety Goggles

Wear safety goggles while working in the lab
when doing experiments or dissections. This
is critical when there is:
A
splash hazard
 Projectile dangers

The only time that safety goggles do not
need to be worn is when working with
texts/models, looking through microscopes,
working with computers, or listening to
lectures.
Safety Goggles

Wear only OSHA recommended safety
goggles. ANSI Z87.1 splash goggles are
recommended by OSHA.

If you buy your own safety goggles, check
with your instructor before wearing them in
lab to make sure they are appropriate.
Safety Goggles

If a chemical splash occurs to a student’s
face who was wearing chemical splash
goggles:
 Accompany
the student to the emergency eyewash
and have them rinse their face with the chemical
splash goggles still on.
 Immediately notify your instructor.
Safety Goggles

Safety goggles must
be placed in the
ultraviolet light
disinfection cabinet at
the end of lab.
Your instructor will lock
the cabinet and set the
timer.
Proper Shoes
Students must wear shoes that cover the
entire tops of the feet to prevent injury from
dropping chemicals or broken glass.
 Students should wear shoes that give good
traction.
 Sandals are not permitted in the labs!
 Students wearing shoes that do not cover
the tops of the feet will be asked to leave or
wear lab provided latex boots. No
exceptions!

Proper Shoes


The provided latex boots must be disinfected with
Lysol after each use.
It is the student’s responsibility to bring proper
footwear to lab. A student can only use the
provided latex boots twice during a semester and
only if pairs are available in the lab.
Proper Shoes

Proper shoes for lab

Improper shoes for lab
Clothing that Covers the
Trunk and Upper Legs

Depending on the class, this can include:
A disposable lab coat. (Lab coats worn in
microbiology labs must remain in the lab room
until the end of the semester.)
 An apron.
 Clothing that covers the trunk and the legs down
to the knees. Please note that some of the
chemicals & dyes we use in lab may ruin
clothing. Therefore it is always best to wear
“old” clothes to lab

Gloves

Wear gloves when working with the
following:
 Hazardous
chemical and biological materials
 Dissected materials

When finished with the gloves:
 Remove
the gloves as demonstrated by your
instructor.
 Place used gloves only in the designated bio-hazard
containers.
Bio-hazard container
for used gloves
Hand Washing

Always wash your hands or use the
waterless hand sanitizer before leaving the
lab.
Responding to an Incident:
Chemical Spills


Make sure you properly dispose of waste
materials. Do not flush anything down the
sink!!
If you are unsure of the proper means of
disposing of waste materials, you should
consult with your instructor or a lab technician
before disposing of any solids or flushing
anything down the drain.
Responding to an Incident:
Chemical Spills

Chemical spills must be handled appropriately.
Use the correct chemical absorbent and place
the waste in the designated chemical waste
disposal container.
chemical
absorbents
chemical waste
disposal container
Responding to an Incident:
Biological Spills

Examples of Biological spills include (but are
not limited to):
 Bacterial cultures
 Body fluids. Blood or other body fluids can
transmit several potentially lethal diseases,
including HIV and hepatitis. Infection can occur if
you come into contact with these fluids.
 Fresh dissection specimens (fluids & tissues)
Responding to an Incident:
Biological Spills

In order to disinfect a biological spill:
 First put on gloves.
 Cover the spill with paper towels.
 Liberally apply proper disinfectant (Lysol,
bleach, or alcohol) to the towels and let stand for
10 minutes.
disinfectant
Responding to an Incident:
Biological Spills

Remove paper towels and place in the red biohazard container. (DO NOT PLACE IN A
REGULAR TRASH CAN)
Bio-hazard
container
Responding to an Incident:
Biological Spills



If body fluids are used in a lab exercise, each
student will work only with his or her own body
fluids. Students will not clean up, or deliberately be
exposed to, any other student’s body fluids.
If anyone, in the lab, lab group or same area of the
lab is working with body fluids (or any infectious
matter), everyone in the group or area must wear
latex gloves, safety goggles.
Any disposable material contaminated with body
fluids must be disposed of in the red bio-hazard
container. Notify the instructor or the lab
technician.
Disposal of Bacterial
Cultures



Bacterial cultures growing on Petri plates will be
disposed of in red bio-hazard buckets lined with red
bio-hazard bags located in the labs.
Bacterial cultures growing in culture tubes will be
placed in the designated test tube racks or baskets.
These will be autoclaved before entering the trash
stream. Do not place regular trash in the biohazard containers.
Bio-hazard
buckets for
Petri plates
Racks for
culture tubes
Preventing Inhalation of
Fumes


Use a fume hood when dealing with toxic
fumes or particles.
Fumes hoods must be used when handling or
storing volatile (flammable) chemicals &
solvents.
fume hood
Avoiding Burns

Burns can occur in several different ways:



Contact with heat
Chemical burns
Electrical
Avoiding Burns

Students should:
 Tie back long hair.
 Roll up long sleeves.
 Use the proper protection when handling hot
glass or other pieces of heated equipment.
 Assume that hot plates, bacto-incinerators, heat
blocks, glassware, and hot water baths are hot!
Avoiding Burns
Make sure you unplug hot plates and turn off
Bunsen burners when not in use.
 Place a piece of paper next to the hot plate that
reads “Hot” with the date & time you unplugged
it.

Responding to an
Emergency: What to Do
Take appropriate action.
 Notify the instructor.
 If you do experience any type of incident
remember to:
 Call Public Safety at x 1111
 Instructors must inform the campus
coordinator, BIOL chair, and Assistant Dean.

What to do in case of a fire

Clothing on fire:
 Stop, drop, and roll.
 Do not run.
 Use fire blanket or shower.
 Run cold water over the affected
area to reduce chemical reactions
and heat damage. Use either a
sink or the safety shower.
What to do in case of a
potential chemical burn

Acid or base spill (potential
chemical burn):
 Run cold water over the affected
area to reduce chemical reactions
and heat damage. Use either a
sink or the safety shower.
 Flush the affected area thoroughly.
 Modesty is less important than
saving skin.
What to do in case of
chemicals in the eyes



Remember that
chemicals can pose a
splash risk as well.
Always wear safety
goggles.
Chemical in the eye:
 Take student to the eye
wash station.
 Flush eyes for a
minimum of 15 minutes.
Emergency Gas Shut Off

If a burner or gas jet
catches on fire, you
may need to turn off
the gas supply to the
room. Your instructor
will show you where
the Emergency Gas
Shut Off valve is
located.
Emergency Electricity ShutOff

If you need to turn off
the electricity, an
Emergency Electrical
Shut Off, if the lab is so
equipped, will turn off
power to all outlets in
the room.
In the event of a fire


Immediately notify the instructor.
Put the fire out:
 Use water if it is not a solvent or electrical fires.
 Use a fire blanket.
 Use a fire extinguisher.
In the event of a fire

Fire extinguishers are located in or near
each lab. Know the location of the nearest
fire extinguisher!
How to use a Fire
Extinguisher
Top handle
1. Lift extinguisher
off the wall by the
bottom handle
Clip
Nozzle
Bottom
handle
How to use a Fire
Extinguisher
2. Pull the Pin
3. Unclip the nozzle
(if the extinguisher
has one).
3. Point the nozzle of
the extinguisher at the
base of the fire and
squeeze the top
handle down.
Preventing Cuts


Cuts can be caused by lab tools such as:
 Dissection tools
 Damaged Glassware
Precautions:
 Handle sharp objects carefully.
 Always cut away from yourself when using
knives or scalpels.
 Never put force or stress on glass as it can
break easily.
Preventing Cuts

When opening a sterile pipette, remember to
push THROUGH the paper, not the plastic!
Broken Glass Disposal



Clean up broken glass with
a dustpan and brush and
place it in the disposal
boxes. Boxes protect our
custodians from cuts.
Broken glass boxes &
brooms are located in each
lab room.
DO NOT THROW REGULAR
TRASH IN BROKEN GLASS
BOXES!
First Aid

First Aid Kits (for minor traumas)
are located in each lab.