😸 😸 🎱 Safety in the laboratory: rules, features and recommendations 🧗🏽 🚘 🔑

Work in any laboratory is inevitably associated with a number of harmful and dangerous factors. But of course, no one in such places does not work just like that. All without fail observe safety precautions in the laboratory. There are a great many rules. Since the topic is important, it should be considered in more detail.

Who is allowed to work?

This question also relates to the topic of safety in the laboratory. So, here are the general provisions regarding the admission of a specialist to the position of an employee of such an enterprise:

The candidate must be an adult who has undergone a medical examination.
A hired employee is allowed to practice after being briefed and interviewed regarding safety issues.
If a specialist is transferred to new types of work, an unscheduled briefing is carried out.
The employee is obliged to use personal protective equipment and protective clothing.
Each designated employee reports to the head of the laboratory, who is responsible for compliance with the rules and maintains a reporting journal.

It should also be noted that repeated briefings are mandatory twice a year, as well as in case of any changes or accidents.

Remedies

Their use is prescribed in each safety manual in the laboratory. All protections are issued by management. And the provisions are as follows:

Work in a chemical laboratory involves wearing a cotton dressing gown.
If actions are carried out that are fraught with the release of dust or gases, the respiratory system must be protected with a gas mask or respirator.
When working with caustic substances, personal protective equipment should be used for hands and eyes, as well as aprons.
To protect against the effects of salts, alkalis, acids and solvents, rubber gloves must be used. They should be free of punctures, cuts and other damage. From the inside, gloves should be sprinkled with talcum powder.
To protect the eyes, the use of glasses, shields and masks is mandatory.

Fire safety

Compliance with safety precautions when working in a chemical laboratory is aimed not only at preserving the health and life of employees, but also at preventing emergency situations. The most destructive of all existing is, of course, a fire.

Each laboratory room must comply with the requirements of GOST 12.1.004-91, as well as have the means to extinguish fire according to GOST 12.4.009-83.

Other requirements

Other fire safety regulations include the following:

The room must have fire hydrants and hoses, sand and fire extinguishers, as well as additional fire extinguishing equipment.
In a visible place should be a plan for the evacuation of employees.
The superiors are required to appoint a group of 3-5 people who, in case of fire, organize the rescue of employees and equipment, put out the fire.
Each employee must be able to handle explosive and flammable substances, a fire extinguisher, gas appliances, gas masks, etc.
If smoke is detected or a burning smell is found, the fire department must be called immediately, measures taken to eliminate the fire and prevent its spread, and notify the authorities about what happened.
Flammable materials and cluttering walkways must not be stored in the laboratory and adjacent rooms.
The installation of heating and other appliances is carried out only after the permission of the authorities and the specialist responsible for fire prevention measures. Their installation is carried out only on insulating stands.
Defective devices and mechanisms must not be operated.
Upon completion of the work, you need to turn off water, gas and electricity everywhere.

Knowledge of these safety precautions in the laboratory minimizes the risk of fire.

Principles

Safety in a chemistry laboratory is based on the following provisions:

It is strictly forbidden to engage in extraneous matters in the room - to eat, drink, smoke, etc.
Care must be taken to monitor the purity of the reagents. It is forbidden to drop an already used pipette into the container where another substance is contained.
You can not pour the reagent taken for analysis back into the container.
The same tool is not allowed to be used for the selection of different substances.
Do not bend over the vessels in which the liquid is boiling, or look into them. Even if you need to mix substances in them, you must stay at a distance.
If there is work with hazardous chemicals, then the laboratory should have at least two employees.
Only serviceable equipment and instruments can be operated.
When the analytical work ends, it is necessary to turn off the electricity, gas and water.

Operation of electrical installations

Safety regulations in a chemical laboratory include recommendations for working with electrical appliances. It is important to remember the following points:

Operational maintenance of electrical installations is carried out only by specialists with access and certification.
During the operation of such devices, fire safety rules must be observed.
Installations in which the voltage is more than 1000 V are serviced only by specially trained people.
Portable receivers can only be connected via a transformer (but not automatic). Before this, it is important to make sure that it is working.
To protect against electric current, it is necessary to use protective dielectric means.

Work with caustic substances

Alkalis and acids are dangerous, and therefore any contact with them is potentially risky. Therefore, you must follow the safety rules when working in the laboratory with caustic substances:

Reagents must be stored in their intended packaging with labels.
Solutions of concentrated acids and alkalis must be kept in small volumes, always in a thick-walled glass container. Their volume should be from 1 to 2 liters. Store under traction.
Transfusion of such substances is carried out only in a fume hood.
To transfer a small amount of reagents, rubber pipettes are used.
Neutralization is carried out only after dilution.
To prepare the acid, pour it into the water during cooling. But not the other way around. Otherwise, the dishes may crack, and this is fraught with acid splashes.
Reagents spilled on the floor or table should be immediately covered with sand, and then neutralized with soda or chalk after boiling has ceased. Then cleaning is carried out.
If lump alkali is used, it must be crushed. It is important to take precautions, otherwise the dust will get into the eyes and body. Therefore, crushing pieces must be done after they are wrapped in fabric.
Alkalis are prepared in porcelain containers with a wide neck. Necessarily on a pallet with traction.
Vessels containing concentrated alkalis are closed with rubber plugs.

How to wash chemical dishes?

Another important issue regarding safety in the laboratory. Here are the main rules:

Wash dishes immediately after use.
When choosing a cleaning method, one must proceed from the nature of the pollution, and also take into account the ability of substances to oxidize and dissolve in water.
When working as a ruff, you need to be careful so as not to break the walls of the vessel and not pierce the bottom.
All of the above must be done after wearing rubber gloves. If aggressive liquids are used (chromium mixture, for example), you also need a mask or safety glasses.
Those who have worked with it should wash the dishes, as they are aware of the nature of the contamination.

By the way, a container is considered clean, on the walls of which individual drops do not remain, and when water flows down, its thin and uniform film is visible. Such dishes can be put in the oven. But the temperature should be set between 80-100 ° C.

Work in a physical laboratory

A little attention should be paid to this topic. Much has been said above about observing safety precautions in a chemical laboratory. What are the provisions in force in the physical? The rules regarding admission to work are similar. Otherwise, there are some features. Here are the general rules:

Touching, turning on and off the circuit breakers and other devices is prohibited, unless the head or senior laboratory assistant has given permission for this.
If violations or malfunctions are noticed, it is necessary to inform the senior officer about this.
When working, it is necessary to fulfill those duties that were entrusted to the authorities.
Do not distract the attention of other employees.
In the event of an accident, you must immediately inform your superiors or senior laboratory assistant.
Upon completion of all cases, you need to put your place in order, and also report on the completion of work to the senior.

Work under stress

A person can be struck by the current of both high and low voltage. Unfortunately, meeting electricity is often fatal. To prevent this, you must follow safety precautions when working in the laboratory.

And here's what is strictly prohibited:

Turn on or off lighting, power and electrical devices / circuit breakers without permission given by the manager.
To carry out in circuits that are energized, switching.
Leave them unattended.
Without warning and demand, turn on the circuit under investigation.
Go behind installed fences or stretch out your arms there.
Contact with equipment that is not grounded.
Outweigh or remove prohibited / warning posters.

Management should remember that workplaces must be located in such a way as to exclude the possibility of simultaneous contact with the appliance or equipment, as well as with steam, gas or water pipes. In other words, there should be enough space.

Work in a medical laboratory

Its employees are exposed to a number of hazardous factors, including chemical, biological, mental, etc.

Unlike safety precautions in an analytical laboratory or some other, an even greater number of features are taken into account here. Here are just a few rules:

The employee must be careful, clean and tidy.
Performing practical work, all observations should be written out in a laboratory journal.
Use only clean reagents, utensils and appliances.
In the process of experiments, it is necessary to use only solutions of the indicated concentration, observing the established dosage.
Poisonous and expensive reagents should not be drained into a sink, but into separate bottles.

Work in the microbiological laboratory

The safety briefing in the microbiology laboratory is quite detailed. The main provisions include the following rules:

Indoors, you can only be in a white coat and hat / scarf.
The employee is responsible for his workplace and for the equipment that is assigned to him.
During operation of the spirit lamp, the alcohol vapors that have accumulated under the cover must first be purged. To do this, raise the wick. It is forbidden to carry a lit spirit lamp.
In contact with cultures of microorganisms, it is necessary to exercise maximum accuracy. The contents of the test tube should not get on clothes, floor, table, etc. Otherwise, you must immediately notify the management of what happened and carry out disinfection.
Do not allow the spraying of microorganisms, leave open flasks, tubes, etc.
Microorganism containers should be clearly labeled with ink on glass. On containers with solutions - labels.
After contact with microorganisms, all tweezers, needles and loops must be burned in a flame and fixed in a tripod. The suspension that has spilled must be neutralized.
After completion of work, used dishes are sterilized by autoclaving or boiling. Then they wash it. The pipettes are disinfected with a 3% solution of chloramine, then washed and sterilized.
When working with bactericidal lamps, the employee must use safety glasses.

And of course, the most important safety precautionary rule in the microbiology laboratory is to ensure that employees are hygienic.

Conclusion

All of the above are just the basic safety rules and regulations. There are many more, and not one can be neglected. Unfortunately, cases of occupational injuries and occupational diseases are much more common than we would like.

Safety in the laboratory: rules, features and recommendations