Check-in
As mentioned in the check-in and safety lecture of your laboratory course, the following must be completed prior to the start of your first experiment. Participation in your enrolled laboratory course in contingent upon successful completion of these forms, and is part of your "Right to Know."
Text Versions of the Check-in Safety Lecture:
If you missed the initial check-in and safety lecture or need a refresher to complete your safety quiz, a text version of the lecture is available below.
- Introductory Laboratories (Chem 119 and 129)
-
In General:
Many accidents and incidents in the lab are preventable. It is far easier to prevent a dangerous situation from occurring than it is to remedy one.
Pay attention at all times in the lab. Pay attention to what your partner is doing. Pay attention to what your peers around you are doing. If something looks off, speak up. Safety is everyone's responsibility.
Check-in Procedure:
Your instructor will assign you a drawer of glassware to be used throughout the semester. You are the only student being assigned that drawer for the entirety of the semester, and therefore you are solely responsible for returning everything in it at the end of the semester during check-out, whether you have used the item or not. Your instructor or laboratory assistant (LA) will unlock your drawer just before lab begins and will re-lock it as lab ends.
When you are first assigned your drawer, pull all items out and lay them out on your bench top. Go through your Equipment Checklist item by item and ensure you have everything on the list and that all items are in good, working condition. Scratches, scuffs, and discoloration are all fine; breaks, cracks, chips, or missing pieces are not acceptable and need to be replaced.
During check-in, all items are free to replace as it is your first time using the drawer and not your fault that an item is missing. After check-in, you will be charged for any missing or broken piece of equipment. If you work with a partner, do your best to keep an eye on any equipment from your drawer that is used and ensure it returns to your drawer.
If you drop/withdraw from the course, change sections, or otherwise change your enrollment, please let your instructor and the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager know so you can be checked out of your drawer. Failure to complete the check-out procedure by the scheduled day according to your syllabus will result in an improper checkout fee of $20, plus the cost of any missing or damaged equipment.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Dress Code:
For Chem 119 and Chem 129, the following PPE is required at all times:
- Thigh-length lab coat
- Safety goggles
- Gloves
Safety goggles offer you three protections that safety glasses do not. Safety goggles:
- Are chemically splash-resistant (not splash-proof)
- Form a seal around your eyes
- Are indirectly vented
Eye protection is the most important safety aspect in any lab. Your eyes are particularly sensitive to many of the hazards you will encounter in the lab and are not as resilient to exposure as other parts of your body. You must have your goggles on at all times that chemicals are being used in the lab, even if you are not the one using those chemicals.
Gloves should be changed frequently - as soon as you notice they are soiled or twenty (20) minutes, whichever is sooner. Often times, latex and nitrile gloves may not actually offer much protection from the chemicals you are interacting with; however, they provide a few second window to allow you remove them before the chemical penetrates the glove and makes contact with your skin. Wash your hands any time you change your gloves. Change your gloves often and allow your hands to breathe.
Gloves must be removed before you leave the lab room for any reason. It's critical that you do not contaminate the hallway, the Chemistry Stockroom window, or any other area. No one has any way of knowing what you have touched prior to leaving the lab, and even if you have just put the gloves on and insist that they are clean, you may have residue from touching the countertops or other items in the room.
In addition to your lab coat and safety goggles, you must wear clothing underneath that completely covers you from the neck to the floor. Dress code is enforced regardless of the weather.
- T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other tops are all acceptable on the top half of your body.
- Tank tops, sports tops, or any clothing that would expose your chest or midriff are not permitted in the lab.
- Jeans, sweatpants, pants, tights, leggings, skirt/dress with tights/leggings are all acceptable on the bottom half of your body.
- Shorts, clothes with rips or tears, or any clothing that exposes some or all of the leg are not permitted in the lab.
- Closed-toe and closed-back shoes with your ankles covered are the only acceptable footwear in a lab.
- Sandals, slippers, Crocs, Birkenstocks, bare feet, etc. are all not permitted in the lab.
- Long hair needs to be tied back, pulled up, or put under a hat.
- Personal accessories, including but not limited to: glasses, hats, head coverings, jewelry, and long nails, are all allowed to be worn in the lab permitting that they do not interfere with your ability to wear your other PPE or your ability to safely handle equipment and complete your experiment.
- Dangling jewelry should be taken off or tucked away, long nails must not puncture gloves when they are to be worn, etc.
- If you choose to wear a face mask to lab, it is recommended that you put on a clean disposable mask for the lab period and remove it when you leave to prevent you from breathing in chemical residue trapped in the mask for longer than intended. Face masks are available in the hallways around the lab room and at the Chemistry Stockroom.
Generally, looser fitting clothing is recommended in a lab setting. In the event of a full-body spill or other emergency, tighter-fitting clothing may be more difficult to remove.
You may not participate in lab if you are dressed inappropriately for lab. An effort will be made to identify if you are dressed inappropriately before class begins to minimize time missed from the lab as you will need to change. Failure to follow dress code, or any safety rules in the lab may result in your dismissal from the lab or may impact your grade at your instructor's discretion.
Cubbies:
There are a set of large cubbies at the entrance to each lab room to store your personal belongings. Please keep all items in the cubbies that you are not using during lab to prevent tripping hazards.
Cell Phone Use:
Your instructor may have specific rules about the use of cell phones in their lab. It is not recommended to use your cell phone in an active lab as you may cross-contaminate it and bring chemical residue home with you unwittingly. If you do use your cell phone in lab, you should always remove your gloves and wash your hands before touching it.
Food and Drink:
Food and drink are not permitted to be consumed in any lab room at any time under any circumstance, including gum and water. There are too many instances of possible cross-contamination to allow any sort of consumption. Be mindful that many labs begin around typical meal times and plan accordingly.
If you need to eat or drink something, please consume it in the hallway completely before re-entering lab. You will be dismissed from the lab if you are caught eating or drinking at any time in the lab room.
First Aid Kit:
The first aid kit for each lab is found in the cubbies where you keep your personal items. Additional items are kept in the Chemistry Stockroom.
Minor cuts and injuries may be handled in-house with the first aid kit provided. Clean the injury thoroughly with cold water and soap, apply pressure if still bleeding, and bandage appropriately. Please do your best to avoid the transfer of blood to others.
Any injuries or exposures that are beyond the scope of first aid will be handled by emergency personnel. Inform your instructor immediately that an emergency has occurred and emergency help will be contacted ASAP. It is college policy to report emergencies of this nature to University Police and Environmental Health & Safety.
Safety Data Sheets (SDS):
A binder of SDS is found in the cubbies as well. An SDS is a summary document about a specific chemical. It provides basic information such as what the chemical is called, what hazards it poses, and other physical information. You will learn about an SDS in depth during Chem 216 (Organic Chemistry Laboratory) but for now, it is recommended that you start familiarizing yourself with these documents. You should be reading your procedure before coming to lab and you should also be reading up on the chemicals that you will be using so you are not blind to what you will be handling.
Additional copies of SDS are found in the Chemistry Stockroom, ISC 329, and also on the Chemistry Stockroom website.
Waste:
In each classroom lab, there are three different types of waste containers and all must be used appropriately. The three waste containers in the lab are:
- Laboratory trash
- This is a red or black plastic can with a swing-top lid, or a metal lidless can.
- This is for anything chemically-contaminated and disposable, such as used gloves, weighing papers, and paper towels.
- Glass trash
- This is a tall white and blue cardboard box.
- This is for anything sharp or glass that is not a needle or syringe, such as broken glassware or porcelain, and empty vials.
- Hazardous waste
- This is a one gallon plastic bottle with a handle.
- This is for all leftover solid chemicals and solutions. Do not dispose of chemicals in the hazardous waste without your instructor or LAs guidance.
Never dispose of chemicals down the drain unless you have your instructor's explicit permission to do so. It is both illegal and unethical, so please do not do it without permission of your instructor.
Emergency Eyewash:
In the event of a chemical splashing into your eyes (because you're not wearing your safety goggles as required), you must use an emergency eyewash. In many cases, the closest emergency eyewash to you is at the instructor's desk. There is a second emergency eyewash in the entryway to each lab room. Use whichever is closest to you. Simply pull up on the eyewash (it's on a relatively short hose) and squeeze the trigger to start the flow of water.
Your body's natural response to a splash is to clamp your eyes shut and keep them held shut but you must do the exact opposite when using the emergency eyewash. Hold your eyes open and flush them with water while rolling your eyes around in your head. If you cannot hold your eyes open while using the emergency eyewash, someone will hold your eyes open for you. If you are wearing glasses, remove them or have someone remove them for you.
You must use an emergency eyewash for fifteen (15) continuous minutes at a minimum, and ideally, you use it until emergency medical help arrives.
Safety Shower:
In the event of a full body chemical splash, you must use the safety shower. The safety shower for the lab is in the entryway to the room, with the shower head coming from the ceiling. Simply pull down on the handle attached to the wall and water will start immediately. You must allow water to make direct contact with your skin, i.e., you must remove all of your clothing and be naked. Chemicals soaked into the fibers of your clothing will be held against your skin as water flushes over it, preventing you from getting all of the chemical off of your skin.
You must use the safety shower for fifteen (15) continuous minutes at a minimum, and ideally, you use it until emergency medical help arrives.
Fire Extinguisher:
The fire extinguisher for the lab is in the entryway to the room.
Do not attempt to fight a fire in the lab, or anywhere on campus, yourself, even if you have been trained on proper fire extinguisher use in the past. In many instances, a chemical fire behaves differently than a standard household fire and must be approached differently.
Your only obligation is to hand your instructor or the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager the fire extinguisher in the event that they cannot reach it themselves.
Evacuations and Other Emergencies:
In the event of any emergency, always tell your instructor immediately and appropriate action will be taken.
In the event of an evacuation, you should:
- Safely turn off your experiment or equipment, if safely able to do so.
- Evacuate to the first floor of the Integrated Science Center via the nearest unobstructed stairwell. Do not use an elevator under any circumstances.
- The nearest stairwell is to your right as you exit the lab room.
- The next closest stairwell is in the center of the hallway, across from the Chemistry Stockroom (the stairwell with the large dinosaur mural).
- The third closest stairwell is at the end of the hallway, toward Bailey Hall, or toward the ISC Atrium, toward Newton Hall.
- Meet at the designated meeting spot for Chemistry, which is near the greenhouses behind Newton Hall. Please do not stop moving as soon as you exit the ISC and block the flow of traffic.
- Do not re-enter the building until it has been cleared for re-entry by an official.
Accommodations:
If you are pregnant, may become pregnant, or have any other pre-existing condition that may impact your health and safety in the lab, it is strongly recommended that you make this known to both your instructor and the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager.
If you need assistance evacuating the building in the event of an emergency, please inform the same parties. Stockroom personnel check each of the lab rooms when evacuating to make sure everyone is out safely, and if you need additional assistance doing so, someone will come to you first to help.
This information is always kept confidential and will never affect your grade or ability to complete the class, it is solely to help keep you safe.
- Organic and Advanced Laboratories (Chem 216, 301, 313, 331, 342, and 361)
-
In General:
Note: largely, the core safety topics covered in the Introductory Lab sequence, Chem 119 and 129, all apply here. This goes more in-depth on selected topics that you should know.
Many accidents and incidents in the lab are preventable. It is far easier to prevent a dangerous situation from occurring than it is to remedy one.
Pay attention at all times in the lab. Pay attention to what your partner is doing. Pay attention to what your peers around you are doing. If something looks off, speak up. Safety is everyone's responsibility.
Check-in Procedure:
Note: Chem 361 - Modern Chemistry Laboratory does not have assigned drawers and therefore is not subject to this section alone.
Your instructor will assign you a drawer of glassware to be used throughout the semester. You are the only student being assigned that drawer for the entirety of the semester, and therefore you are solely responsible for returning everything in it at the end of the semester during check-out, whether you have used the item or not. Your instructor or laboratory assistant (LA) will unlock your drawer just before lab begins and will re-lock it as lab ends.
When you are first assigned your drawer, pull all items out and lay them out on your bench top (or hood, if in Organic Lab). Go through your Equipment Checklist item by item and ensure you have everything on the list and that all items are in good, working condition. Scratches, scuffs, and discoloration are all fine; breaks, cracks, chips, or missing pieces are not acceptable and need to be replaced.
During check-in, all items are free to replace as it is your first time using the drawer and not your fault that an item is missing. After check-in, you will be charged for any missing or broken piece of equipment. If you work with a partner, do your best to keep an eye on any equipment from your drawer that is used and ensure it returns to your drawer.
If you drop/withdraw from the course, change sections, or otherwise change your enrollment, please let your instructor and the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager know so you can be checked out of your drawer. Failure to complete the check-out procedure by the scheduled day according to your syllabus will result in an improper checkout fee of $20, plus the cost of any missing or damaged equipment.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Dress Code:
For Chem 216 and all 300-level Chemistry labs, the following PPE is required at all times:
- Thigh-length lab coat
- Safety goggles
- Gloves
Safety goggles offer you three protections that safety glasses do not. Safety goggles:
- Are chemically splash-resistant (not splash-proof)
- Form a seal around your eyes
- Are indirectly vented
Eye protection is the most important safety aspect in any lab. Your eyes are particularly sensitive to many of the hazards you will encounter in the lab and are not as resilient to exposure as other parts of your body. You must have your goggles on at all times that chemicals are being used in the lab, even if you are not the one using those chemicals.
Gloves should be changed frequently - as soon as you notice they are soiled or twenty (20) minutes, whichever is sooner. Often times, latex and nitrile gloves may not actually offer much protection from the chemicals you are interacting with; however, they provide a few second window to allow you remove them before the chemical penetrates the glove and makes contact with your skin. Wash your hands any time you change your gloves. Change your gloves often and allow your hands to breathe.
Gloves must be removed before you leave the lab room for any reason. It's critical that you do not contaminate the hallway, the Chemistry Stockroom window, or any other area. No one has any way of knowing what you have touched prior to leaving the lab, and even if you have just put the gloves on and insist that they are clean, you may have residue from touching the countertops or other items in the room.
In addition to your lab coat, safety goggles, and gloves, you must wear clothing underneath that completely covers you from the neck to the floor. Dress code is enforced regardless of the weather.
- T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other tops are all acceptable on the top half of your body.
- Tank tops, sports tops, or any clothing that would expose your chest or midriff are not permitted in the lab.
- Jeans, sweatpants, pants, tights, leggings, skirt/dress with tights/leggings are all acceptable on the bottom half of your body.
- Shorts, clothes with rips or tears, or any clothing that exposes some or all of the leg are not permitted in the lab.
- Closed-toe and closed-back shoes with your ankles covered are the only acceptable footwear in a lab.
- Sandals, slippers, Crocs, Birkenstocks, bare feet, etc. are all not permitted in the lab.
- Long hair needs to be tied back, pulled up, or put under a hat.
- Personal accessories, including but not limited to: glasses, hats, head coverings, jewelry, and long nails, are all allowed to be worn in the lab permitting that they do not interfere with your ability to wear your other PPE or your ability to safely handle equipment and complete your experiment.
- Dangling jewelry should be taken off or tucked away, long nails must not puncture gloves when they are to be worn, etc.
- If you choose to wear a face mask to lab, it is recommended that you put on a clean disposable mask for the lab period and remove it when you leave to prevent you from breathing in chemical residue trapped in the mask for longer than intended. Face masks are available in the hallways around the lab room and at the Chemistry Stockroom.
Generally, looser fitting clothing is recommended in a lab setting. In the event of a full-body spill or other emergency, tighter-fitting clothing may be more difficult to remove.
You may not participate in lab if you are dressed inappropriately for lab. An effort will be made to identify if you are dressed inappropriately before class begins to minimize time missed from the lab as you will need to change. Failure to follow dress code, or any safety rules in the lab may result in your dismissal from the lab or may impact your grade at your instructor's discretion.
Cubbies:
There are a set of large cubbies at the entrance to each lab room to store your personal belongings. Please keep all items in the cubbies that you are not using during lab to prevent tripping hazards.
Cell Phone Use:
Your instructor may have specific rules about the use of cell phones in their lab. It is not recommended to use your cell phone in an active lab as you may cross-contaminate it and bring chemical residue home with you unwittingly. If you do use your cell phone in lab, you should always remove your gloves and wash your hands before touching it.
Food and Drink:
Food and drink are not permitted to be consumed in any lab room at any time under any circumstance, including gum and water. There are too many instances of possible cross-contamination to allow any sort of consumption. Be mindful that many labs begin around typical meal times and plan accordingly.
If you need to eat or drink something, please consume it in the hallway completely before re-entering lab. You will be dismissed from the lab if you are caught eating or drinking at any time in the lab room.
First Aid Kit:
The first aid kit for each lab is found in the cubbies where you keep your personal items. Additional items are kept in the Chemistry Stockroom.
Minor cuts and injuries may be handled in-house with the first aid kit provided. Clean the injury thoroughly with cold water and soap, apply pressure if still bleeding, and bandage appropriately. Please do your best to avoid the transfer of blood to others.
Any injuries or exposures that are beyond the scope of first aid will be handled by emergency personnel. Inform your instructor immediately that an emergency has occurred and emergency help will be contacted ASAP. It is college policy to report emergencies of this nature to University Police and Environmental Health & Safety.
Safety Data Sheets (SDS):
A binder of SDS is found in the cubbies as well. An SDS is a summary document about a specific chemical. It provides basic information such as what the chemical is called, what hazards it poses, and other physical information. You should be reading your procedure before coming to lab and you should also be reading up on the chemicals that you will be using so you are not blind to what you will be handling. Additional copies of SDS are found in the Chemistry Stockroom, ISC 329, and also on the Chemistry Stockroom website.
SDS are often overwhelming to read as there are sixteen (16) sections to each document. As students in Chemistry labs, you should prioritize these four (4) sections:
Section Title Brief Description 1 Identification Product identifier; manufacturer or distributor name, address, phone number; emergency phone number; recommended use; restrictions on use. 2 Hazard(s) Identification All hazards regarding the chemical; required label elements. 4 First-Aid Measures Important symptoms/effects, acute, delayed; required treatment. 11 Toxicological Information Routes of exposure; related symptoms, acute and chronic effects; numerical measures of toxicity.
Routes of Exposure:
You can exposed to chemicals in four (4) major pathways:
- Dermal/skin contact. The chemical is physically touching your body, and why it is important to only use chemicals in their approved locations to prevent cross-contamination.
- Inhalation. Breathing in particulates or vapors. This is generally the most common route of exposure.
- Ingestion. Consuming the chemical by eating or drinking.
- Injection. The chemical is entering your bloodstream. This does not need to be an injection in the traditional sense - an open wound or small cut is an injection site, and why it is important to bandage injuries quickly and tell your instructor if an injury occurs. Generally, this route of exposure takes the least amount of chemical to do the most amount of damage to your body.
LD50:
In toxicology, the median lethal dose (LD50) is the amount of substance administered (dosed) to a test population in which 50% of that test population died after a set time period as a result of exposure. LD50 values for a chemical are found in section 11 of that chemical's SDS.
LD50 is the most common unit, but other numbers are occasionally used, e.g., LD100 is the dose administered in which the entire population died as a result of exposure.
LD50 is reported in milligrams of substance per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg). Typically, an SDS will report LD50s for small mammals, such as rodents and rabbits. Very rarely, and particularly in older SDS, you may see LD50s for other more intelligent mammals. As you learn more about the ethics of science, you will learn the implications of this, but know that those numbers are not estimates - they were determined in a lab.
A small mammal's physiology is quite different than ours as humans, but you can use the reported LD50s to get a rough estimate of how much of the chemical is needed to cause harm to use. Simply multiply the LD50 (mg/kg) by your body weight in kilograms (1 kg = 2.2 lbs) to get the dose of chemical in milligrams that is expected to kill half the population that consumed that chemical in the listed manner.
NFPA:
On the SUNY Geneseo campus, we use the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) rating to label potential risks that chemicals pose. Other systems, such as the Hazardous Materials Information System (HMIS), exist and convey very similar information. The major difference between these systems is their intended audience. HMIS is used for general lab employees and NFPA is used for emergency personnel. We use NFPA at SUNY Geneseo because in the event of an emergency, emergency personnel will be contacted to handle the situation and that is the system that they are familiar with.
The NFPA diamond is a widely recognized symbol that uses a color and number system, where 0 is least hazardous and 4 is most hazardous. The following table explains the system in more detail.
Color Hazard Rating Blue Health hazard - 0: no hazard.
- 1: can cause significant irritation.
- 2: can cause temporary incapacitation or residual injury.
- 3: can cause serious or permanent injury.
- 4: can be lethal.
Red Flammability hazard - 0: will not burn.
- 1: must be preheated before ignition can occur.
- 2: must be heated or high ambient temperature to burn.
- 3: can be ignited under almost all ambient temperatures.
- 4: will vaporize and readily burn at normal temperatures.
Yellow Instability hazard - 0: stable.
- 1: normally stable; high temperatures make it unstable.
- 2: violent chemical change at high temperatures or pressures.
- 3: may explode at high temperature or shock.
- 4: may explode at normal temperatures and pressures.
White Special hazard Special hazards are not on a 0 to 4 scale, but rather are one- to four-letter codes or a symbol to identify other hazards not covered by the other categories. Examples are non-exhaustive.
- OX: oxidizer.
- SA: simple asphyxiant.
- W: reacts violently or explosively with water.
- COR: corrosive.
RAMP:
"RAMP is an acronym to help educators and students keep science safety in the forefront of their work in a laboratory environment" that was developed by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Information in the table below is from the ACS's 2018 RAMP Brochure.
Letter Meaning Brief Description R Recognize hazards Hazard: any source of potential damage or harm to a person's health.
- Use labels on bottle and container to identify the most important hazards of the contents. Use SDS to identify Globally Harmonized System (GHS) hazards of the chemicals you will be using (physical, health, and environmental hazards). The main hazard categories are flammables, explosives, corrosives, oxidizers, irritants, and toxicants.
- Understand the nature of the hazard (its chemistry and/or toxicological/biological effects).
- Identify the most important physical hazards from equipment, conditions, and procedures (electrical and mechanical hazards, high or low temperature or pressure).
A Assess risks from hazards Risk: the probability of harm or damage from a hazard.
- Assess the risks presented by the most important hazards.
- Use SDS and the GHS hazard categories and statements to determine the relative risk of the hazards.
- Check to be sure all glassware and equipment are in good shape and working condition.
M Minimize the risk of hazards - Identify methods and safe practices to minimize the risks from exposures to chemicals and from physical hazards.
- Understand the nature and limitations of personal protective equipment, chemical hoods, and other safety equipment.
- Locate online and printed materials to identify safe practices and consult with more experienced chemists.
- Wear personal protective equipment such as safety goggles, lab coats, and appropriate gloves. The dress code in a lab should be such that there should be no exposed skin below chest level.
- Use appropriate waste containers when discarding chemicals.
P Prepare for emergencies - Know and practice the procedures for handling common emergencies such as spills, cuts, burns, exposures, and fires.
- Discuss emergency procedures with students, both in a general way and with regard to each experiment.
- Ensure that all safety equipment (eyewash, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and safety shower) is present and in working order.
Thermometer:
You will often use a glass thermometer as part of your experimental procedure. The thermometer that you use is filled with methanol that has been dyed blue. You will never use a mercury thermometer in Chemistry labs at SUNY Geneseo.
Waste:
In each classroom lab, there are three different types of waste containers and all must be used appropriately. The three waste containers in the lab are:
- Laboratory trash
- This is a red or black plastic can with a swing-top lid, or a metal lidless can.
- This is for anything chemically-contaminated and disposable, such as used gloves, weighing papers, and paper towels.
- Glass trash
- This is a tall white and blue cardboard box.
- This is for anything sharp or glass that is not a needle or syringe, such as broken glassware or porcelain, and empty vials.
- Hazardous waste
- This is a one gallon plastic bottle with a handle.
- This is for all leftover solid chemicals and solutions. Do not dispose of chemicals in the hazardous waste without your instructor or LAs guidance.
Never dispose of chemicals down the drain unless you have your instructor's explicit permission to do so. It is both illegal and unethical, so please do not do it without permission of your instructor.
Emergency Eyewash:
In the event of a chemical splashing into your eyes (because you're not wearing your safety goggles as required), you must use an emergency eyewash. In many cases, the closest emergency eyewash to you is at the instructor's desk. There is a second emergency eyewash in the entryway to each lab room. Use whichever is closest to you. Simply pull up on the eyewash (it's on a relatively short hose) and squeeze the trigger to start the flow of water.
Your body's natural response to a splash is to clamp your eyes shut and keep them held shut but you must do the exact opposite when using the emergency eyewash. Hold your eyes open and flush them with water while rolling your eyes around in your head. If you cannot hold your eyes open while using the emergency eyewash, someone will hold your eyes open for you. If you are wearing glasses, remove them or have someone remove them for you.
You must use an emergency eyewash for fifteen (15) continuous minutes at a minimum, and ideally, you use it until emergency medical help arrives.
Safety Shower:
In the event of a full body chemical splash, you must use the safety shower. The safety shower for the lab is in the entryway to the room, with the shower head coming from the ceiling. Simply pull down on the handle attached to the wall and water will start immediately. You must allow water to make direct contact with your skin, i.e., you must remove all of your clothing and be naked. Chemicals soaked into the fibers of your clothing will be held against your skin as water flushes over it, preventing you from getting all of the chemical off of your skin.
You must use the safety shower for fifteen (15) continuous minutes at a minimum, and ideally, you use it until emergency medical help arrives.
Fire Extinguisher:
The fire extinguisher for the lab is in the entryway to the room.
Do not attempt to fight a fire in the lab, or anywhere on campus, yourself, even if you have been trained on proper fire extinguisher use in the past. In many instances, a chemical fire behaves differently than a standard household fire and must be approached differently.
Your only obligation is to hand your instructor or the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager the fire extinguisher in the event that they cannot reach it themselves.
Evacuations and Other Emergencies:
In the event of any emergency, always tell your instructor immediately and appropriate action will be taken.
In the event of an evacuation, you should:
- Safely turn off your experiment or equipment, if safely able to do so.
- Evacuate to the first floor of the Integrated Science Center via the nearest unobstructed stairwell. Do not use an elevator under any circumstances.
- The nearest stairwell is to your right as you exit the lab room.
- The next closest stairwell is in the center of the hallway, across from the Chemistry Stockroom (the stairwell with the large dinosaur mural).
- The third closest stairwell is at the end of the hallway, toward Bailey Hall, or toward the ISC Atrium, toward Newton Hall.
- Meet at the designated meeting spot for Chemistry, which is near the greenhouses behind Newton Hall. Please do not stop moving as soon as you exit the ISC and block the flow of traffic.
- Do not re-enter the building until it has been cleared for re-entry by an official.
Accommodations:
If you are pregnant, may become pregnant, or have any other pre-existing condition that may impact your health and safety in the lab, it is strongly recommended that you make this known to both your instructor and the Chemistry Stockroom & Safety Manager.
If you need assistance evacuating the building in the event of an emergency, please inform the same parties. Stockroom personnel check each of the lab rooms when evacuating to make sure everyone is out safely, and if you need additional assistance doing so, someone will come to you first to help.
This information is always kept confidential and will never affect your grade or ability to complete the class, it is solely to help keep you safe.