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GENERAL SAFETY
IN RESEARCH LABS,
SHOPS, AND THE FIELD
Questions: Occupational Safety and
Environmental Health Office, 231-7759
- If an emergency does occur:
a) Call 911 and report the nature
of the emergency.
b) Do NOT move any injured persons unless they are in further danger.
Keep them warm.
c) If chemicals have been spilled on someone, get the person under
a shower and wash the affected area thoroughly. If a person's
clothing is on fire, wrap the person with a fire blanket or get them
under a shower.
- If you are injured and seek non-emergency medical care, a
reporting process must be followed. The process involves notifying your
supervisor and NDSU's Workers Compensation Coordinator (231-9587), and
obtaining necessary medical care from a designated provider. Please
become familiar with this process, which is explained in detail on forms
kept at your place of work and in the PLSC main office.
- Most chemicals are harmful to people and other animals/organisms
to some degree, depending on dosage. Direct contact should be avoided
with any chemical substance considered "safe" today which may
in the future be found to cause unsuspected long-term disorders. Many
substances are absorbed readily into the body through the skin and
through inhalation. It is especially important to keep your hands and
face clean.
- Smoking, drinking, or eating is forbidden in the laboratory or
storage areas because of the possibility of chemicals getting into the mouth
or lungs. Smoking is an obvious fire hazard, and has a synergistic
injurious effect when combined with exposure to many chemicals,
especially if inhaled.
- Control or restrain long hair and loose clothing when in the
laboratory. A protective lab coat and gloves should be worn when working
with toxic compounds.
- Mouth suction should never be used to fill pipettes, start
siphons, etc.
- A large number of common substances are acute respiratory
hazards and should be used under a fume hood in a well-ventilated room.
- The NDSU Hazardous Chemical Management Procedures Plan requires
that you be informed of all potential hazards to yourself in the work
place. In turn, you must inform those around you of any possible dangers
such as harmful vapors, residual radiation, and carcinogens which you
are using.
- Learn the flammability, reactivity, corrosiveness, and toxicity
of materials before using them. This is important for proper use and
waste disposal. Consult the hazard label found on each chemical
container.
- Before leaving the laboratory: a) return all chemicals and other
materials to their proper storage place; b) turn off all services not in
use such as water, electricity, gases, and vacuums; c) lower all hood
sashes to the lowest practical level; d) turn off lights in the fume
hoods and laboratory; e) lock office and laboratory doors.
- Chemical reactions that are left to run unattended (especially
overnight) are prime sources for fires, floods, and explosions.
Equipment such as power stirrers, hot plates, heating mantles, and water
condensers should not be left on overnight. Unattended reactions should
be checked periodically. Always leave a note with a phone number where
you can be reached in case of emergency.
- Know the location of exits, phones, blankets, fire extinguishers,
first aid kits, etc.
- Periodic safety seminars will be held on campus and must be
attended by all new students.
- Each project in the Plant Sciences Dept. has a safety protocol
specific for the work encountered on that project. Your supervisor should
discuss this protocol with you before you begin work. This protocol must
be signed and returned to the University Safety Officer.
- All students conducting fieldwork are required
to attend the Worker Protection Safety Seminar scheduled each spring by the
Pesticide Program Training Specialist.
Disposal of Toxic Materials. The Occupational Safety and Environmental Health
Office (Sudro 35) has developed a Hazardous Chemical Procedures Plan that
designates which chemicals can be disposed of on campus and which require
special handling. Solid, noncombustible, and combustible wastes will be
collected, stored, and periodically shipped to a landfill. Aqueous,
non-combustible wastes must be evaporated to dryness or, if appropriate,
flushed down the drain. A copy of the plan is on file with the department
Safety Officer and in the department office.
The Occupational Safety and Environmental
Health Office require records to be kept in each lab as wastes are generated.
The paperwork associated with the campus disposal procedure is designed to
ensure the safety of those people moving and incinerating the wastes. Wastes
should be stored in glass or metal (if appropriate) containers until removal
is necessary. Waste Disposal Request forms can be obtained from the department
Safety Officer or the campus Radiation Safety Officer. If you are in doubt
about disposal of any chemical, please consult these people.
Persons working with radioactive materials
have more restrictive procedures and should be aware of these before beginning
their research. Special radiation safety seminars are conducted on campus and
must be attended by new students conducting research with radioactive
materials. Consult the Safety Officer in the department if you are not
informed about use or planned use of potentially hazardous materials in your
research.
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