General Laboratory Safety Procedures
Chemicals :
Ø A
number of chemicals used in the laboratory are hazardous.
Ø All
manufacturers of hazardous materials are required by law to supply the
user with pertinent information on any hazards associated with their chemicals.
Ø This
information is supplied in the form of Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDS.
Ø This
information contains the chemical name, CAS#, health hazard data, including
first aid treatment, physical data, fire and explosion hazard data,
reactivity data, spill or leak procedures, and any special precautions needed when
handling this chemical.
Ø In
addition, MSDS
information can be accessed on the Web on the Biological Sciences
Home Page.
Ø We
are strongly urged to make use of this information prior to using a
new chemical, and certainly in the case of any accidental exposure or spill.
The following chemicals are particularly noteworthy:
Phenol—can cause severe burns
Acrylamide—potential neurotoxin
Ethidium bromide—carcinogen.
These chemicals are not harmful if used
properly: always wear gloves when using potentially hazardous chemicals, and
never mouth-pipette them. If accidentally splash any of these chemicals on
skin, immediately rinse the
area thoroughly with water and inform the instructor. Discard waste in
appropriate containers.
Ultraviolet Light: Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light can cause acute eye irritation. Since the retina cannot detect UV light, we can have serious eye damage and not realize it until 30 minutes to 24 hours after exposure. Therefore, always wear appropriate eye protection when using UV lamps.
Electricity: The voltages used for
electrophoresis are sufficient to cause electrocution. Cover the buffer
reservoirs during electrophoresis. Always turn off the power supply and unplug
the leads before removing a gel.
General Housekeeping: All common areas should
be kept free of clutter and all dirty dishes, electrophoresis equipment, etc.,
should be dealt with appropriately. Since we have only a limited amount of
space of our own, it is to our advantage to keep that area clean. Since we will
use common facilities, all solutions and everything stored in an incubator,
refrigerator, etc., must be labeled.
In order to limit confusion, each person should use his initials or another
unique designation for labeling plates, etc. Unlabeled material found in the
refrigerators, incubators, or freezers may be discarded. Always mark the backs
of the plates with our initials, the date, and relevant experimental data,
e.g., strain numbers.
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