(This section last updated 6/11/08)

Chemistry Department Safety Committee

Other Safety Contacts

Some Elementary Safety Rules

1. Keep this manual within easy access in your laboratory and be familiar with its contents.
2. The safe way is the right way to do your job. Plan your work. Follow instructions. If you do not know how to do the job, ask your instructor or research director.
3. Report to the Safety Coordinator all unsafe conditions, unsafe acts and "near misses" which might cause future accidents.
4. Be able to use all safety devices and protective equipment provided for your use. Know the location and contents of the nearest safety station.
5. Maintain good housekeeping by keeping your work area clean and orderly. Put unused equipment into live storage in "the cage" on the second floor.
6. Wear proper clothing. Avoid bringing long hair, loose sleeves, cuffs, rings, bracelets, etc. in proximity to moving machinery. Proper shoes are required in the laboratory--no bare feet or sandals.
7. Horseplay in any form is dangerous and prohibited. Do not run in laboratory areas or halls.
8. Do not oil, grease, or work on unprotected machinery in motion.
9. All machinery and equipment under repair and adjustment shall be properly "locked out" and tagged.
10. Know the evacuation procedure for your area, the location of fire exits, the location and use of fire extinguishers, and the proper method of reporting fires.
11. Compressed gas cylinders should be secured firmly. Never move a cylinder unless the protective cap is screwed over the valve.
12. DON'T try completely new and untried experiments involving potentially dangerous chemicals without help.
13. Changes to common procedures, including: "scaling-up" a reaction; a change in heat source or reaction temperature or pressure; change in solvent; etc., turn a known procedure into a high-risk procedure. Be sure to discuss all changes to known procedures with the Principal Investigator, the Safety Representative from the group, the Departmental Safety Coordinator, and/or the OESO.
14. An Unattended Experiment Form, available from the stockroom, should identify any laboratory where an experiment is to be left unattended overnight or over a weekend. It is your responsibility to see that adequate information is supplied to protect safety personnel or firemen who may have to deal with an emergency situation in your laboratory.
15. Never leave a reaction or experiment running unattended unless you have told your lab partners enough about it to deal with potential hazards while you are away. Leave an overnight form on the door if the laboratory will be unattended.
16. NEVER carry out hazardous work alone, especially at night or over the weekends. The National Safety Council makes the following recommendations: Make sure someone is in visible or audible range to help you if something goes wrong. Regardless of the work function, there should be a check procedure established at some regular interval to determine the physical state of the person working alone. Keep aware of where your neighbors are.
17. Report every accident or fire, no matter how trivial, at once to the Campus Police, 684-2444. Even if there is no injury to personnel or equipment, a report should be filed by a police officer. If the incident is trivial, give Campus Police the option of sending an officer to your lab at a mutually convenient time rather than immediately.
18. Smoking is prohibited in French Family Science Center.

This section last updated 8/16/07.