Hazardous materials laboratory

Laboratory procedures can require the use of potentially hazardous materials. Laboratory robots can minimize human exposure to hazards. Conversely, human contamination of biologically sensitive materials can also be minimized by laboratory robots. 

In an interlab oratory study involving 160 accredited hazardous materials laboratories reported by Kimbrough and Wakakuwa [28], each laboratory performed a mineral acid digestion on five soils spiked with arsenic, cadmium, molybdenum, selenium and thallium. Analysis of extracts was carried out by atomic emission spectrometry, inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry, flame atomic absorption spectrometry and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. 

The 30g mixture burning test has been adopted by the United Nations 4 01 based on oxidizing burning rate tests(the 5 pound test) 3 used in America. Uehara 41 and Hasegawa 4 21 have concluded that this method should be adopted for the Fire Services Law in Japan. The experimental data supporting their conclusion are archived at the Hazardes Material Laboratory of Japan Carlit Co., Ltd. 

Uehara 4 31 has suggested the crucible method to examine the combustibility of the oxidizer-sawdust mixtures but has noted that the results may be affected by humidity. Consequently, he has built the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.22 and has achieved good reproducibility in his data. The Fire Research Institute of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Hazardous Material Laboratory of Japan Carlit Co., Ltd. use an apparatus similar to Uehara s. 

Hazardous Materials Laboratory, California Department of Health Services, 2151 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704... 

This work was carried out at the California Department of Health Services Hazardous Materials Laboratory, and was funded by Superfund Project No. ES 04705 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. 

Special attention to safety requirements is necessary when performing site inspections. These include aspects in relation to the dosage form and activities observed (e.g. radioactive pharmaceuticals, hazardous materials, laboratory reagents, equipment and apparatus, explosions, personnel lifts, ladders, glassware, freezers, steam, radiation, microbiological hazards, viral and biological products and waste, and other relevant possible hazards). 

Chemistry operations to support the NTP vitro efforts are performed in a specially designed Hazardous Materials Laboratory. The Laboratory (31,32,33) is under negative atmospheric pressure and all air and water effluents are filtered through particulate, charcoal and other appropriate media before being discharged. 

Inherent with the use of containment facilities is a routine monitoring program which should include laboratory air, treated waste water and suitable surface areas. Because of the wide range of compound types and classes used in the Hazardous Materials Laboratory, a general monitoring procedure is necessary. 

Laboratory air is routinely monitored quarterly by the NIOSH charcoal tube sampling procedure. Laboratory air is drawn through the tube for an 8 hour period and the charcoal adsorbant is extracted with carbon disulfide or other suitable solvents. The extract is analyzed by gas chromatography using both flame ionization and electron capture detectors. Chromatograms from each sample are compared to those of blank samples collected prior to initiation of Hazardous Materials Laboratory operations. Standard analytical techniques (HPLC, GC/MS, etc.) are used, as required, for identification, confirmation and quantitation. 

Hazardous Materials Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, CA, USA... 

Also, pilot plant and laboratory scale anaerobic studies have demonstrated successful treatment of wastewaters of 5,000 to 50,000 mg/L GOD from corn chips containing soluble and colloidal corn starch and protein, cheese whey, organic chemicals, food, bakeiy, breweiy, paper mill foul condensate, paint, and numerous other hazardous anci non-hazardous materials. 

Adsorption — An important physico-chemical phenomenon used in treatment of hazardous wastes or in predicting the behavior of hazardous materials in natural systems is adsorption. Adsorption is the concentration or accumulation of substances at a surface or interface between media. Hazardous materials are often removed from water or air by adsorption onto activated carbon. Adsorption of organic hazardous materials onto soils or sediments is an important factor affecting their mobility in the environment. Adsorption may be predicted by use of a number of equations most commonly relating the concentration of a chemical at the surface or interface to the concentration in air or in solution, at equilibrium. These equations may be solved graphically using laboratory data to plot "isotherms." The most common application of adsorption is for the removal of organic compounds from water by activated carbon. 

The PHI-TEC II adiabatic calorimeter as shown in Figure 12-17 was developed by Hazard Evaluation Laboratory Ltd. (UK). The PHI-TEC can be used both as a high sensitivity adiabatic calorimeter and as multi-purpose vent sizing device [17,18]. The PHI-TEC employs the principles established by DIERS and includes advanced features compared to the VSP. It also provides important information for storage and handling and provides useful insight into the options suitable for downstream disposal of vented material. 

Outside support services (for example, medical surveillance laboratory analyses training consultants emergency response to incidents, injuries, fires, and hazardous materials incident responders or experts as required by site activities). 

Whatever goes to the local sanitary dump will eventually find its way into the environment. For this reason, materials that are to be disposed of as garbage from the laboratory should be carefully scrutinized. There are those who feel that traces of hazardous materials when mixed with large amounts of regular garbage will somehow disappear. They will not. Worse yet, some materials could react when combined and possibly generate enough heat to cause fire. 

It is important to keep the amount of potentially hazardous waste in the laboratory to a minimum at all times. Periodically, contents of the laboratory waste containers will be transferred to appropriate containers for final disposal. These must be stored in a safe location, often outdoors, while awaiting pick-up by a disposal service. There will be local restrictions for such storage. A locked storage area may be needed, for example, to prevent unauthorized access to hazardous materials. The fire department niiay set strict limits as to how much flammable material may be present. All containers must be marked with contents, and the storage area will no doubt require warning signs. 

Laboratories handling biologicals have their own special problems. They often have to dispose of small but significant amounts of materials that may be very hazardous. Every laboratory procedure must then be scrutinized with this in mind. 

The samples should be stored so that there is no hazard to laboratory staff. The integrity of the sample must also be preserved, i.e. the sample should be the same when it is analysed as when it was collected. There must be no risk of contamination or cross-contamination , i.e. no material should enter or leave the sample container. In addition, extremes of environmental conditions should be avoided. 

Training, Hazardous Materials Technician, HAZMAT (1989) Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (1990) Annual Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals, SARA 311 (1991) Process Safety Management (1992)... 

In this context, the term adiabatic refers to calorimetry conducted under conditions that minimize heat losses to the surrounding environment to better simulate conditions in the plant, where bulk quantities of stored or processed material tend to minimize cooling effects. This class of calorimetry includes the accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC), from Arthur D. Little, Inc., and PHI-TEC from Hazard Evaluation Laboratory Ltd. 

Items submitted for examination include many types of hazardous materials, as described above. It is essential to have proper storage arrangements and most importantly safe disposal arrangements before receipt in the laboratory. 

CuppitLT. 1980. Fate of toxic and hazardous materials in the air enviromnent. Research Triangle Park, NC U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory. NTIS no. PB80-221948. 

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