Laboratory operation areas

Facilities for handling test and control articles Laboratory operation areas Specimen and data storage facilities Equipment design... 

Specimen and data storage 160.49 Laboratory operations area... 

Working areas within certain industrial buildings may have restricted access (i.e. sterile laboratories, radioactive areas). Separate toilet accommodation may be required in these areas, an assessment of which may be obtained from the operator and reference to such publications as Atomic Energy Code of Practice, Laboratory Practice. It may also be necessary to operate such appliances remotely by photoelectric cell, sonic control or foot control. 

An overview is given of plutonium process chemistry used at the U. S. Department of Energy Hanford, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Rocky Flats, and Savannah River sites, with particular emphasis on solution chemistry involved in recovery, purification, and waste treatment operations. By extrapolating from the present system of processes, this paper also attempts to chart the future direction of plutonium process development and operation. Areas where a better understanding of basic plutonium chemistry will contribute to development of improved processing are indicated. 

At this point of the planning, we are mainly concerned with quantitative estimates of such utilities and the ease, or lack thereof, with which they can be brought to the laboratory area. These considerations have a profound effect on laboratory layout. In laboratories that have been in operation for some time, a lack of needed utilities is a major problem, particularly when new procedures are introduced. Estimates should be made by the laboratory operator in close cooperation with building professionals and should take future needs into consideration. 

Smoking must not be permitted in areas where flammables or toxic substances are used. The laboratory operator should provide for a safe smoking area, generally one where food may also be consumed. In work areas where smoking is permitted, inexpensive ashtrays should be used. They are more practical than Petri dishes. 

The purchase price of some instruments may include set-up and check-out by a manufacturer s representative. In such cases, the laboratory operator should only check for physical condition of a shipment and call the representative about its arrival. Other equipment will generally be set up at its permanent location as soon as it is unpacked and checked. Supplies will be taken to their designated storage areas. The accompanying warranty cards should be filled out and mailed as soon as possible. 

The laboratory operator laid out work bench areas to suit jobs to be perfomed. Several changes were made in order to facilitate utility installations. 

The laboratory area had no ventilation, and the system used elsewhere in the building was unable to handle the extra load. As a result, a separate system had to be installed. At the laboratory operator s insistence, this was to be a system -with no recirculation of ah . There was considerable resistance from management due to the higher cost for both installation and operation. To make matters more difficult, the heating engineer had never seen a need for such a system on previous jobs. One argument finally settled the situation. It was pointed out that fragrance evaluations would often have to be performed as part of product evaluation. This would be difficult if much of the air were recirculated. 

A designer of lighting systems was called in. He recommended surface mounted fluorescent fixtures, which he considered more efficient than the recessed ones. The laboratory operator scanned all work areas with a light meter after the job was completed. The light was even and well within recommended levels. Fiirther-more, there were never any problems with the fixtures themselves, except for an occasional change of tubes. 

Inadequate housekeeping controls in laboratories, process, or operating areas can result in process waste, leakage, and spillage accumulations that can lead to increased fire losses. Such accumulations are typically from one of several causes ... 

Forty-two laboratories were identified for inspection. Ongoing and completed studies would be examined as available. The inspections used a checkhst that was divided into two parts, one part covering laboratory operations and the other study conduct. The checklist arbitrarily placed mixing and storing of test substances in the area of laboratory operations and distribution and characterization of the substances in study conduct. 

Food and Drug Administration investigators found generally acceptable performance in the archival and record retention areas as well as in the area of the physical facilities associated with animal care and laboratory operations. The lack of findings in these areas is encouraging, since it may be... 

While the goals of worker safety are certainly admirable, emphasis on this area by OSHA is likely to cause some disruption in GLP labs. First, any set of overlapping regulations—OSHA and GLP, for example—is bound to cause some confusion and contradiction. Second, OSHA investigators, no matter how well trained and dedicated, are generalists with little in-depth understanding of the intricacies of laboratory operations. Their interpretations, particularly early in the learning curve, are likely to be problematic. 

Such a general procedure is described in the National Research Council report, "Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories" (1), and other books on laboratory safety provide similar advice (2,3). Briefly, the procedure calls for carrying out most laboratory operations in a well-ventilated area (e.g., a fume hood or a glove box) and avoiding skin contact with chemicals. A more detailed description follows. 

The laboratory and production areas should have procedures in place to properly handle the occurrence of an unexpected or atypical result. Standard operating procedures detailing management s expectations in the event of a deviational event should be available in each operational area. Personnel should be adequately trained to carry out the instructions specified in the SOP. This training should be performed by qualified trainers and repeated on a regular basis. 

Consumption of food or beverages and smoking must be excluded from areas where laboratory operations are performed. 

Laboratory operations are often performed continually or overnight with no one present. It is essential to plan for interruptions in utility services such as electricity, water, and gases. Operations should be designed to be safe, and plans should be made to avoid hazards in case of failure. Wherever possible, arrangements for periodic inspection of the operation should be made and, in all cases, the area should be properly lit and an appropriate sign placed on the door and the apparatus. Failure of availability of cooling water can have serious consequences. A variety of devices can be used that ... 

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