SAFETY IN THE RESEARCH LABORATORY

Preview This section presents factors to consider when you are working in a research laboratory and performing new experiments. 

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it  

A researcher began a new experiment that she had not previously attempted. This was a large-scale reaction involving the addition of diaminopropane (DP) to potassium hydride (KH) in a 2-liter, three-neck flask. As she mixed 100 mL of DP to 150 g of KH under a nitrogen atmosphere, the mixture began to froth and foam - a common occurrence with hydride reactions. She placed stoppers on the flask but the pressure began to build and blew off the stoppers, splashing her with the reaction mixture. 

What lessons can be learned from these incidents  

Many undergraduate science majors take on academic-year or summertime research projects at their home institutions, at other colleges or universities, or at some chemical industry location in the form of an internship. These are valuable experiences since they allow students to experience both the joys and 

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The first part of this appendix offers a detailed syllabus for a 15-hour course in safety in the research laboratory. Finally, the last section of the appendix gives suggestions for incorporating safety awareness into regular laboratory courses. Appendix 5 consists of a listing of resources for audiovisual, computer, and other materials that are valuable in safety training. 

Nearly every common laboratory technique and operation poses safety hazards. Many of these hazards involve the likelihood of exposure to infectious agents or to mechanical injury caused by improper procedures or techniques. Learning the proper techniques to avoid the risk of exposure to infectious or hazardous agents, as well as to avoid damage to equipment, should be a fundamental goal for all those engaged in laboratory work. Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) covers the principles of research safety in the biomedical laboratory, discusses the hazards associated with common laboratory operations, and examines the theoretical aspects of decontamination and disinfection. 

Goals Students will learn how to identify laboratory hazards, how to rank and quantify the severity of these hazards, and how to extend the fundamental applications of safety practices to the situations found in the research laboratory. 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts research on occupational diseases and injuries, responds to requests for assistance by investigating problems of health and safety in the workplace, recommends standards to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and trains professionals in occupational safety and health. Contact NIOSH, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201 Phone 800-356-4674 or NIOSH Technical Information Branch, Robert A. Taft Laboratory, Mailstop C-19,4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998 Phone 800-35-NIOSH. 

Since the early days of SFC, there always has been a desire to extend the useful range of the technique to more polar molecules. A similar type of desire exists in SFE. The hope for achieving efficient extractions of polar molecules from polar as well as non-polar substrates can only be realized with the use of more polar primary supercritical fluids or by the use of modifiers. Many of the more primary supercritical fluids that exists namely, ammonia or water, are not effectively usable in the analytical laboratory due to instrumental as well as safety restrictions, therefore, the need to do more research on the use of modifiers in SFE is greatly necessitated. Based upon the limited study that was done within the scope of this chapter, a few conclusions can be drawn. These conclusions are summarized in Figure 16. 

The reality was that my work procedures in the national laboratory were not very different than the procedures at DuPont. DuPont did have a better infrastmcture to help employees deal with regulated procedures. Therefore, I do not believe that health and safety issues are a burden on research. I think most industrial people who have worked in manufacturing find that in the end they actually help because of all the different ways they make processes more efficient and liability lower. 

Faculty Office/Laboratories The 12 x 30 faculty office/ laboratories are divided into a 12 x 10 office separated from a 12 X 20 laboratory by a door. The rear door of the laboratory section typically opens into an adjacent graduate research laboratory. The faculty member is provided with a four-foot induced-air hood, but is expected to use the chemical storage hood and solvent safety cabinet in the graduate laboratory. 

For mutagenic activity, the risk of carcinogens and mutagens compounds which might be presented in the oil was also evaluated according to the international guidelines (OECD 471 and commission directive N° B13/14). Tests have been conducted at the CIT (International Center of Toxicity) Safety and Health Research Laboratories, 27005 Evreux, France. This test evaluates the potential of the Saro essential oil to induce reverse mutation in Salmonella typhimurium, knowing that the bacterial reverse test is able to identify substances that cause point mutations, by affections of DNA base-pairs (19, 20). Five strains of S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98 TA 100 and TA 102 were supplied for the study by B.N. Ames Laboratory (University of California, Berkeley or Oakland Research Institute, USA). 

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