lab safety audit info 5 01.1

Ralph

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• Publié par: Udda
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English

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Laboratory Environmental Safety Audit;
Issues and Information
Your Guide to Managing a Safe Laboratory at UVM
Environmental Safety Facility - http://esf.uvm.edu
656-5400
Your laboratory was audited by staff from the Environmental Safety Facility, according to Procedure
9 of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). Please respond to the issues identified with the
Environmental Safety Audit Response form within 4 weeks. Issues that you may have questions
about are addressed in the Environmental Management Plan, the Chemical Hygiene Plan, and Pru-
dent Practices in the Laboratory. These plans can be found on the web at http://esf.uvm.edu. Prudent
Practices is available from the Environmental Safety Facility at 656-5400, at campus libraries and
online (http://books.nap.edu/books/0309052297/html/index.html). This guide follows the layout of
the audit form.
1. Housekeeping Issues
a. Contamination: Any visible stain or spill is considered to be a chemical hazard in the
environment. All surfaces should be cleaned of contamination immediately, including spills of
nonhazardous chemicals.
b. Sharps: Any unprotected sharps are a danger to anyone in the lab. Place them in a punc-
ture proof container so that someone unaware of their presence is not accidentally injured.
c. Food: OSHA 29CFR1910.141(g) and UVM procedures prohibit the storage, preparation or
consumption of food or drink in a location in which hazardous materials are present. Remove food,
food refrigerators, coffee makers, tea bags, coffee cups, water bottles, candy wrappers, etc. from the
lab including from trash containers. Any sign that food or drink is or was present in the lab, even if
not consumed there, is prohibited.
d. Bench top or Fume hood cluttered: Upon entering a lab a government inspector immedi-
ately gets a visual impression. Stacked or unused equipment and supplies in disarray are signs of lax
lab practices and the inspectors assume the same holds true for labeling, proper storage locations and
compatibility of chemicals. Based on their first impression, they will look harder and spend more
time in these labs. Remember: Daily use quantities and properly labeled squeeze bottles of alcohol
or disinfectant for cleaning [as in 2(f) below] are the only chemical containers allowed to be stored
on the bench top.
e. Room cluttered/dirty: Avoid clutter, overflowing trash containers and storage of materials
outside of cabinets and shelves. The same concerns apply as in 1d above.
2. Chemicals and Waste Storage
a. (1) Floor: All chemicals and waste containers are required to be stored in cabinets, in
appliances, or on shelves. Exceptions: Properly labeled 5-gallon pails of nonflammable waste can be
stored on the floor; if the waste is liquid it requires chemically compatible secondary containment.
Fiber drums containing solid, nonhazardous salts can also be stored on the floor. Storage of larger
containers of waste in the lab requires prior approval from the ESF.
(2) Hood: Fume hoods are designed as a work environment and are not to be used for
chemical or waste storage. Excess storage clutters the hood work space and inhibits the air flow
needed for proper containment.
b. Liquids above eye level: All hazardous liquids must be stored below eye level (generally
4 ft high) and require chemically compatible secondary containment. This minimizes the chance of
Page 1
(Rev.7/19/01)chemicals being dropped and decreases the risk to eyes and face.
c. Household appliances: Flammable liquids can only be stored in appliances designed for
flammable liquid storage. Extremely violent and potentially fatal explosions can and have resulted
when flammables are stored in household refrigerators or freezers.
d. Food/Chemicals stored together: See 1c above.
e. Waste quantities: Laboratory waste containers must be tagged for disposal when they are
full or otherwise ready for disposal. No more than 30 gallons of waste or no more than 1 quart of
acutely hazardous waste may accumulate before being tagged for disposal. See EMP Procedure 5.
f. More than daily use quantities: All chemicals are required to be in proper storage loca-
tions and closed at all times except when transferring a portion of the chemical to be used into
another container or using a chemical in a process. Once the transfer or process has been completed
immediately placed back into storage. The presence ofthe original container(s) are required to be
any container(s) unattended on a bench top other than listed below is a violation of the regulations.
Exceptions: (1) Properly labeled bottles filled with only “daily use quantities” may be kept on the
bench top (in secondary containment) and need not be dated since they are not used for storage. At
the end of each day these bottles will be empty. (2) Properly labeled squeeze bottles of “alcohol or
disinfectant for cleaning” are also allowed to be stored on the bench top.
g. Flammables: All flammable liquids are required to be stored in a designated flammable
storage cabinet when not being transferred or utilized. Exception: See above.
h. Cabinet labels: All chemical storage cabinets require labeling with the hazard of the
contents. The regulations are specific as to size and wording for these labels. Labels are available
through the Environmental Safety Facility. (Example: Flammable, corrosive, toxic, oxidizer)
i. Under sink storage: Cabinets under the sink are not for laboratory chemical storage due to
the degradation of containers and chemicals. Only cleaning chemicals may be stored in cabinets
under the sink. These chemicals are still hazardous and do require secondary containment.
j. Chemicals/Food stored together: See 1c above.
2a. Chemical Storage Compatibility
Chemicals must be stored according to chemical compatibility to avoid reactions and main-
tain chemical quality. It is only acceptable to store chemicals alphabetically within compatible
groups. Follow these guidelines for storage: Consult the UVM Hazardous Chemicals of Concern list
attached to the Chemical Use Planning Form (EMP Procedure 1) for the basic groups of chemicals.
A rule of thumb is that chemicals in the same group may be stored together; however, individual
chemicals within the groups may have additional hazards. To view the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute video on Chemical Storage Hazards call the ESF.
Use the following guidelines to understand compatibility issues and further segregate chemi-
cals for proper storage. If it is unclear where a chemical should be stored contact the ESF staff.
a. Flammables and Corrosives: Corrosives (acids and alkalines) must be stored in a sepa-
rate cabinet from flammables.
b. Liquids in secondary containment: All hazardous liquids stored in cabinets, on shelves,
in appliances, etc. require a chemically compatible secondary containment tray so that if the primary
container breaks the spill is contained within the larger, secondary container.
c. Oxidizers: All oxidizers (solids and liquids, ex.: nitrates, nitrites and compounds contain-
ing the prefix “per”, such as ammonium persulfate) need to be identified and stored separately or can
be placed on a shelf with other chemicals provided there is a means of physical separation, i.e.,
secondary containment tray.
d. Solids and Liquids: All solid chemicals may be stored either in cabinets or on shelves,
while hazardous liquids should be placed in cabinets. There must be a physical separation; however,
Page 2between solids and all liquids. They may be placed on the same shelf but separated by secondary
containment for hazardous liquids [see 2a (b)] and by physical distance if the liquid is nonhazardous.
e. Other:
*Acids and alkalines should be stored in separate cabinets, but can be stored in the same
cabinet if separated by secondary containment trays and the cabinet is labeled as corrosives. If
oxidizing acids are present in this cabinet then all organic material must be removed. Check monthly
for crystallization on the container and degradation of caps.
Example: If nitric, perchloric, or chromic acids, etc. are present in the corrosives cabinet then
all organic corrosives such as acetic acid, amines, etc. need to be moved to a separate (organic)
corrosives cabinet (or limited amounts may be stored in the flammables cabinet, separated in differ-
ent secondary containment).
*Inorganic and organic acids can be stored in the same cabinet providing they have separate
secondary containment trays.
*Even though a chemical may have been diluted it must still be categorized as that chemical
group and stored as such.
*It is preferred that all hazardous liquid chemicals be placed in cabinets and not on shelves.
2b. Chemical/Container Condition
a. Chemical container condition: All chemical containers must be clean, intact and free of
damage, corrosion, crystallization and contamination.
b. Chemical container caps: Chemical containers must be properly closed and sealed at all
times except when transferring from one container to another. A cracked lid does not contain vapors
that chemicals give off and does not protect the chemical from contamination. Intact lids last ap-
proximately 1 year.
c. Outdated chemicals: EPA considers chemicals to be “inherently waste like” and subject
to fine if:
* A liquid chemical shows signs of crystallization
* A solid chemical does not flow freely when rotated
* There is evidence of a change i