1 in the Chemical f aboratory I I
Edited bv NORMAN V. STEERE, 1 4 0 Melbourne Ave., S.E. Minneapolis, Minn. 5 5 4 1 4
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LIX. Safety Manuals and Handbooks b. Honeywell Corporate
Research
Center (Continued)
-Ediiar1s Note To help those who may have responsibility for developing written safety. guidelines for a laboratory, we continue a series of excerpts from some laboratory safety manuals and handbooks. The series will include exttmplea of detailed safety practices, basic safety policies, reasonable safety regulations, and flexible administrative procedures. Table of contents is listed only to show extent of coverage and variations between organizations. specific questions or comments about any manual or handbook excerpt should be direct,ed to the contact person noted a t the end of the article. Whether or not they can provide copies of their manual will depend on t,he policy of their organiaat,ion. In a later issue, we plan to have s. report of progress on the development of a comprehensive laboratory safety manual by the Research and Develop ment Section of the National Safety Council, one of three groups act,ive in laboratory safety. The American Chemical Society and the National Fire Protection Association bot,h have committees working on guidelines and strtnd%rdst,htlt will be appropriate in a Iahoratary safet,y manusl. Purposes and activities of the three groups will be described here in the near future.
IV
CHEMICAL SAFETY PRACTICES
4.1
Chemical Safety This section of the manna1 first ontlines safetv ~racticeswhich shonld he 4.1.0
lem areas which we may encounter a t t,he Research Center. The hazards associat,ed wit,h the use of chemicaln me so varied that specific safety instmetions for each research project are beyond the scope of this manual. The individi~al researcher must, therefore, he responsible and take the initiat,ive to become informed cancerning specific h a s ~ r d sassociated with his research materials and their interactions.
4.2
General Safety Precautions Use appropriate safety equipment whenever experiments are being conducted, i.e., safety glasses, rubber gloves, protective aprons, shoes, gas masks, shields, ete. Safety glasses should he worn in the laboratories a t all times. 4.2.1 Familiarize yourself with the location and nse of the emergency e q u i p ment, i.e., first aid materials, fire extin4.2.0
guishers, gas masks, eye washes, and showers. 4.2.2 Keep laboratories clean and orderly with d l chemicdls properly labelled. 4.2.3 Before beginning each experiment review potential hazards which may he associated with the experiment and then take necessary precantions to counteract or eliminate the hazard. 4.2.4 Avoid repeated and/or prolonged personal contact with all laboratory chemicals. 4.2.5 Evacuated hell jars should have a protective screen around them to minimize the hazard from flying glass in the event' of a n implosion. For the same reason Dewar flasks should be wrapped with masking tape. Safety glssses should always be worn when working a n or in the vicinity of any vacuum station.
4.3
Organic Liquids When using flammables post and observe "no smoking" signs a t the entrance to your laboratory. Avoid inhalation of organic vapors which can be toxic as well as explosive. Always w e and store flammables in a well ventilated place, preferably in a hood. Large quantities of flammables are not to be stored in the laboratories. Organic liquids (especially ethers) should not he stored where they will go unnoticed for long periods of time. Do not pour large quantities of flammable liquids down the drain. Carbon tetrachloride and trichlorethylene should always be used, and disposed of in chemical hoods. 4.3.0
4.4 Acids or Bases 4.4.0 Store strong acids and bases separately and away from volatile organic chemicals. Do not store mare than chest high. Rnhber carriers are available in the stack room and shonld be used for transporting acids or bases. A face shield, rubber gloves, and apron are recommended apparel when working with strong acids or bases. 4.4.1 Acids should always be diluted by stirring the concentrated acid slowly into the water. There lies a man so cool and placid, He ponred the water into t,he acid, Alive are the ones that did what they oughter, They poured the a d d into the water. 4.4.2 When using either strong acids or bases suitable neutrelieing agents should be ready for use in event of spills. Acids should be neutralized with weak hases mch as sodium carbonate or bicarbonate. Bases crtn be neutralhed with a dilote sah~tionof acetic acid. 4.4.3 Immediate washing with large
quantities of water is the first and most effective treatment for personal contact with acids or bases. To dispose of used acids or bases first neutralize and then flush down the drain with copio~uamounts of water.
4.5 Special Chemical Hazards 4.5.0 Mercuw. The vapor pressure of mercury a t room temperature is about 1 micron which is sufficient to produce a concentration of about 200 times the allowable concentration for continuous exposure (0.1 mg per cubic meter). However with normal ventiletion and small areas of mercury exposed it is not likely that even this tolerance concentration will he reached. Nevertheless, all efforts to prevent mercury spills shonld be made, and such spills should be promptly cleaned up. Large amounts of spilled mercury can be picked up by the specially adapted mercury vacuum cleaner and smaller globules can be picked up with E piece of copper that has been wet with mercnry. Glass apparatus containing large volumes of mercury should have adequate trays under it t o confine the spread of mercury in the event of breakage. 4.5.1 Mercnry should never he heated in a n open vessel. Likewise, equipment that has contained mercury shonld never be heated. Glass blowing on a system that has contained m e r e ~ ~ should ry not he attempted nntil the area t o be heated has been cleaned with concentrated nitric acid. 4.5.2 If any doubt exists as to whether there is a concentration of mercnry vapor in nn area, a mercnry vapor detector is available which will quickly give iadieation of the quantity of mercory in the air. 4.5.3 Unclean mercury is not to he cleansed by a distilling process a t the Research Center, hut rather sent t o Honeywell's main chemistry laboratory for cleaning. 4.5.4 All depleted mercury batteries are to be returned to the stockroom for disposal. 4.5.5 Ethers can react with oxygen t o form peroxides which if concentrated by evaporation becomes a virtual bomb if heated or jarred. I t is therefore recommended that ethen he dated by the Stockroom Keeper upon receipt, thus recording the age of all ether containers within the building. 4.5.6 Cyanide salts must never he stored in the same cabinet with acids. Cyanide salts must only be used in chemicil hoods and never where open containen of acid exist. Because cvsnide salts are i n rho building, Honestiell t o r r d u w l IIFCJ i s req~liredl u h a w at lr.~%l t w pwpl? at thc Corporate l ~ e ~ c a r (:crltc~ rh C H P H ~ I P of assisting in a cyanide emergency. Special training programs are held each year under (Conlinued on page A5SO)
Volume 46, Number 8, August 1969
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