Radioactive Material Incidents () 2.7 Planning for Shutdowns Researchers should develop written procedures to deal with events such as loss of electrical power (affecting fume hoods, coolers etc.) or other utilities (water), or temporary loss of personnel due to illnesses such as pandemic flu. Guidance on factors to consider when developing shut-down plans is included in the Lab Hibernation Checklist in . 2.8 Closing out a laboratory Any researcher leaving the University needs to properly close down his/her lab. If the principal investigator does not take proper care to clean-up the laboratory, then the department for which they worked under becomes responsible. We strongly encourage departments to develop administrative controls to prevent this from happening. A good tool to use is the available on the DEHS website. Otherwise, DEHS does offer laboratory clean-up services for an hourly fee. Chapter 3 How to Reduce Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals – Engineering controls, personal protective equipment, hygiene practices, and administrative controls each play a role in a comprehensive laboratory safety program. Implementation of specific measures must be carried out on a case-by-case basis, using the following criteria for guidance in making decisions. Assistance is available from DEHS. 3.1 Engineering controls A. Fume Hoods The laboratory fume hood is the major protective device available to laboratory workers. It is designed to capture chemicals that escape from their containers or apparatus and to remove them from the laboratory environment before they can be inhaled. Characteristics to be considered in requiring fume hood use are physical state, volatility, toxicity, flammability, eye and skin irritation, odor, and the potential for producing aerosols. A fume hood should be used if a proposed chemical procedure exhibits any one of the following characteristics: airborne concentrations might approach the action level (or permissible exposure limit) flammable vapors might approach one tenth of the lower explosion limit materials of unknown toxicity are used or generated the odor produced is annoying to laboratory occupants or adjacent units Procedures that can generally be carried out safely outside the fume hood include those involving the following: water-based solutions of salts, dilute acids, bases, or other reagents very low volatility liquids or solids
Radioactive Material Incidents () 2.7 Planning for Shutdowns Researchers should develop written procedures to deal with events such as loss of electrical power (affecting fume hoods, coolers etc.) or other utilities (water), or temporary loss of personnel due to illnesses such as pandemic flu. Guidance on factors to consider when developing shut-down plans is included in the Lab Hibernation Checklist in . 2.8 Closing out a laboratory Any researcher leaving the University needs to properly close down his/her lab. If the principal investigator does not take proper care to clean-up the laboratory, then the department for which they worked under becomes responsible. We strongly encourage departments to develop administrative controls to prevent this from happening. A good tool to use is the available on the DEHS website. Otherwise, DEHS does offer laboratory clean-up services for an hourly fee. Chapter 3 – How to Reduce Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals Engineering controls, personal protective equipment, hygiene practices, and administrative controls each play a role in a comprehensive laboratory safety program. Implementation of specific measures must be carried out on a case-by-case basis, using the following criteria for guidance in making decisions. Assistance is available from DEHS. 3.1 Engineering controls A. Fume Hoods The laboratory fume hood is the major protective device available to laboratory workers. It is designed to capture chemicals that escape from their containers or apparatus and to remove them from the laboratory environment before they can be inhaled. Characteristics to be considered in requiring fume hood use are physical state, volatility, toxicity, flammability, eye and skin irritation, odor, and the potential for producing aerosols. A fume hood should be used if a proposed chemical procedure exhibits any one of the following characteristics: airborne concentrations might approach the action level (or permissible exposure limit) flammable vapors might approach one tenth of the lower explosion limit materials of unknown toxicity are used or generated the odor produced is annoying to laboratory occupants or adjacent units Procedures that can generally be carried out safely outside the fume hood include those involving the following: water-based solutions of salts, dilute acids, bases, or other reagents very low volatility liquids or solids