This section of
the lab manual contains:
The following is
your first assignment in this course!
Please note: your
laboratory instructor will reduce your grade or ask you to leave the lab if the
safety rules are not followed!
If you come to the lab dressed
inappropriately you will be asked to leave and you will receive a grade of
"0" for the day's work.
State and Federal
law require the use of safety eyewear by anyone working in a chemical
laboratory. The Department has approved splash-proof goggles or safety glasses
with side shield for this purpose. Both types are available for sale in the FAU
Bookstore.
Long hair can
accidentally fall into flames or chemicals. Many hair sprays, gels, mousses,
etc. are flammable! Think about this! Loose, long hair can also block your
vision, which can lead to accidents.
No cutouts or
cutoffs, tank tops, tube tops, muscle shirts, etc. No peek-a-boo belly buttons
either! The skin of your torso must not be exposed at any time in the lab.
No shorts are
allowed. No short or mid-length skirts are allowed.
No sandals, flip-flops, open-toed shoes, or shoes with open sides or heels. And no slippers - the top of your foot must be covered!
Three hours of
walking and standing on a hard tile floor can leave your feet very tired and
sore if you wear uncomfortable shoes.
They offer added
padding for your feet, and extra protection to your ankles.
The lab can get
very warm. Wear cotton or another natural fiber to keep from overheating
yourself in the lab.
Tiny splatters or
droplets of chemical are very likely to get on your clothing. You might not
even know that the droplets are there. But the chemical can stain your clothes
or weaken the fibers of the clothing so that the next time you do the laundry
your clothes will come out of the dryer with little, fuzzy holes in them.
If you do not want
to spend the entire day dressed in your lab clothes, then put your lab clothes
in your book bag. Before lab class begins, you can go to a nearby rest room and
change from your regular clothes to your lab clothes. It is also a good idea to
have some spare clothes in case of an emergency.
Chemicals which
are harmless to your body may be capable of damaging jewelry. Take your jewelry
off and store it in your purse or book bag before beginning any experiment.
One first aid kit
is located in each laboratory, at the middle bench, on the top shelf. It
contains gauze squares, small, adhesive bandages and antibiotic ointment. If
any injury occurs which cannot be handled with these supplies, then the student
can be escorted to the Health Services office (SSB-210) to receive treatment
from the health care professionals there, or can wait in the lab for an
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team from the Boca Raton Fire Department (BRFD)
if the injury is severe.
Note: If you need a demonstration of the
use of adhesive bandage and ointment, please see the laboratory coordinator or
your instructor for individual instruction.
In the Chemistry
lab we use a lot of glassware. Glassware usually winds up getting broken some
time during the semester. When that happens, it is unsafe to pick up the broken
glass with your hands. Instead, you should use a broom and dust pan to collect
the broken glass. The broken glass should then be disposed of in the specially
marked container provided (White cardboard box with blue lettering). There is a
little broom for sweeping the bench top, and a big broom for sweeping the
floor.
The fume hoods are
large cabinets which have sliding glass doors in front. Fume hoods are used to
protect you from harmful fumes, gases and odors. The fume hood has an air duct
in its ceiling which is attached to a powerful fan. When the fan is turned on,
the air in the fume hood is pulled up through the duct, carrying away any
harmful fumes or smoke. Any time your experiment will produce harmful or
bad-smelling gases or smoke, you will perform the experiment in the fume hood.
Our fume hood are on at all times, and they can
only be turned off by authorized personnel.
Our labs
also include personal fume hoods at each bench. These are extremely small, and
are not suitable for use with more elaborate experimental setups, but can be
used for simple, small-beaker reactions which do not require the use of heating
equipment. Your instructor can demonstrate the use of these fume hoods for you.
While the sink is
used for cleaning glassware and many other tasks, it is also a part of our
safety equipment. If you happen to get chemicals onto your hands or forearms,
you must move quickly to the sink to rinse the chemicals off. The treatment for
any chemicals which get on the body is to rinse the affected body area for 15
minutes under cold running water (or as long as you can stand it).
When you
are in the lab, if you notice that you have a mysterious itch on your arm which
just won't go away, assume that it is a chemical on your skin and wash with
soap and plenty of water.
Safety showers and
eye wash stations are located in each laboratory. When you are in the lab, make
sure you locate the safety showers and eye wash stations and look very
carefully at them. You should know where they are and how they operate before
an accident happens.
The
treatment for any chemicals which get on the body is to rinse the affected body
area for 15 minutes under cold running water (or as long as you can stand it).
If chemicals
are splashed into your face they should not reach your eyes because you will be
wearing safety goggles. If this sort of accident happens, leave your goggles
on while you go to the eye-wash station. There you should wash your face
with the goggles still on until you are reasonably sure most of the chemical is
gone from your face. Then you should remove your goggles and wash again.
If chemicals
get into your eyes, you should call out for help. If you cannot see, someone
will guide you to the eye wash station, where you should wash out your eyes
thoroughly. You should blink continuously and rapidly while washing your eyes
to aid the flushing action of the water.
If chemicals
get onto your body, you should quickly remove any contaminated clothing and
rinse yourself off in a safety shower.
There are fire
extinguishers in each laboratory. While you are in the laboratory, please look
carefully at the fire extinguishers. Notice how they are attached to the wall,
and what you would have to do to get them off of the wall. Read the
instructions on the side of the fire extinguisher so you will be familiar with
their use. If you ever need to use a fire extinguisher, remember the following
(A) pull the pin, (B) aim to the side at first, (C) depress the handle, (D)
sweep the spray from side to side across the BASE of the fire (where the fire
meets the fuel), not just at the flames! When the fire is out, clean up the
area!
Note:
Never spray a person with a fire extinguisher. The chemicals in the fire
extinguisher can be harmful.
There are alarm
switches in the laboratory. It is unlikely that you will need to use them,
since the laboratories are all equipped with several smoke detectors. But you
should locate them and look at them so you know how they work.
Note:
We will prosecute for intentional false alarms!
Each lab has a master valve which shuts off the gas supply to the entire lab. If you cannot locate this valve, ask your instructor to point it out to you. This valve is especially useful in case of a fire in the lab. In case of a fire, students as well as instructors are authorized to shut off the room's gas supply.
The Student Health
Services office is located at the end of the Breezeway just across from the
Cafeteria and upstairs. The SHS office can provide treatment for any minor injuries
or illnesses. There are also trained medical personnel there whose advice may
be useful. The SHS does charge students for treatment.
Whenever a student goes to the Student
Health Services from the chemistry laboratory, the student must be escorted to
make sure they make it to the SHS. Because the class must be supervised, the
instructor will probably not be able to escort you personally. Another student
or a teaching assistant will be assigned as escort.
There is a limited
access, emergencies-only telephone in the Chemical Preparations Room. This room
is only accessible by Chemistry instructors and staff. If someone asks you to
call for help, find a lab instructor (in the neighboring labs), professor or
staff member and ask them to call 911. They will then call for an Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) team from the Boca Raton Fire Department (BRFD). Be sure
to stay with that person until you have given all the necessary information
(building, room number, what happened, etc.).
Always tell your
instructor about all accidents immediately!!!
Do not pick up
broken glass with your fingers! Get a broom and dust pan. Sweep the broken glass
into the dust pan and dump it into the specially marked containers provided in
each lab.
Wipe up liquid
spills with paper towels and dispose of them as your instructor suggests.
Solids should be dissolved in water, if possible, and wiped up. Otherwise,
sweep them up with a broom and a dust pan and dispose of them as your
instructor suggests. In all cases, after the chemical spill has been wiped up,
rinse the area with water to make sure that all residual chemicals have been removed.
Move away from the
area of the spill. Warn the people around you LOUDLY. Call your instructor! Let
the expert handle the clean-up!
If the goggles
have protected your eyes, DON’T TAKE YOUR GOGGLES OFF! Yell for help. Go
to the eye wash station and rinse your face quickly with the goggles still on.
Then remove the goggles and rinse your face again.
If this sort of accident
happens, you may not be able to see well enough to go to the eye wash station
on your own. YELL LOUDLY FOR HELP and cooperate with anyone who comes to your
aid.
Quickly follow
this procedure while continuously YELLING FOR HELP:
A.
Move away from the area where the spill occurred (you don't want to get more
chemical on you).
B.
CALL LOUDLY FOR HELP and to warn others to stay away from the spill!
C.
Remove any contaminated clothing.
D.
Use the safety shower. (The treatment for chemical exposure is 15 minutes under
cold running water, or as long as you can stand it.)
If you have a
small fire in a container, (for instance, a small beaker full of alcohol has
caught fire) find something you can use as a lid for the container. When the
container is covered, the fire will quickly burn itself out. Call the
instructor for help.
If you have a
small fire which is not in a container, move away from the fire and SHOUT FOR
HELP! You can use a fire extinguisher to put the fire out. If you ever need to
use a fire extinguisher, remember the following (A) pull the pin, (B) aim to
the side at first, (C) depress the handle, (D) sweep the spray from side to
side across the BASE of the fire (where the fire meets the fuel), not just at
the flames! When the fire is out, clean up the area!
SHOUT FOR HELP and
leave the area immediately! The fire alarm will probably sound. When it does,
evacuate the building and TELL EVERYONE YOU CAN, where the fire is.
Don't run! It will
only fan the flames and make the fire worse! Instead, you should STOP
moving, DROP to the ground (lie down!), and ROLL on the ground to
squash out the flames! YELL continuously!
Note: If
you want to help a person who is in this sort of trouble, don't use a fire
extinguisher! You must never use a fire extinguisher on a human being. The
chemicals in the extinguisher can be harmful!
If a fire alarm
sounds you must evacuate the building immediately!
To evacuate properly, you should quickly and calmly do the following:
A.
Turn off all flames and unplug any hot plates or other electric equipment
you are using.
B.
Get your stuff.
Take
your book bag, purse, car keys, etc. with you. We never know whether the
evacuation will last for 5 minutes or 5 hours. You don't want to become
stranded on campus!
C.
Walk calmly out the door, down the hall, down the stairs (elevators
should not be used during an emergency unless you are handicapped), out the
door and away from the building.
Your
instructor should escort the class out of the building. Try to stay together as
a class, and stay near to your instructor. If your class is allowed back into the
building, you should finish your experiment, or at least clean up what you have
left on the work bench. If the evacuation lasts beyond the end of the class
period, then you are free to go.
Tell your
instructor, and let your instructor look at the injury. Wash the injury
thoroughly with water. If the injury is minor, you may use the first aid kit in
the laboratory. (The first aid kit contains triple antibiotic ointment and
adhesive bandages.) If your injury still hurts so badly that you can't finish
the experiment, then you may be escorted to the Student Health Services office
(SSB 210) so the cut can be treated.
Tell your instructor,
and let your instructor look at the injury. To stop or slow down bleeding,
apply pressure to the wound. If the wound is very large or there is glass or
other foreign matter in the wound, then apply pressure around the arm or leg
(between the body's torso and the injury) to slow the bleeding. In all cases, a
large cut must be attended to by medical professionals! If you can walk, you
may be escorted to the Student Health Services office (SSB 210). Or you may
wait while an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team from the Boca Raton Fire
Department (BRFD) is called.
Tell your
instructor, and let your instructor look at the injury. Chemical burns and heat
burns should both be treated with lots of cold running water. Never put
anything but cold water on a burn! Doctors often have to remove ointments
because they retard healing! After this treatment, if the burn still hurts
badly enough that you cannot complete the experiment then you will be escorted
to the Student Health Services office (SSB 210) so the burn can be treated.
In all cases, a
large burn must be attended to by medical professionals! Tell your instructor,
and let your instructor look at the injury. Then you may be escorted to the
Student Health Services office (SSB 210), or you may wait while an Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) team from the Boca Raton Fire Department (BRFD) is
called.
In all cases, an
Emergency Medical Services team will be called! If you feel like you might
faint, please ask for an escort to the Student Health Services office (SSB 210)
before it is too late. You can usually lie down there, and you may avoid the
expense of calling for emergency help.
In all cases, the
student will be escorted to the Student Health Services office if the
student so chooses. Otherwise an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team will
be called!
Last
updated: March 8th, 2006