Table Of ContentHANDBOOK FOR
LABORATORY
SAFETY
BENJAMIN R. SVEINBJORNSSON
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Physical Sciences,
University of Iceland, Iceland
SVEINBJORN GIZURARSON
Professor,FacultyofPharmaceuticalScience,Universityof
Iceland, Iceland
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To
Kristín Linda Ragnarsdóttir
Davíð Örn Sveinbjörnsson
Guðlaug María Sveinbjörnsdóttir
for continuously inspiring us, believing in us
and reminding us how much we value them.
Foreword
The most important thing when working in a laboratory is safetydboth
our own and our coworkers. Unfortunately, accidents can and do happen,
but by practicing awareness of the potential hazards involved in our ex-
periments and work environment, we are better able to prevent accidents
and respond in such a manner that minimizes any damage of accidents
when they do happen.
This bookis intended to raise awareness of various safety considerations
and provide guidelines for work practices that the authors have found to
help enhance the safety in the laboratory. It is impossible to provide
guidelinesforeverysituationimaginableor provideguaranteedmethodsto
prevent or react to any type of accident, so it is important to be aware of
that while reading this book. While this book provides helpful guidelines
for various situations, it is ultimately the responsibility of the individual
researcher to make the risk assessments needed and take the appropriate
precautionary steps to minimize any danger of their experiments. It is
likewisetheresponsibilityoftheemployertoprovidepropersafetytraining
for their employees.
Attheendoftheday,weallwantto gethomesafeandsound, anditis
therefore important that we all take the steps that are within our reach to
enhance the safety of our work environment and prioritize safety first!
March 17th, 2022
Benjamín Ragnar Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Gizurarson
xi
Acknowledgments
In 2010, Sveinbjörn Gizurarson wrote a handbook for laboratory safety in
Icelandic to meet the need for a practical, easy to access text on the subject
for both students and employees at the University of Iceland. Since then,
there has been a regular request to provide the material in English.
Benjamin Ragnar Sveinbjornsson joined in on that work and together we
built on the original Icelandic handbook. All chapters have been revised,
improved, and expanded since the Icelandic version was made. Addition-
ally, we have added real life examples and exercises, where appropriate, to
emphasize the importance of the subjects and a new chapter on occupa-
tional health, to provide a new handbook that can be used to meet the
needs of a wider audience.
AlotofthefeedbackSveinbjornhadreceivedontheIcelandichandbook
remained useful for the writing of this book; although the feedback is
from 2010, we would like to thank the following people for their review
and comments on various topics (some have left their positions since then):
Sigríður Björnsdóttir (former safety committee employee for the University
of Iceland), Sigurður Emil Pálsson (Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority),
Kristinn Tómasson, Leifur Gústafsson, and Guðmundur I Kjerúlf (Adminis-
trationofOccupationalSafetyandHealthinIceland),ElínSoffíaÓlafsdóttir
(Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland), Örvar
Aðalsteinsson (The Greater Reykjavik Fire and Rescue Service), Ágúst
Svansson(ReykjavikPoliceDepartment),JónBaldursson(formerheadofER
at the University Hospital, Iceland), Guðborg Auður Guðjónsdóttir (former
chairofUniversityHospitalPoisonCenter,Iceland),HaukurR.Magnússon
(The Environment Agency of Iceland), and Eggert Eggertsson (at AGA-
ISAGA ehf). Ólafur Ingi Jónsson, who was a good friend who passed away
in2018,workedfortheSudurnesFireandRescueServiceandwasthepro-
moter in establishing fire extinguishing training at the University of Iceland
foroveradecade.Additionally,wewouldliketothankGísliJónsson(Icelandic
RadiationSafetyAuthority)foradditionalfeedbackonnewexamples.
We would like to thank Elsevier and everyone there who has worked
on this book with us, especially Paul Prasad Chandramohan, Bernadine A.
Miralles,CzaOsuyos,andAnitaKoch.Thankyouforhelpingusmakethis
publication into a reality and for all the work that has gone into making it
into the book that it is today.
xiii
xiv Acknowledgments
We also want to thank all those that have assisted us with the figures in
this book. We are especially thankful to Birkir Eyþór Ásgeirsson for taking
manyofthepicturesusedinthisbook.Wearealsothankfulforallofthose
that posed for the pictures. Furthermore, we would like to thank the
followingindividualsandorganizationsforallowingustousetheirmaterial
in this book: the World Health Organization (WHO), Helga Sigrún
Harðardóttir, Managing Director for the Icelandic Standards (International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)), United Nations GHS (UN
GloballyHarmonizedSystemofClassificationandLabellingofChemicals),
Chem-Lab NV in Belgium, Birgir Finnsson (from The Greater Reykjavik
Fire And Rescue Service), and Dr. Phatsawee Jansook (Chulalongkorn
University, Thailand).
Last, but not least, we want to thank our family, for all their support
through the writing process: Kristín Linda Ragnarsdóttir; Guðlaug María
Sveinbjörnsdóttir and her husband, Birkir Eyþór Ásgeirsson; Davíð Örn
Sveinbjörnsson and his wife, Fjóla Dögg Halldórsdóttir, and their children,
Salómon Blær, Elísa Björt, Annika Bára, and Mikael Björgvin. Thank you
all for all your love and support!
We hope this book will promote safe and responsible work, securing
that everyone gets back home safely.
Reykjavík, March 6th, 2022
Benjamín Ragnar Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Gizurarson
Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowlegement xiii
1. Introduction to safety 1
Safety mindsetandsafetycultures 1
Befamiliar withthefacilities 1
Never workaloneinthelaboratory 2
Food,beverages, andsmelling inlab 2
Smokingandalcohol 4
Personal stateofmind 4
Theimportanceofproper preparation 4
PACEyourself 5
Keepitcleanandorganized 7
At theendoftheday 7
2. Personal protective equipment 9
Overview ofpersonalprotectiveequipment 9
Eyeprotection 9
Lab coat 11
Shoes andlongpants 15
Gloves 15
Respiratory protectionandmasks 21
Hair 23
Lead apronandshields 24
3. The laboratory 25
Hazards inthelaboratory 25
Safety featuresin lab 26
Primaryworkenvironment 28
Biological storage 29
Chemical storage 30
Gasstorageandgasuseinlab 32
Glassware andgeneralstorage 33
Transportation inorbetweenlaboratories 34
Electrical safety 34
vii
viii Contents
Afewuseful laboratory instruments 36
Noiseinlaboratories 38
Waves(microwaves,radiowaves, andlight) 39
Properprotocols arethekeytosuccess 40
4. Chemicals 41
Taste,smell, andtexture 41
Importanceofpreparation 42
Safety datasheets 43
Chemicallabels 47
Toxic compounds 50
Toxicityassessment forchemical mixtures 52
Corrosivesdacids andbases 53
Gases 54
Explosives 63
Flammable compoundsandoxidizers 65
Cryogenics andotherextremely coldcompounds 67
Workingwithextremely hazardouschemicals 68
Permanentandtemporarystoragecontainers 69
Storageandlabelingofsynthesizedproducts 69
Hazardandprecautionary statements(H- andP-codes) 76
5. Biohazards 85
Introduction 85
Handwashing 86
Biological safetylaboratory 89
Hazardclasses 90
Biological safetycabinets 97
Vaccinations 98
6. Radioactive materials 101
Introduction 101
Thelaboratory 101
Riskfactorandlaboratory type 105
Bookkeepingandmonitoring 106
Riskofexposure 107
Radioactivecompounds 110
Contents ix
7. Waste management 113
Wastedisposal rulesandregulations 113
Labeling ofhazardouswaste 113
Wastecontainers 113
Sorting ofhazardouschemicals 116
Disposalofbiologicalsamplesandbiohazards 118
Disposalofradioactivematerial 118
Institutional wastedisposal 120
8. Chemical, biological, and radioactive spills 121
Introduction 121
First responsetoachemical spill 123
Laboratory spillkits 123
Responsetochemical spill 124
Radioactivematerial 126
Biological hazards 128
9. Accidents 129
Introduction 129
Theeyes 131
Inhalation 132
Ingestion 134
Skincontact 135
Burns andfrostbites 136
Needlepunctures 136
Emergencyshower 137
First aid 138
10. Fire safety and prevention 139
Introduction 139
Fire 139
Typesof fire 139
Peroxideforming chemicals 141
Compoundsincompatible withwater orair 142
In aneventofafire,dothefollowing 143
Preventative measures 145
Fireextinguishersandfirealarms 145
Evacuation plansandexercises 149
x Contents
11. Pregnancy and lactation 151
Introduction 151
Fetaldevelopmentandexposure 151
Exposuretochemicalsandmicrobes 152
12. Occupational health and response plans 155
Introduction 155
Managementandorganizational structure 155
Reportingaccidents 157
Healthy environment 158
Riskmanagement 159
Emergencyresponseplans 161
Anexplosionor amajorchemical spill 162
Earthquakes 163
Attacks andbreak-ins 165
Otherdangersthatcanarise 166
Index 169
