4. General Safety Rules and Laboratory Hygiene

4.1 General Safety

Children are not allowed into laboratories, and youth (under 16 years of age) may not be employed in hazardous work (chemical, physical, biological and radiological). All personnel of the Weizmann Institute should be aware of potentially hazardous situations or materials they are likely to come into contact with, how to respond in an emergency, understand and obey hazard signs and otherwise avoid adverse situations.

The Safety Unit is responsible for providing project safety training at the Institute, or ensuring that training was provided in an acceptable alternative program. Employees of the Institute or outside agencies, and guests working at or visiting the Institute for a reasonable time period, should familiarize themselves with their area. They should know:

• the locations of all exits for the buildings and laboratories.
• the locations/use of the safety showers, eye-wash stations, and first-aid kits.
• the locations/use of the fire extinguishers and alarm boxes in their area.
• the potential hazards of the facilities, equipment and materials that they are working with or may be exposed to.

Additional information and answers to safety questions may be obtained from supervisors or the Safety Unit.

4.2 Laboratory Hygiene and Safety

Before you begin, please read the bulletin on Safety at the Weizmann Institute: Concepts and Policy (in Hebrew).

Many accidents can be avoided by using common sense and good housekeeping practices. Keep work areas, aisles, corridors and exits open and uncluttered. Maintain clear access to emergency, electricity and water services. Clean-up as you go, and properly dispose of hazardous wastes. Report potentially unsafe conditions to your supervisor, instructor or the Safety Unit.

Persons working in laboratories should follow these general guidelines, as well as specific safety rules in accordance with their experimental conditions:

General Guidelines

• Inform Security (exts. 2194, 3405, 3515) when working in the laboratory outside work-hours, and before leaving.
• Perform only authorized experiments. Follow written procedures where applicable. Do not move or disturb equipment without the owners' consent.
• Use the proper safety equipment when ordering, transporting, transferring, storing, using and disposing of hazardous materials and equipment.
• Do not eat, drink or store food in laboratory rooms or areas, or use laboratory containers or tools for these purposes.
• Refrigerators or cold rooms containing chemicals or pathogens may not be used for storing food. Food and drink are to be stored only in these refrigerators marked "Refrigerator for Food Only," outside the laboratory.
• It is forbidden to smoke, or apply cosmetics or lotions in laboratories.
• Laboratory refrigerators may not be used for storing volatile solvents unless devised for that purpose and spark-proof.
• Do not pipette by mouth, but use only mechanical pipetting devices.
• Sharp objects, such as glass shards or needles, must first be packaged in a durable, sealed container and then disposed of according to hazard type.
• Wastes or waste mixtures must be disposed of in the appropriate waste receptacle, according to the dominant hazard:
  radioactive waste > chemical waste > biohazard waste > non-hazardous waste

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap before leaving the laboratory, before eating, and after finishing work with poisons, pathogens or animals.
• Report all accidents and injuries immediately to your laboratory supervisor or instructor, and to the Safety Unit.

4.3. Personal Protection Equipment

Directives for safety discipline in Weizmann Institute laboratories, as described in the bulletin on Safety at the Weizmann Institute: Concepts and Policy (in Hebrew):

According to the Safety Regulations in Laboratories – 2001, it is mandatory to adhere to the following regulations:

1. One must wear a laboratory coat whenever present in the laboratory.
2. One must wear closed shoes; it is forbidden to be in the laboratory in sandals.
3. One must use safety glasses when needed.
4. It is forbidden to eat, drink or to store food utensils in the laboratory.
5. Specific information and guidance about laboratory hazards should be obtained from the head of each research group. (Added 1.1.2006)

4.4 Treatment of Laboratory Glass

Only individuals with proper training are permitted to construct and dismantle apparatus containing glass elements. As far as possible, apparatus, especially joints, is preferable in plastic. Only "heat resistant" glass is used for work with heat (externally applied or for exothermic reactions). Before using a single piece of glass, or a piece forming part of a larger apparatus, it must be examined for cracks and breaks, and only used if in perfect condition. Use only glass tubing with rounded ends by heat.

Glass vessels which form part of a complex apparatus containing especially heavy substances (such as a heating bath or vessels with mercury) must be supported on a separate stand and attached to the apparatus by flexible joints. Glass bottles for soda and other substances which attack glass should be fitted with rubber stoppers. Bottles for volatile liquids should be fitted with stoppers having a slit to release pressure. In case of mechanical difficulty in assembling or disassembling glass apparatus, seek help from trained advisors or technicians.

Glass tubing, either separate pieces or bundles, are stored in places protected from knocks and at a safe distance from passageways and workbenches. Pieces of broken glass must be collected immediately, using a brush, a dust pan and a special container, and removed. If the pieces of broken glass must be handled (which is rare), wear protective gloves. The utensils and gloves must be cleaned of fragments of glass after use.

4.5 Hazardous Waste Management and Disposal

Every effort must be taken to protect the cleaning staff. Before submitting laboratory apparatus for cleaning, individuals must ascertain there is no hazardous chemical, radioactive or biological contamination. Dish-washing staff should not do the job of the scientist or technician and deal with potentially dangerous material. Waste and contaminated equipment suspected or known to contain infectious agents, or poisonous, carcinogenic or radioactive substances must not be removed from the laboratory or poured into the sewage system, and must be properly neutralized, decontaminated, sterilized and/or disposed of.

Chemical wastes are poured into labeled bottles according to hazard type, and periodically transferred to the Chemical Waste transfer stations on every floor. The wastes are collected daily, and repackaged in the Chemical Hazardous Waste Area, for transport to the national hazardous waste site. Radioactive wastes are placed into labeled hazardous waste containers, which are periodically collected for storage at the Radioactive Waste Area, for transport to the national radioactive waste site. The director and laboratory personnel ensure that biohazards are disinfected or/and packaged in an authorized manner for disposal, and that general cleaning staff do not clean vessels containing viable or potentially viable infectious agents (see section 2.1.9).

4.6 Removal and Servicing of Laboratory Equipment

4.6.1 Removal of Laboratory Equipment

• Laboratory equipment must be certified to be free from radioactive contamination or infectious organisms prior to removal from a laboratory.
• Free of Radioactive and Biohazard contamination stickers must be completed and affixed to any equipment that is to be removed from the laboratory for maintenance, repair, transfer, surplus, or other purpose. Stickers can be obtained from Safety Services or from Safety Wardens.
• Consult with the laboratory supervisor, standard operating procedures, or the Safety Services for decontamination procedures.

4.6.2 On-Site Servicing of Laboratory Equipment

• Laboratory equipment must be certified to be free from radioactive contamination or infectious organisms prior to on site servicing.
• Consult with the laboratory supervisor, standard operating procedures, or the Office of health and Safety for decontamination procedures.
• Service personnel must also be informed of the biosafety level of the laboratory and any necessary precautions to be taken while working in the laboratory.
• Biosafety Level 3 organisms should not be handled when service personnel are in the laboratory to minimize potential exposure to service personnel.
• Service personnel must not be left alone in a laboratory without approval from the laboratory supervisor.