Safety Moment Collection of the Joint Safety Team at the University of Minnesota, Department of Chemistry and Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science.

Use these safety moments as you see fit. Feel free to adapt a safety moment to meet the specific needs and time constraints of an audience or occasion; this may mean using only a portion of the prepared slides for a topic or including additional resources for an in-depth discussion.

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Safety in the Media

JST Shares it philosophy Student Involvement in Improving the Culture of Safety in Academic Laboratories J. Chem. Edu.

The JST shares its philosophy

New mandatory online training for anyone working with chemicals Complete by December 1,

New mandatory online training Required for anyone working with chemicals. – All university staff members, faculty members, and students who use, purchase, or are “potentially exposed to one or more chemical hazards” – Required by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's (OSHA) Learn changes to the Hazard Communication Standard. Go to to complete this online training.

Culture of Safety within Universities Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10.

Culture of Safety within Universities Survey from UCLA’s Center for Laboratory Safety 10 Noorden, R.V. Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10 (03 January 2013) doi: /493009a “Some… survey participants… felt that any injuries they sustained were just part of the job.” “30% of respondents said they had witnessed at least one ‘major’ lab injury, something that required attention from a medical professional” “Only 60% said they had received safety training on specific hazards or agents they worked with”

Communicating about safety 11 Noorden, R.V. Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10 (03 January 2013) doi: /493009a

The Disparity between Perceived Safety and Actual Practice 12 Noorden, R.V. Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10 (03 January 2013) doi: /493009a

Common Laboratory Injuries How safe is your working environment?

“A survey of almost 2,400 scientists (world-wide) show that although most believe their laboratories to be safe, about half have experienced injuries in the workplace.” Common Laboratory Injuries Noorden, R.V. Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10 (03 January 2013) doi: /493009a ws/safety-survey-reveals-lab- risks #/

Common Laboratory Injuries Noorden, R.V. Safety survey reveals lab risks: Questionnaire suggests researchers not as safe as they feel. Nature 493, 9–10 (03 January 2013) doi: /493009a ws/safety-survey-reveals-lab- risks #/ What injuries on this list have you experienced/ witnessed? How can you reduce/ eliminate the occurrence of these injuries?

Video: Methanol Whoosh Bottle Gone Wrong What is wrong with this? ZQ&feature=related

Video: Whoosh Bottle What is wrong with this? Standard Safety Precautions: – Eye protection – Flame-retardant lab coat – Long pants – Other reactions occurring on the same bench Knowledge of Experiment: – Was too much methanol used? – Plastic or glass container? – Blast shield

The ultimate lab safety video that you've never seen before roogzM8c Watch and look for the obvious safety infractions… and then think about similar things you do (or don’t do) when working in the lab.

The Safety Zone

The Safety Zone Visit this blog is devoted to chemical safety issues in academic and industrial research labs for a current discussion of safety topics and accident information. Written primarily by C&EN associate editor Jyllian Kemsley

Refrigerator Blast in Chemical Lab Safety News Blog (for additional information on refrigerator safety see the “Equipment: Refrigerators and Freezers” safety moment)

Refrigerator Blast A refrigerator door blew off and hit an inner pane of a double-paned window in a chemical lab at the University of South Florida. No one was injured in the blast, which set off a fire alarm about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday. The building did not catch on fire. 22 Chem lab refrigerator blast sets off fire alarm at USF. Tampa Bay Times. Accessed 8 March usf/ usf/ Tampa Fire Rescue's hazardous materials team responded: - no one was inside the building (no injuries) - no hazardous chemicals spilled - cause of the blast is being investigated.

Chemicals in Fridges and Freezers The atmosphere of a refrigerator could contain an explosive mixture of air & chemical vapors –To avoid inhaling vapors, don’t stick your head inside –Seal containers tightly (parafilm or tape are good options) Use a refrigerator approved for storage of these materials –Modified to not spark inside –Approved for “flammable storage” Store incompatible chemicals separately –Oxidizers and highly reactive in a separate unit from flammables. –Use secondary containment Air- and moisture- sensitive materials stored at low temp. are prone to problems exacerbated by condensation. Peroxide-forming chemicals are also often stored in fridges. 23 Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories. Section5.E.4 Cold Storage. Accessed 8 March

Azide Explosion Safety in the News

Report from C&EN “On June 17, an explosion […] injured a graduate student” 25 Flood Prevention in the Lab. 2010, Lab Manager. lab?fw1pk=2#.VBNNG_ldUlk “The incident originated in lack of safety hazard awareness…” However, the injured student and his adviser were aware of the reaction hazards and the possibility of an azide side-product being produced.

Re-training Instinct The student had run this reaction many times. While complacency may have been a contributing factor to this incident, the student had set up engineering controls such as a blast shield to account for the large scale of the reaction. The student had also kept a close eye on his stir bar and reaction setup. When he spotted a problem, his instinct was to immediately correct the reaction setup, and not to put on PPE. 26 More details on the University of Minnesota explosion and response. July 30, C&EN. response/

Re-training Instinct The student had run this reaction many times. While complacency may have been a contributing factor to this incident, the student had set up engineering controls such as a blast shield to account for the large scale of the reaction. The student had also kept a close eye on his stir bar and reaction setup. When he spotted a problem, his instinct was to immediately correct the reaction setup, and not to put on PPE. 27 More details on the University of Minnesota explosion and response. July 30, C&EN. response/ As the safety culture improves, it is hoped that researchers’ first instinct will become personal safety, followed by that of others, then that of the work and facilities.

Biologicals Explosion CBS: Even Seemingly ‘Non-Hazardous’ Materials can Explode

Biological Explosion 29 explode?NL=OH-03&Issue=OH-03_ _OH- 03_693&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&YM_RID=CPG &YM_MID=747 In August of 2014, a 30-foot-high tank exploded killing one worker and injuring another The tank held only eight inches of water slurry with nonhazardous fish matter

Biological Explosion 30 explode?NL=OH-03&Issue=OH-03_ _OH- 03_693&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&YM_RID=CPG &YM_MID=747 In August of 2014, a 30-foot-high tank exploded killing one worker and injuring another The tank held only eight inches of water slurry with nonhazardous fish matter Explosion happened after hot work started on or near the tank Testing later found microbes that produced volatile fatty acids, methane, and hydrogen sulfide

Biological Explosion 31 explode?NL=OH-03&Issue=OH-03_ _OH- 03_693&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&YM_RID=CPG &YM_MID=747 In August of 2014, a 30-foot-high tank exploded killing one worker and injuring another The tank held only eight inches of water slurry with nonhazardous fish matter Explosion happened after hot work started on or near the tank Testing later found microbes that produced volatile fatty acids, methane, and hydrogen sulfide Something nonhazardous in a test tube can change its danger status when put into a different container, or when conditions around that container change.

Available Resources

DEHS Contact Anna Sitek (Englund) Phone: (612) Office W Research Safety Specialist assigned to our department, and newly-created DEHS safety contact for our entire college. She will serve as a member of our department Safety Committee and will work with the JST. Feel free to contact her with any questions!

JST website

Dow Safety Academy

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Have a safety moment? Contribute it to this collection. Send safety moments to with Safety Moment in the subject line. Please put content in the provided template and cite reliable, credited sources. Thank you!

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