1. Agricultural Lab Equipment and Safety
Competencies

2. What is safety?
Safety is defined as freedom from danger, risk, or injury.
This is NOT possible to achieve. So, we have to ensure that our environment is as safe as possible by:
Keeping a clean area
Using safety equipment
Following all instructions

3. Safety Equipment

4. Safety Equipment
The following safety equipment is most often used in laboratory settings:
Eye protection
Lab coats
Gloves
Fire protection equipment
Materials storage cabinets
Eye wash/shower
Fume hood

5. Eye Protection Safety glasses, safety goggles, or face shield
Used to protect eyes and face from spills or splashes (one of the most common accidents in labs)

6. Eye Protection Face shields offer the most protection
Scratches can be avoided by never laying the protection face down

7. Lab Coats Protect body and clothes from spills
Contribute to a sterile environment

8. Gloves Usually surgical style, thin plastic
Offer some protection to skin
Used to achieve aseptic conditions

9. Fire Protection Equipment
Fire blanket
Fire extinguisher
Fire alarm
Should be easily accessible and clearly marked
In order to extinguish a fire, the fuel must be known

10. Fire Protection Equipment
Fire extinguishers should be rated for chemical and/or liquid fires
Classes of fire extinguishers
Class A-paper/wood
Class B-liquids
Class C-electrical
Class D-combustible metals

11. Fire Protection Equipment
Fire extinguisher should be aimed at the base of the flames and used until flames are completely extinguished.

12. Fire Protection Equipment
Fire blankets are most effective for smoldering small flames on an individual’s clothing or person.

13. Materials Storage Cabinets
Flammables
Most common type of cabinet
Isolates flammable chemicals for safety
Should contain chemicals ONLY
Fire resistant, not fire proof

14. Materials Storage Cabinets
Acids
Isolate chemicals with specialized spill containers

15. Eye Wash/Shower Should be checked often
Should only be used in case of emergency
After chemical exposure, eyes should be rinsed for more than a minute to ensure that damage is limited as much as possible.

16. Fume Hood
Removes noxious fumes produced by chemical solutions from the laboratory
Very expensive

17. Safety Principles

18. General Guidelines
Keep the workspace clean and clear of any obstructions and excess equipment, people, and/or supplies.
Keep supplies and equipment in an easily accessible location.

19. Chemical Safety
Make certain that chemicals are clearly labeled with Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) well marked and easily accessible.

20. Chemical Spills and Exposure
Spills should be quickly contained and the area secured
Special media can be used to absorb harmful chemicals

21. Chemical Spills and Exposure
Any exposed skin should be immediately rinsed or neutralized (in the case of acid or base)
particularly with eye exposure MSDS should be consulted for treatment
A mild acid can sometimes be used to neutralize areas exposed to a strong base (works both ways)

22. Chemical Spills and Exposure
Chemicals consumed orally should be treated using the chemical’s MSDS sheet.

23. MSDS Sheets
MSDS sheets contain important information on chemicals including:
Chemical properties
Storage
Disposal procedures
Treatment for exposure

24. MSDS Sheets
Using the worksheet provided research information on the Material Safety Data Sheets for three chemicals.

25. Handling Chemicals
Only use chemicals that are properly labeled, with current MSDS sheets
Use only approved containers for mixing and storing chemical solutions
Use a graduated cylinder or digital scale to ensure that the proper amount of chemicals are added to the solution

26. Handling Chemicals
When pouring liquid chemicals, place containers in contact whenever possible to prevent spills.
Do not leave chemicals unattended outside of storage areas.
When creating acid solutions, acids should always be poured slowly into water, to prevent splashing

27. Handling Chemicals
Federal law requires chemicals to be diluted before disposal being careful not to mix chemicals that react violently.
Make certain that all necessary permits are obtained from government regulatory agencies for the use of restricted chemicals and biologicals.

28. Creating and Maintaining a Sterile Environment

29. Sterilization Equipment
An autoclave is the best method for sterilization of small lab equipment, water/solutions, glassware, and lab materials.
Even paper towels and cotton swabs can be sterilized.
Autoclaves will KILL all live material

30. Sterilization Equipment
Flow hoods and surfaces can be cleaned/disinfected with a bleach based solution

31. Sterilization Equipment
Forceps and other equipment should never be placed in contact with surfaces
Should be kept in a 70% ethanol (alcohol) solution, and flamed over an alcohol lamp before contacting sterile material.

32. Creating a Sterile Environment
Tissue culture and other aseptic lab techniques work best in a clean room or under a Laminar Flow Hood

33. Creating a Sterile Environment
Laminar flow hoods use a special filter (hepa filter) to clean air that needs changed after a given number of hours.
Sterile boxes can be created with plexiglass or plastic sheeting for a more affordable but less reliable alternative.

34. Creating a Sterile Environment
Once the area is sterilized the movement of equipment and materials into and out of the work area should be minimized.

35. Maintaining Sterile Conditions
A face shield or front cover should be used to prevent contamination from mouth and nose (breathing).

36. Maintaining Sterile Conditions
Hands and arms
Should be carefully washed with soap and water
An anti-bacterial soap should be used on hands over wrists, immediately before placement in sterile surgical gloves.
Hands should be kept inside the air curtain of the flow hood at all times, away from the edge or entrance to avoid accidental contamination.

37. Maintaining Sterile Conditions
Sleeves should be away from hands and shedding materials should be avoided
A lab coat is ideal.

38. Tips for Laboratory Projects

39. MSDS Sheets
MSDS Sheets provide all the information necessary for storage, handling, and disposal of a chemical or solution
Includes the chemical formula, reactivity data, storage temperatures, exposure/ inhalation/ingestion treatments, disposal methods, dangers with use, etc.
Should be easily accessible in the lab

40. Mixing Chemicals
Make certain to clearly label the COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH of all solutions
Under concentrated solutions can be ineffective
Over concentrated solutions can be extremely dangerous

41. Mixing Chemicals
Always pour concentrated acids INTO cool water (NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND)
Pour with beakers or bottles in contact when possible, running the liquid down the side of the glass to avoid splashing or flash boiling
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE COMBINING OR CREATING!!!

42. Use of Biological Materials
Biological materials should be carefully stored and utilized with careful attention to temperature.
Bacteria cultures should NEVER be incubated at temperatures ABOVE 30 degrees C, as higher temps encourage the growth of organisms harmful to humans.

43. Use of Biological Materials
Biological materials should be clearly labeled and stored in clearly marked and isolated areas.
BACTERIA

44. Use of Biological Materials
Any harmful biological materials should be destroyed prior to disposal
Autoclaves can be used to destroy most bacteria cultures and plant or animal cells.
Agricultural labs often use special biological materials disposal containers to store materials until pickup for destruction by an external company.

45. Laboratory Equipment and Its Uses

46. Laboratory Equipment
There are several different types of equipment that are essential to labs:
Autoclave
Centrifuge
Micropipette
Compound Light Microscope
Incubator
Water Bath
Hot Plate
Shaker
Graduated Cylinder

47. Autoclave
A chamber that uses high levels of heat and pressure to sterilize instruments and materials, or destroy harmful organisms/pathogens.

48. Autoclave Safety
Check all gauges and valves before using an autoclave.
Never leave equipment unattended while running, as high temperatures and pressure can be dangerous.

49. Centrifuge
An instrument used to isolate solids (in the form of a small pellet) from a solution.
Utilizes very small tubes to hold the solution.

50. Using a Centrifuge
Proper use of a centrifuge requires that the instrument be balanced.
This can be accomplished by placing an equal number of tubes directly across from each other in the instrument.

51. Micropipette
An instrument used to measure and extract very small amounts of liquid from a solution.
Different versions measure to different levels of accuracy, but usually to the nearest uL (microliter)
Often used to hand small amounts of solution needed in DNA labs.

52. Using a Micropipette
To avoid air bubbles and extract the correct amount of solution utilizing a micropipette, the tip must be completely submerged in the solution.

53. Compound Light Microscope
The most common and versatile microscope in agricultural research labs.
Uses a light source in combination with a variety of lenses to magnify images usually up to no more than 200x.

54. Compound Light Microscope

55. Incubator
Sealed chamber with controls to manage temperature (and sometimes humidity)
Used for culture of microorganisms

56. Incubator Safety
When culturing bacteria, it is important that the incubator remains closed, and the plates tightly sealed.

57. Water Bath
A vessel that uses water to heat or maintain a constant temperature of laboratory materials or equipment.
Often used to heat or thaw fragile biologicals including semen.

58. Using a Water Bath
When using a water bath to thaw semen straws, the bath should be heated to 93 degrees F and the straws submersed immediately upon removal from the storage tank for 45 seconds.

59. Hot Plate
Instrument that applies direct heat to glassware containing laboratory solutions
Coil models (like stove tops) are dangerous
Newer models have ceramic tops and often integrated magnetic stirrers.

60. Shaker
Used to mix or agitate small volumes of solution, often prior to placement in a centrifuge.

61. Graduated Cylinder Used to measure the volume of liquids
Readings should always be taken at the MENISCUS, the lowest part of the curve.

62. Recording and Presenting Laboratory Data

63. Logging Scientific Data
Most easily accomplished in a database program-ex: Microsoft Excel
Abilities include:
Easy input of large amounts of data in a table form
Quick manipulation of data including; sorting, labeling, and the creation of charts/graphs
Can handle both qualitative and quantitative data

64. Publishing Findings
Word processors are usually used to prepare scientific reports-ex: Microsoft Word or Apple Works
Allow quick entry and manipulation of large amounts of text
Easy import of graphics and charts from other programs
Ability to include hyperlinks and export layout to html

65. Presenting Research
Accomplished using a specialized presentation program-ex: Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote
Easy display of text points (bullets), graphics, charts, and even video
Highly visual and interactive method for the presentation of research findings
Animation and sound can be used for increased emphasis.