General Laboratory Regulations

University of Heidelberg and

University Medical Center of Heidelberg

(September 1st 2005)

Directive according to § 14 GefStoffV

These general laboratory regulations are in force in all departments of the university and the clinic, in which dangerous working materials are handled. Each department may adapt or extend these regulations according to the prevailing conditions by adding further information about working places and operating methods. These adaptations and extensions may not reduce the safety objective of the general laboratory regulations. The general laboratory regulations must be posted in any department at a central place. They also have to be handed over to all employees before they start working. The employees have to be instructed verbally about the content of the general laboratory regulations. The employees confirm with their signature that they have received a copy of the general laboratory regulations, that they were instructed about it and that they will obey the rules. Beside this general laboratory regulations the Richtlinien für Laboratorien (BGR 120 / GUV 16.17) the Gefahrstoffverordnung (GefStoffV) and the Technische Regeln für Gefahrstoffe (TRGS) are in force. They also have to be publicised continuously to the employees (by verbal instructions).

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Contents: § 1 General regulations

§ 2 Working time regulations

§ 3 Dress regulations

§ 4 Order at work

§ 5 Safety devices

§ 6 Dangerous work

§ 7 Conduct in dangerous situations

§ 8 Working overnight

§ 9 Handling hazardous substances

§ 10 Handling gases

§ 11 Fume hoods

§ 12 Refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms

§ 13 Rotary film evaporators, autoclaves and centrifuges

§ 14 Waste

§ 15 Leaving the department

§ 1 General regulations

• The doors of laboratories in which hazardous substances are handled must always be shut.

• If is not absolutely sure that a process does not emit hazardous substances it must be carried out only but in a laboratory with sufficient air change. Such experiments are usually performed under a fume hood.

• Eating, drinking, smoking and putting on make-up are not allowed in laboratories in which hazardous substances are handled.

• Warning signs at the door or at the working place must be applied to indicate special dangers in the laboratory (for example laser beams, strong magnetic fields, ultraviolet radiation, some hazardous substances) and to indicate appropriate protective clothing.

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§ 2 Working time regulations

Each department has to produce its own rules about the opening times of its laboratories. There has to be a differentiation between main-working time (core time, e.g. Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and extra-working time (e.g. Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday). During the main-working time it has to be ensured that all sort of experiments can be carried out without any restriction. So enough personnel for cases of emergency must always be in place.

§ 3 Dress regulations

• When working with chemicals everybody must:

* wear goggles with side protection and if possible an upper protection for the eyes * wear a laboratory coat made of cotton or made of mixed fibres with high cotton content

* wear on all sides closed non slippery shoes.

The team leaders are responsible that their subordinates wear their protective clothing.

• People who wear glasses must also wear goggles (either goggles with grinded lenses or goggles with side protection that fit over the glasses).

• It is forbidden to wear laboratory coats in places to which people have access who don’t work with hazardous material (e.g. office, cafeteria, refectory, lecture hall, library, toilet etc.)

• When working with some hazardous materials (corrosive, skin irritating etc.) gloves must be worn. The material of the gloves should match the hazardous material (for further information call 54 2167). Disposable gloves made of latex or nitrile are very thin and only suitable as a protection against splashes and dashes. They are penetrated within a minute or so. Absolutely unsuited are house-hold or garden gloves.

• Gloves must not be worn outside the laboratory. They have to be taken off (inside the laboratory) when using the telephone, working at the computer, opening doors, handling taps etc.

§ 4 Order at work

The own working place and all the community equipment have to be kept in an orderly state. The own working place in the laboratory should be cleared regularly (weekly). At least once a year the chemicals in the laboratory must be checked if they are needed any longer. Else they must be given away (for someone else to use) or disposed.

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§ 5 Safety devices

Everyone working in a laboratory has to know the place and the function of the safety devices and also the emergency exits, the fire alarm boxes and emergency plans. The emergency exits must under all conditions be open.

• Fire extinguishers are present in all laboratories. There are two versions:

* a carbondioxide fire extinguisher is located in every laboratory

* on the floors powder fire extinguishers are located

Used fire extinguishers have to be reloaded and returned to their place immediately.

• First-aid boxes must be placed at central places. They should be refilled after use.

• Even small injuries (without consulting a medical practitioner) must be entered in a so called “Verbandsbuch” (bandage book) as a registration for the insu-rance (in case of a resulting unexpected health defect).

• Emergency showers and eye showers must be checked monthly. These checks must be registered in written form.

• Eye washing bottles must be provided in areas without running water. The content of these bottles must be exchanged at least once a month in case of drinking water. In case of sterile disposable units they have to be chan-ged according to the expiry date. Eye washing bottles must not serve as a substitute for possible or existing eye showers.

• Gas masks are only allowed for special tasks (e.g. working with poisonous gases). After each use they have to be cleaned and the filters must be removed and sealed on both ends. The date and the period of use must be noted.

• Oxygen masks should be used as rescue devices. Gas masks are not suitable in case of fire or chemical accidents because they cannot supply lacking oxygen and because their filters quickly turn ineffective at high pollutant concentrations.

• The employees have to be instructed about the use of oxygen masks regularly.

§ 6 Dangerous work

This includes working with explosives, flammable, cancerous and toxic substances and working with dangerous devices (evacuated or under pressure, autoclaves, sealed tubes, pressure cylinders, open flames, hot hair dryers, hydrogenation, cleavage by ozone etc.).

• Dangerous works must be performed under precautionary measures (e.g. fume hood, protective screen, special laboratory etc.).

• Employees performing dangerous works have to be instructed about potential dangers and about emergency plans.

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• The team leader’s written allowance is required if dangerous works should be per-formed outside the core time of the department. The team leader must ensure that dangerous works are never carried out by one person alone. At least two persons have to be present. This must be ensured by an arrangement between the employees. If necessary these data may be noted in a so called “Kontrollbuch” (record book) which is stored at a central place.

§ 7 Conduct in dangerous situations

If it comes to a dangerous situation (escaping gases and vapours, leaking of dangerous liquids, fire etc.) You should first of all:

• keep calm • watch your own safety

After that You should:

• warn endangered people

• safe helpless persons if possible

• switch off dangerous experiments

• switch off gas and electricity

• let the coolant always flow further on in any apparatuses

• close doors and windows and switch off the fume hoods in case of fire

• wash eyes and skin after contact with any chemicals (by means of an ordinary shower, an eye shower or an eye washing bottle)

• if necessary give first aid

• call the responsible personnel: -group leader tel.: -safety inspector tel.: -fire department tel.: 112 (from every telephone) -police tel.: 110 (from every telephone) -emergency doctor tel.: 0 – 19 222 (only from ordinary telephones) -poison health centre tel.: 0 – 06131 – 19240 (only from ordinary telephones)

• In case of severe accidents (fire-fighters and police present) the following persons must be informed: the responsible “Sicherheitsfachkraft” (safety representative, tel.: 54-2170) and according to the sort of accident either the “Beauftragter für biologische Sicherheit” (representative for biological safety, tel.: 54-2340) or the “Gefahrstoffbeauftragter” (hazardous incidents officer, tel.: 54-2167).

• If anyone received any injuries the emergency doctor has to be called. In case of a transport to a hospital the appropriate operating instructions, “Sicherheitsdatenblatt” (safety data sheet) or other information about the material should be given to the ambulance men to take with them.

• Make sure that an external rescue team will find the entrance.

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§ 8 Working overnight

Chemical reactions which need to be continued over night must only be performed in an appropriate “Nachtraum” (night working room, with smoke alarm system or heat alarm system and water monitoring) and with appropriate equipment (e.g. stirrer seals made of teflon in-stead of glass, fixed tubing, flask heaters in drain pans etc.). It is not allowed to continue such experiments in normal laboratories. Experiments with non flammable compounds that need no heating or cooling and which are only stirred by a magnetic stirrer at room temperature may as an exception be performed in normal laboratories. The group leader is responsible for such a special authorisation.

§ 9 Handling hazardous substances

Hazardous substances are substances and formulations which posses one or more of the following properties:

very toxic toxic corrosive harmful irritant dangerous for the

environment

chronic

damaging

sensitising

explosive extremely flammable

highly flammable oxidising

* internal symbols of the University of Heidelberg

mutagenic* endangers reproduction *

unknown properties*

They may be hazardous substances by itself or substances that produce hazardous pro-ducts when worked with. Substances and formulations that usually pass on pathogens are also hazardous substances. The first two rows show the legal symbols for toxic substances and physical and chemical hazards. The symbols in the third row are internal Symbols of the university and the clinic. They describe special hazards, which are otherwise only symbolised by the risk phrases.

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There are four protective classes for the work with hazardous substances according to their toxicity:

protective class 1: Fundamentals (low danger)

small amounts (< 100 ml/g per sub-stance), little contact

protective class 2: Basic Measures (includes the precautions of the protective class 1)

typical amounts in a laboratory (1 litre or kg per substance)

protective class 3: Highly dangerous (includes the precautions of the protective classes 1 and 2)

independent of the amounts used and the actual exposure

protective class 4: CMR substances (includes the precautions of the protective classes 1, 2 and 3)

independent of the amounts used and the actual exposure

These protective classes demand several precautionary measures for the work with hazardous substances in the laboratory. Protective class 1

The following rules belong to the Protective class 1:

• Hazardous substances and chemicals have to be stored in vessels that cannot be mistaken as vessels for food.

• All vessels containing hazardous substances (including waste containers) have to be labelled distinctively with their name and the appropriate symbol (s).

• Hazardous substances which are stored in breakable vessels may only be transpor-ted in safe transport containers (e. g. plastic buckets or metal boxes).

• Only small amounts of hazardous substances should be stored.

• Appropriate hygienic measurements should be carried out (e.g. cleaning the wor-king area regularly).

Protective class 2

The rules of protective class 1 are also valid in protective class 2. The following rules are added:

• Hazardous substances have to be substituted if possible.

• Only small amounts of hazardous substances may be stored in the laboratory: 2.5 Litres of liquids 1 kg of solids Larger quantities have to be stored in safety cabinets or in appropriate store rooms.

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• Techniques should be used that exclude or minimise the exposure to hazardous sub-stances.

• (exposure: contact to hazardous substances in a higher than ubiquitous concentration)

• The air must be ventilated (usually eightfold).

• The hazardous substances must be registered and regularly updated (at least once a year) in the “Zentrales Gefahrstoffkataster” DaMaRIS (Dangerous Materials Registry Information System).

• Guide books for all hazardous substances must be provided in the laboratory.

• The threshold limit values must be checked (by calculation or measurement).

• It is necessary to wear personal protective clothing (laboratory coat, goggles, closed shoes, covering breeches).

• Laboratory clothing and outdoor clothing have to be stored at different places.

• Provisions of the industrial medicine should be initiated (medical check-up, toxicologi-cal consultation).

Protective class 3

The rules of the protective classes 1 and 2 are also valid in protective class 3. The follo-wing rules are added:

• Dangerous substances may only be handled in closed compartments (fume hoods).

• Only small amounts may be stored and handled in the laboratory:

- 500 ml of very toxic liquids

- 100 g of very toxic solids

- lecture bottles in case of very toxic gases (10 l compressed gas cylinders are only

allowed if no lecture bottles are available).

• The threshold limit values must be checked by measurement (or by an equivalent method):

• The stored substances must be locked away. Toxic substances must be stored separa-tely from extremely or highly flammable substances:

• Only authorised persons are allowed to enter the laboratory (only proficient persons).

Protective class 4

The rules of the protective classes 1,2 and 3 are also valid in protective class 4. The following rules are added:

• Only small amounts of hazardous substances may be stored and handled (as in Pro-tective class 3).

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• The concentration of the hazardous substances in the air must be measured (no other methods are per-mitted).

• Hazardous areas have to be marked with warning signs.

• Only authorised persons are allowed to enter the labo-ratory (only proficient persons who work with the hazardous substances).

General regulations:

• Persons younger than 16 years (e.g. schoolchildren) may not handle hazardous sub-stances, not even under supervision.

• Persons between the age of 16 and 18 years (e.g. trainees, students doing a period of practical training) may handle hazardous substances only under the supervision of pro-ficient personnel. Being proficient means to have worked with hazardous substances in the laboratory for several years.

• Pregnant women and nursing mothers may not handle substances which are carcino-genic, mutagenic or harmful to the foetus. Usually they may not work in laboratories in which such substances are handled. They may only work in such a laboratory if it is ensured (by technical and/or organisational means) that they will not get in contact with these hazardous substances.

§ 10 Handling gases

• Gas cylinders may not stay in a laboratory over night. They must be stored overnight in a safe place (e.g. safety cabinet, open air laboratory etc.).

• Rooms in which gas cylinders are stored outside of safety cabinets need an indication label at the door.

• Gas cylinders that contain toxic, corrosive or extremely flammable gases should be as small as possible (lecture bottles). They have to be stored outdoors or in safety cabi-nets. If no regular tubing can be installed the gas cylinders must be placed and fixed in a fume hood.

• Highly toxic gases (e. g. hydrocyanic acid, carbon dichloride oxide, hydrogen sulphide) may only be handled in special rooms with especially good de aeration. Handling these gases requires a written permission of the team leader.

• The gas cylinders at the working place must be secured against falling down by means of a steel clamp or a chain.

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• Gas cylinders may only be transported by means of special gas cylinder carts and with the valve bonnet screwed on. It is strictly forbidden to carry gas cylinders by hand.

• When transporting gas cylinders or insulating vessels with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium in lifts the outside control has to be used. No person may take the lift together with gas cylinders or insulating vessels.

• Insulating vessels containing liquid nitrogen must always be covered to prevent the condensation of oxygen out of the air. However the lid may not seal the vessel tightly because this will give rise to a hazardous excess pressure.

§ 11 Fume hoods

• The sash of a fume hood should always be closed if possible. For handling experi-ments in the hood the sliding window panes should be used.

• The sliding screens for outlet air which are still present in the back of old fume hoods should always be open.

• The function of fume hoods must be monitored constantly (old design: with paper stripes or wool fibres, new design: with optical and acoustic signals).

• Sitting in front of a fume hood during a chemical reaction with the sash open is not allowed.

• Fume hoods have to be regularly checked by service technicians and labelled as func-tioning (green label) or malfunctioning (red label). Red labelled fume hoods may not be used.

• Discovered malfunctions must be reported immediately and the defective fume hood may not be used until repaired.

§ 12 Refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms

• Only closed vessels with a label containing the name of the substance and the name of the owner may be stored in refrigerators, freezers and cold rooms. At least once a year they should be checked if they are needed any longer. Else they should be given away ore discarded.

• Flammable liquids that require cold storage may only be stored in refrigerators without any source of ignition sparks inside (lighting removed, thermostat outside, automatic defrost disabled). These refrigerators are labelled with the opposite sign. The amount of stored substances is limited to 1 litre per item.

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• Refrigerators that were not modified as described above may not be used to store flammable liquids (danger of explosion) and must be labelled with the opposite sign.

• Refrigerators and cold rooms for the storage of toxic substances need a lock and must be kept locked.

• Refrigerators that contain substances which tend to explode when reaching room temperature must be connected to the emergency power supply.

• Refrigerators and freezers must be defrosted regularly. At least once a year it should be checked if the stored substances are needed any longer. Else they should be given away ore discarded.

• The storage of liquid and solid food together with chemicals in cold rooms, refrigerators and freezers is absolutely forbidden.

§ 13 Rotary film evaporators, autoclaves and centrifuges

• Operating instructions must be supplied for devices which may cause danger for the employees even in the regular operating mode. The employees have to be instructed regularly about the handling of these devices.

§ 14 Waste

• All sorts of waste have to be collected separately in the appropriate vessels.

• Only the cans provided by the waste delivery point may be used. The use of other con-tainers especially of old cleansing agent containers is forbidden.

• Please avoid mixing of waste especially of solid inorganic waste.

• The vessels must be labelled unambiguously and stored at a safe place (e.g. in a drain pan inside of a fume hood or in a safety cabinet)

• Waste vessels may not be stored in sinks.

• Spilled mercury must be adsorbed by means of adsorbing granules (available at the waste delivery points). The ancient method with zinc powder or sulphur powder as ad-sorbents is less effective and complicates the disposal.

• Reactive and especially hazardous substances (alkaline metals, metal hydrides, cyani-des, catalysts, acids, bases etc.) must be deactivated/neutralised before their disposal at the delivery points “Zentrales Chemikalienabfall-Zwischenlager” (chemical waste store, INF 269) or “Abfalllager im Theoretikum” (chemical waste facility, INF 367).

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In case of doubt please ask the “Zwischenlager” (chemical waste store, tel.: 54-8547). There you also can get an instructional manual about the disposal of reactive waste.

• Chemicals in original packaging may be disposed or given as recycable material to the “Chemikalienbörse” (recycling centre for chemicals) for further use.

§ 15 Leaving the department

The following items should be considered when employees leave a laboratory:

• Any chemicals must be given to other users (with a record of delivery) or to the “Chemi-kalienbörse” (recycling centre for chemicals, for delivery points see § 14) or they have to be disposed.

• The laboratory should be left tidy and cleared-up. Heidelberg, October 1st 2005 Dr. Marina Frost Irmtraud Gürkan (chancellor) (commercial director)

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