Laboratory Practices and Procedures, Sample of Research papers

34 pages, 16672 words

Laboratory Procedures and Practices

To: ……….

From: ………

Date: 24/01/2012

Report on: Practices procedures and communication within a science laboratory.

Figure 1 – Man carrying out an experiment

Contents:

Procedures

* Handling of Materials Page 2-3

* Store Management Page 4-7

* Ordering Procedures Page 7 -9

* Calibration of Materials

* pH Metres Page 9-11

* Graduated Pipettes Page 11-12

* Maintaining Equipment

* Bunsen Burners Page 12-13

* Burettes Page 14-15

* Collection/Transportation of Substances and Equipment for Disposal

Page 15

* Use of Centrifuges Page 16-17

* Instrumentation Techniques

* Colorimeter Page 18-20

* Electrophoresis Page 20-22

* Desiccators and Vacuum Storage Page 22-23

* Handling and Disposal of Radioactive Substances Page 23-24

* Handling and Use of Glassware Page 25

* Handling of Solvents and Poisons Page 26-28

* Use of Ovens Page 28-30

* Operation of the Fume Cupboard Page 30-32

* Transfer of Materials Page 32-33

* Carrying Out Tests Page 33-36

Communications

5 pages, 2337 words

The Term Paper on Occupational Back Injuries During Manual Handling Of Material

INDEX PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 ERGONOMICS 4 OBJECTIVES OF ERGONOMICS 4 RESULTS OF ERGONOMIC APPLICATIONS 5 THE BACK STRUTURE 6 BACK AND BACK PROBLEMS 6 Back injuries 6 Causes of back injuries 7 The following are common causes of back injuries: - 7 Back injury prevention 8 Back injury-preventative techniques 8 Techniques 9 Strategies 9 ORIGINAL LIFTING MODEL 10 Strain index (SI) = 10 Action limit 11 ...

* Lines of Authority and Accountability to and from other personnel Page 36-38

* Working as a Team Page 38-39

* Organisation of the Laboratory Page 39

* Weekly Page 29

* Daily Page 40

* Routines

* Work Schedules Page 40-41

* Briefings Page 41

* Reporting of Results Page 41-42

* Scientific Terminology Page 42

* Conclusions Page 42-44

* Glossary Page 46-48

Introduction:

Terms of relevance: The lecturers request a report to use as evidence for Unit 2 in BTEC applied science; this report will be on practises procedures and communication within a science laboratory.

Procedure: Using internet, textbooks, research books, CLEAPSS laboratory handbook, emailing lab technicians

Information/Findings:

Using the range of procedures/sources listed above I am going to explain different scientific techniques and communications used in a science laboratory.

A1. Handling of Materials

When in a laboratory it is very important that you handle material, whether it is equipment or chemicals, this is because many accidents occur in a scientific workplace due to inappropriate handing of these materials.

Careful handling of glassware is vital to prevent damage to the glassware and especially injury whether it is fatal or not to the worker/learner. Damaged glassware should be properly discarded this is because if there are chips or cracks present this will substantially reduce the effectiveness of the glassware which will make it more prone to breakages. Care must be used while inserting glass tubing through a stopper or when connecting flexible tubing to the glass again this is to avoid breakages. Hands should be held close together to reduce pressure on the tubing, and out of the direct line of the glass should it break. Vacuum glass apparatus should be handled with extreme caution. Dewar flasks and other glass vacuum vessels should be taped or shielded to protect against flying glass in case of an implosion. Figure 2- Using tongs to hold a test tube

Figure 2- Using tongs to hold a test tube

When we handing for example a test tube, it is very important that we use tongs, we must always use tongs or heat protective gloves to pick up heated glassware this is because if using heat on them you could burn your hands Never handle broken glass with your bare hands, for obvious reason, if for example you were to be cut, this could result in infection and also if you have a substance in the test tube you don’t know the effects that it would have, acidic produces would hurt the user significantly, if for example this was to happen it is vital that the area should be washed and seek help from a first aider in the case of glass being present in a cut. To prevent this from happening, the user should use a dustpan and brush to clean up broken glass after this you should place broken glass in the designated glass disposal container, the then can be disposed of in a safe manner by the lab technician. Examine glassware before each use. If handling heated glassware it should be set aside in a designated place to cool, and picked up with caution this is because the student would be prone to burns, use of tongs or heat protective gloves would prevent this.

4 pages, 1660 words

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Figure 2- Spillage Kit

It is very important that you must put equipment away carefully for example when using thermometers to handle them in an upright material and store them similarly too, although modern day thermometers do not usually contain mercury, there is a chance that they could still be present in the laboratory, mercury is very poisonous so if a spillage was to occur it would be important to make sure that you use a spillage kit accordingly,

Accidents associated with the handling of chemicals in laboratories can occur during storage, use, and disposal of the chemical. Personnel may be exposed to hazardous chemicals that present health hazards, such as toxic and corrosive chemicals, and physical hazards that may result in fires and explosions. These risks can be minimized by following the general precautions and being careful when handling, ensuring that tops are safety on the bottle and making sure that they are labelled correctly, this will alert you to what’s in a bottle an help ensure that there are no spillages, in the cause of a chemical burn it is very important that the area affected is rinsed with plenty of water.

5 pages, 2289 words

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Figure 3- Symbols in which you find on a chemical bottle such as irritant, flammable, corrosive, radioactive, biohazard, explosive, toxic and harmful to environment

A2. Store Management

In the science faculty there are many places in which chemicals is stored, there are many hazards are associated with the storage of chemicals. In a general laboratory there will be one or more stores of chemicals and equipment, a procedure that has to be under strict control. Accidents can be reduced by the careful planning of storage procedures and facilities. Chemical containers should be periodically inspected to ensure that labels are legible and intact, containers are not leaking or rusting, and that chemicals have not dangerously deteriorated or peroxidised, doing this will decrease the risk of experiments not working and ensuring safety as some chemicals could leak into the atmosphere. Containers should always be kept tightly sealed for prevention of spills or cross contamination.

Figure 4 – Storage of dry chemicals, in a locked cupboard, in the college laboratory,

Chemicals should be stored in a definite storage area and returned to that location after each use. For flammable materials that are large quantities of explosive material, they should be stored in a special brick-built store usually away from a main building which will prevent a fire in the case of an explosion here; it must also have a roof which can detach in the case of an explosion which prevents blowing off the walls.

Storage areas should be cool, dry, well ventilated, and out of direct sunlight, this reduces the effects of humidity contaminating the bottles and keeping the areas ventilated prevents the risk of an explosion from chemical gasses being released into the atmosphere.

Every effort should be made to separate chemicals that may react together and create a hazardous situation.

Stock quantities of carcinogens should be stored in a designated area or cabinet and posted with the appropriate hazard sign. Volatile chemicals should be stored in a ventilated storage area in a secondary container having sufficient volume to contain the material in case of an accident. Storage areas should be separated from flammable solvents and corrosive liquids.

17 pages, 8109 words

The Term Paper on Supply Order Purchase Tender Materials

BUSINESS MARKETING (INDUSTRIAL MARKETING) OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION (ONGC) Submitted By: - PGP MS Marketing III Semester TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO. TOPIC 1 Introduction 2 Purchase Procedure 3 Purchase Methods 4 Bidding System 5 Invitation of Tenders 6 Opening of Tenders 7 Cancellation/Re-Invitation of Tenders 8 Clauses in Tender Supply and Reorder 9 Purchase Powers INTRODUCTION q Work in the ...

Toxic chemicals should be stored away from fire hazards, heat, and moisture, and isolated from acids, corrosives, and reactive chemicals. Special care should be taken to ensure that toxic chemicals are not released into the environment. Access to the storage area should be restricted for highly toxic chemicals. Highly toxic chemicals should be stored in unbreakable secondary containers.

Figure 5- A sealed light switch

Corrosive chemicals should not be stored with combustibles, flammables, organics, and other highly reactive and toxic compounds. Acid and bases should not be stored together. Organic acids should be separated from sulphuric, nitric, perchloric acid and other strong oxidizers.

When going around the storage area one thing that I noticed was that all the light switches were sealed, this also is preventing any explosions from happening, this is because the common light switch you find elsewhere is prone to sparks, having sparks is very dangerous around flammable chemicals which will reduce the chance of a fire.

Figure 6 – Fridge in laboratory

Another storage place in a laboratory is the fridge, the temperature in which the fridge operates is between 0oc and 4oc, this prevents sensitive items that need refrigerating from going off. The sort of materials that you would expect to find here are biological materials, for example you would find pepsin which is an enzyme which acts on protein and another thing you could find is bacteria cultures like E-coli for example; however these have been modified to become safe samples.

Somewhere else in which you would find is chemical storage is trays on the floor this is called on floor, the chemicals are stored in trays which collects any spillage from knocked over chemical, this process is called “bunking”, one thing in which I had noticed is that all the chemicals on the floor where either large glass bottles or large plastic bottles.

Figure 7 – Storage on floor

4 pages, 1835 words

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Figure 7 – Storage on floor

Small quantities of flammable material that is for immediate use usually stored in a metal flammables cabinet, we can find these in the science class labs; these are kept here so that small explosions can be controlled. Drugs and poisons are kept in a locked cupboard this is because they are relatively easy to store but can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Dry chemicals are stored in a cool, dry place. Biological materials such as live material like bacteria, plants, animals and clinical test samples need to be stored where they can remain viable, this is because if they were stored at room temperature they would die just like you keep milk in a fridge to not go off,

A3. Ordering Procedures

The senior technician or laboratory manager is the person normally in charge of ordering, this is because they are the person that deals with the chemicals on a daily basis and makes or set them up, as a result they can see how much of the substances/equipment is left and can decide from previous experiments, lesson plans in advance or even deducing from a previous curriculum how much is needed, they have many roles surrounding this, it could be managing a budget, making up correct amounts of chemicals and also stock checks (which can be seen in appendix 2 as an example).

Orders may be placed automatically on a regular basis for chemicals or equipment, these are called consumables or stock may be ordered when it becomes necessary.

In the college laboratory technician Rose Jones, is the person responsible for ordering materials or chemicals that are needed in performing practical experiments. When a teacher plans to perform an experiment, it is her job to gather and prepare the required equipment. It is a very important job as she has to be very accurate in everything she is doing because any faults can dramatically alter an experiment that learners perform. When employees like Rose order supplies they usually will follow an ordering procedure. The employee will decide what they need and look for either higher quality or lower price, this is very important as some experiments will require a very high purity of substances to be performed and this could be very costly after this they go on to Suppliers Online ordering website. Some examples of supplier in which Rose uses are TIMSTAR, Phillip Harris and LISTERS. They login and create a draft online order. They then save and export the draft order to Excel/Word. At Cardiff University a requisition based upon the draft online order is then created in Oracle, I imagine this would be very similar in our college, selecting the Suppliers On-line Ordering Site, when selecting a supplier. The Requisition and draft online order attachment are then forwarded for approval The Requisition is approved and the official order number is generated by Oracle. The official order is usually distributed to the Supplier via email/fax number (if available), however, for the Suppliers were going to be ordering online with, If we omit the Suppliers email address/fax numbers from their Supplier On-Line order Site Details, the official order will be email to the School preparer. They can then decide whether to file or forward the official order. Now the official order number has been generated the employee can now log back in to the Suppliers Online ordering website, enter the official order number and submit the online order with the supplier. Goods can then be receipted in Oracle. The invoice goes to AP and is either matched or put on hold and the school or college is advised of the variation in price and the school approves the price variation (or not).

3 pages, 1068 words

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We tend to think of water in terms of a particular purpose: is the quality of the water good enough for the use we want to make of it Water is fit for our own use but may be unfit for another's. We may, for instance, trust the quality of lake water enough to swim in it, but not enough to drink it. Along the same lines, drinking water can be used for irrigation, but water used for irrigation may ...

In specific industries, stock is usually ordered in large quantities, for some certain chemicals Rose also does this, but in industry sometimes materials can be delivered by road tanker which shows the full extent of this, ordering in large amounts reduces the price which in industry relates to profitability. It is the responsibility of the technicians or store person to deliver what is required for use in the laboratory. As the quantity is much higher than for example in the college, it can be much harder to trace and store materials for this reason some laboratories implement a bar code system and reader to aid control stock; this is very similar to what is used in supermarkets, for stock rotation.

A4. Calibration of Materials

1. PH Metres

Figure 7 – A pH metre

The use of pH metres are very important, it is an electronic instrument that can be used to determine the pH of different chemicals or substances in a liquid state, though special probes are sometimes used to measure the pH of semi-solid substances. A typical pH meter consists of a special measuring probe, which is a glass electrode, connected to an electronic meter that measures and displays the pH reading. It is commonly used in industries for example it can be used for determining the pH of rivers by the environment agency or even by forensic scientists who want to know the pH of an unknown substance. Generally pH metres are much more reliable and accurate than litmus paper, the pH probe of the metre measures pH as the activity of hydrogen cations surrounding a thin-walled glass bulb at its tip whereas litmus paper only indicates a colour change, which could be disputed. Also the meters show the pH in numerical form and it’s meant to be more sensitive, however through the experiment that was conducted to calibrate the metres, I dispute this, when testing the pH metres even after calibration there was quite a significant difference in the expected pH. I think the reason in which that the metres that were used were unreliable because of the age or possibly the lack of calibration previously, for very precise work the pH meter should be calibrated before each measurement. For normal use calibration should be performed at the beginning of each day. The reason for this is that the glass electrode does not give a reproducible e.m.f. over longer periods of time I think another reason could be the fact that the pH metres that were calibrated aren’t the most expensive metres that are on the market, for a more accurate result like what is used in industry you would pay a lot more money for this device than what would be expected in a college laboratory.

The pH metre in which I attempted to calibrate, was very similar to the one shown in figure 7, it too was red in colour, with a black probe and a screen that displays pH to two decimal places. When it is turned to the top you can see how to calibrate the device, there are two screws in which alters the pH. This device is quite simple compared to others which you can buy.

Buffers are used when calibrating pH meters, in our experiments we used buffers of pH 4 (which was red), pH7 (which was yellow) and a buffer of pH 10 was used (which was a blue/purple colour), the reason in which these buffers were different colours is the due to the pH, I think that a universal indicator was used for ease of identification as the colours match what is expected on the pH scale.

Figure 8 – A pH scale

Figure 9 – Example of buffers used

Buffers are used in calibration as they ensure a constant pH which cannot be altered by for example contaminates in the air. For very precise work the pH meter should be calibrated before each measurement. For normal use calibration should be performed at the beginning of each day. The reason for this is that the glass electrode does not give a reproducible e.m.f. over longer periods of time. Calibration should be performed with at least two standard buffer solutions that span the range of pH values to be measured. For general purposes buffers at pH 4 and pH 10 are acceptable. The pH meter has one control (calibrate) to set the meter reading equal to the value of the first standard buffer and a second control (slope) which is used to adjust the meter reading to the value of the second buffer. A third control allows the temperature to be set. Standard buffer sachets, which can be obtained from a variety of suppliers, usually state how the buffer value changes with temperature. For more precise measurements, a three buffer solution calibration is preferred. As pH 7 is essentially, a “zero point” calibration, calibrating at pH 7 first, calibrating at the pH closest to the point of interest ( e.g. either 4 or 10) second and checking the third point will provide a more linear accuracy to what is essentially a non-linear problem. Some meters will allow a three point calibration and that is the preferred scheme for the most accurate work. Higher quality meters will have a provision to account for temperature coefficient correction, and high-end pH probes have temperature probes built in. The calibration process correlates the voltage produced by the probe (approximately 0.06 volts per pH unit) with the pH scale. After each single measurement, the probe is rinsed with distilled water or deionized water to remove any traces of the solution being measured, blotted with a scientific wipe to absorb any remaining water which could dilute the sample and thus alter the reading, and then quickly immersed in another solution.

2. Graduated Pipettes

Graduated pipettes use a series of marked lines to indicate different calibrated volumes. These also come in a variety of sizes. These are used much like a burette, in that the volume is found by calculating the difference of the liquid level before and after liquid is dispensed.

Figure 10 – Graduated Pipettes

Graduated pipettes are calibrated and marked with graduation lines that allow the measurement of more than one volume. The volume is read by eye by reading the value indicated on the scale at the bottom of the meniscus. Disposable plastic graduated pipettes are available and are useful for pipetting toxic or viscous substances. Graduated pipettes made of glass can be washed and reused. The pipettes should be plugged with cotton wool on the top and sterilized before use to minimize contamination of fluids being measured.

1 mL and 10 mL graduated pipettes are most commonly used in the laboratory practices described in this manual. Before using graduated pipettes check the volume scale and note whether the pipette empties from full volume to zero or from zero to full volume and whether the pipette designed to be emptied by gravity with the tip in contact with the vessel or to be expelled by blowing out with pipette filler. Fluids are drawn up into pipettes using pipette fillers. There are several options. A simple rubber bulb is suitable for a 1 mL pipette. For 10 mL pipettes, use a triple valve rubber bulb, a hand operated pump or an electronic pipette filler. These are used as pipetting by mouth is not anymore an acceptable laboratory practice.

Steps in calibration are as follows-

Figure 11 – Showing a meniscus

Adjust the dial on your pipette to the highest volume. Pipette deionized water into a flask on an analytical balance. Weigh and record the volume. Repeat five times. Change the dial to the lowest volume. Pipette deionized water into a flask on an analytical balance. Weigh and record the volume. Repeat five times. Change the dial to a middle range. Pipette deionized water into a flask on an analytical balance. Weigh and record the volume. Repeat five times. Decide if discrepancies in the measurements are systematic or random. If they are systematic, then loosen the screw on the calibration wheel and turn the ring either counter clockwise to increase the volume or clockwise to decrease the volume. Improve your technique on pipetting if the discrepancies are random. Recheck the calibrated pipette as often as necessary.

Maintaining Equipment

1. Bunsen Burners

First thing to do when you are examining a Bunsen burner is to take apart the tubing, this is to check for any splits on both sides to examine any damage or to see if there are any blockages in the tube, this stops there being any harm to yourself in the event of gas escaping or any cross contamination which could radically alter your flame. It would be very dangerous if there were any splits also in the event of a blockage this could stop any gas flow all together. If anything was to get stick down the tube you would counteract this by pushing wire through, unblocking it. This is because it is small and easy to maneuverer through and is much more effective at releasing any trapped particles. You then need to remove the chimney and scrub out the debris which would be trapped inside; this would affect your flame and gas flow if it becomes blocked. You would then take apart the barrel this is very important because it is a place that could easily get crusted over, in the case of this you would have to give it a thoroughly good clean, you would also check if the barrel itself had been bent in anyway, or any other damage would could be dangerous, it is dangerous as this is where the colour of the flame is altered, this is crucial for our safety as we cannot see a blue flame and could easily burn ourselves, this part alters the oxygen. The jets then need to be cleared, this again is done through passing down a metal wire, experiments like flame tests where powders would be burnt can easily be passed to the jets and this can clog then up again causing cross contamination. When all the parts are taken apart this can then be washed quite normally with a brush and warm soapy water. You might even have to use aluminium paint with can make it look more attractive however this is a very monotonous procedure and not important for our overall safety and is mainly superficial.

Figure 12 – A Bunsen burner and its components

Figure 12 – Bunsen burner and its main components

2. Burettes

Figure 13 – Burette being cleaned with a wire

Modern day burettes are much easier to set up and maintain then old fashioned Bunsen burners in which you would need to line up different holes and have to tighten a special wire. In comparison there are much less parts that need maintaining. The first things in which you have to examine is the glass tube, whether there are any chips present at the top, and if you can see any signs of chemicals “gunking up”. There is also a possibility of the chemicals being trapped in the tap, where the acid has passed and cannot be washed properly; sometimes this is where a dishwasher does not remove it. This is also cleaned with the metal wire as listed above because it is easy to clear out the trapped blockages, if present. When we check the tap it is important that the right tension is applied, this is checked because there is a possibility that the equipment may have been tampered with, this will effect reliability as the tap controls the speed in which the acid is being reacted in a titration and as this is a very precise way of measuring every drop in the experiment can radically alter an end result. We must check the components inside the tap, check if the two washers are present and are no signs of damage as this are what keeps the tap secure and able to turn. You would use a large tap for use and pour water, (usually soapy water) down the tube of the burette, if this is not available, you can use a beaker of soapy water and pour it down the tube, however this takes a lot longer, than using a high tap. When this stage is completed you would usually pour distilled water down the tube, distilled water is obtained through boiling water, removing impurities and then condensing it to collect pure water, this step is very important is this will remove any cross contamination from the impurities of tap water, distilled water is PH neutral so would usually be between PH6 and PH7, however tap water would normally be slightly more acidic through chemical which is added to the water. After this acetone (or propanone) would be ran through the burette and put in a fume cupboard for a day or so. This is very important as the solvent in acetone evaporates any liquid in the tube, taking the liquid with it and drying the tube. There is no contamination here as the acetone itself completely evaporates without any residue; it also has properties of stripping/cleaning.

A6. Collection/Transportation of Substances and Equipment for Disposal

In scientific experiments we use a variety of different materials, these could be biological, chemical or even radioactive even though we wouldn’t normally use radioactive materials as they are quite dangerous in regards to disposing of them and the effect of radioactivity on our bodies plus the health and safety implications are too. Chemical waste can come from colleges or manufacturing this is disposed of through pouring down a sink and flushed out with plenty of water, however for certain chemicals that can’t be washed down the sink, it is important to refer back to the hazcards as these show the correct way in which to safety dispose of chemicals (you can see an example of this in appendix 1)

For flammable solids, the disposal of this requires collection, small quantities of water reactive solids such as calcium dicarbide may be added to a large quantity of water in a fume cupboard. Metals such as sodium and lithium must be destroyed chemically before being disposed down a drain. When dealing with toxic chemicals most of these should be stored for collection or made safe chemically if in large amounts, small amounts which is consider 10g or less of toxic salts can be dissolved, diluted and flushed away. Corrosive materials should be diluted and neutralised with sodium carbonate for acid disposal or ethanoic acid for alkaline before washing to waste with large amounts of water.

Mercury recovered from spills or otherwise considered dirty could be kept and sent for purification when enough has been collected. Lime/sulphur is used to help clean up small spills of mercury and the mix contaminated with dust and small droplets from broken thermometers should be stored in a strong bottle and kept for collection from a registered waste carrier.

General Low hazard in organic chemicals may be safely be disposed of by refuse bins or by pouring down the sink, this is because it has a low danger to the environment.

A7. Use of Centrifuges.

Figure 14 – A table top centrifuge

Figure 15 -Diagram showing unbalanced microfuge tubes

Centrifuges are a very important and widely used piece of equipment. They are widely used in many fields, these include hospitals, forensic science, blood banks and they are even used by astronauts. The main use for centrifuges are to separate substances, this works on the principle that when manipulated denser substances go to the bottom tube and lighter substances travel to the top of the tube, this is called a sedimentation principle. There are many different types and sizes of centrifuges, this is dependent on the industry you use this in, blood banks which separate blood have much larger centrifuges than the table top centrifuges that you would find in our college. There are many factors that need to be considered when using a centrifuge. Firstly you have to make sure you have the right size centrifuge, choosing the wrong size could mean that your microfuge tubes used may break or the samples inside could get damaged. Once you have the right sized centrifuge you have to ensure that the microfuge tubes used are the correct size, this is because if they are too big again you could damage the tube, the sample or even the centrifuge as they are quite delicate pieces of equipment. The tubes themselves should be examined for any splits or cracks as these could break under the intense G force. For the smaller table top centrifuge you would expect a 0.5 millilitre microfuge tube to be used, you could use a smaller tube but it would need a special adapter as the tube could break and affect the sample. Another factor that needs to be considered is the work surface, it must be level and firm you must not use the centrifuge on an uneven or slanted work surface. When you insert your samples you need to ensure that the tubes are balanced, by this it means that the level of sample is the same amount in each tube, if using different substances in the tubes, the masses, not volumes of the tubes should be as close as possible, unbalanced tubes may permanently damage the centrifuge. If you are using only one sample you must make up another sample ensuring it is balanced to your test sample, this could be done with just water, and the reason for this is because the centrifuge needs to be completely balanced. When inserting your balanced samples into the centrifuge border, it is crucial that your samples go on the opposite side to each other this is because if you don’t balance the tubes when you centrifuge, the weight imbalance will cause the centrifugal core to break, when spinning at extremely high RPMs, the G force attributed to each tube in the centrifuge can change Figure 16 – Diagram showing how to balance a centrifuge

Figure 16 – Diagram showing how to balance a centrifuge

drastically even with a small weight imbalance. It’s important to balance the tubes or you will result in this very expensive equipment breaking. This can be compared to a washing machine, when a washing machine is very full, the imbalance causes the machine to be very noisy and you find it moves quite a lot, when a washing machine is filled too far, you find that it breaks a lot quicker. After your samples are put in very carefully the next thing that you need to do is either secure the rotary lid or make sure the tops of the microfuge tubes are sealed correctly depending on what model of centrifuge you are using, this will make sure that your sample will not spill when the machine is spinning at very high RPM. The next important thing to check is the settings, it would be awful if after all that time checking and balancing your centrifuge and sample that you put your centrifuge on a too high setting and break your tubes or centrifuge, the time you set your centrifuge is not really that important, you only need enough time for your sample to separate. When the centrifuge is on you must not open the lid under any circumstances, even though many centrifuges have a safety shut off, if the lid is opened, the only thing this Figure 17 – Microfuge Tubes

Figure 17 – Microfuge Tubes

does is stop powering the rotor. The rotor will still spin due to its own inertia for a while until friction slows and eventually stops it If you see it wobbling, turn it off immediately, a little vibration is normal, but excessive amounts can mean danger, this could show that maybe you didn’t balance your tubes correctly, if not this would mean that there could possibly be a problem with the machine itself. If these steps aren’t followed correctly this could result in the centrifuge exploding!

A8. Instrumental Techniques

1. Colorimeter

A colorimeter is a device used for measuring colours. It measures the absorbance of different wavelengths of light in a solution. It can be used to measure the concentration of a known solute. Different chemical substances absorb different wavelengths of light. When the concentration of the solute is higher, it absorbs more light in a specific wavelength which is known as the Beer-Lambert law; we have already conducted an experiment using potassium manganate in unit 19, to show this. The most important parts of a colorimeter are the light source, which is usually an ordinary filament lamp, an aperture, which can be adjusted, a set of filters in different colours and a detector that measures the light which has passed through the solution. Different filters are used to select the wavelength of light which the solution absorbs the most. This is because it makes the colorimeter more accurate.

The colorimeter provides an easy method that is accurate and very sensitive. It is very important that the colorimeter is handled carefully to prevent damage to delicate parts; this is because it will stop it from breaking or working incorrectly.

The first step to do when you use a colorimeter is to switch it on, it is important to allow time for the light source and the detector in it to stabilise.

You must then chose the appropriate wavelength setting related to the solution related to the solution to be tested from tables.

After you have chosen the correct setting you have to then set the display to ‘Transmittance’ by pressing the mode key, then adjust the display to 0.0%T, the sample compartment must be empty and cover closed when you do this.

When this has been set up you are ready to add the blank sample. To do this you carefully fill a cuvette to the mark with a reagent blank solution, usually distilled water or another transparent solution, this is very important as this is what is setting the colorimeter and it will be used to measure the other samples in which you are trying to find the absorption of, if this is wrong then this will affect all the other measurements. It is very important that the cuvettes are very clean and that there aren’t any fingerprints, smudges or scratches on the cuvette, if this is the case then it must be either cleaned or discarded as this also would drastically affect the results. The way in which you hold the cuvette is important for this reason too, it must Figure 18 – Cuvettes

Figure 18 – Cuvettes

be held by the opaque side, and this side must by facing away from the light and filter otherwise you wouldn’t have a reliable result, holding the opaque side means that your fingerprints will not affect the results and your fingerprints aren’t a problem. After you have positioned your cuvette into the colorimeter you must then close and cover it, this helps prevent any background light affecting the absorption reading. You then must adjust the display to read 100.0% using the transmittance/absorbance control, then press the mode key and select the status indicator. The status indicator must now be switched to ‘absorption’ and the display must show 0.0 this shows the amount of light energy that is being absorbed by Figure 19 – Colorimeter

Figure 19 – Colorimeter

a chemical species at a particular wavelength. If it does not show 0.0 then it must be adjusted accordingly using transmittance/absorbance control again. The mode should now be changed to ‘transmittance’

To now test the absorbency, the blank cuvette must be removed and you insert the sample solution cuvette, an example of this is what we used in unit 19 which was potassium manganate. After you have tested this record the %T value, then change the mode key to ‘absorbance’ and record the %A value.

2. Electrophoresis

Electrophoresis is a separation technique of particles, this works when an electrical field is applied to a solution, this can be done through using a battery, charged particles or ions will then move towards the electrical plate (electrodes) of opposite charge. The electrophoretic separation of molecules depends on two forces: charge and mass. For example when DNA is used, the DNA molecules are negatively charged and have a constant charge-to-mass ratio since the negative charges along the phosphate backbone are evenly spaced. The charges on the DNA molecules are essentially equivalent, therefore the separation is based on mass alone. The electrical current from one electrode, the cathode, repels the molecules, while the anode simultaneously attracts them. The gel matrix acts as a molecular sieve. During the electrophoresis, the molecules are forced to move through the gel matrix, separating the amplified DNA products by size. The separation medium contains a denaturant in order that the electrophoresis is conducted on single-stranded DNA fragments. Single-stranded DNA fragments are more similar to each other than double-stranded DNA fragments are to each other. Double-stranded DNA produces more electrophoretic diversity due to its three-dimensional structure.

Many factors can influence the migration and separation of amplified DNA products. These factors include both the physical and chemical environment. Alteration of the gel matrix, apparatus, and buffer can have dramatic effects on the electrophoretic system.

Using this technique can also determine the molecular weight of proteins and also investigate the physical characteristics of macromolecules. This is used because pathogens are known to adhere to host cells through using proteins. Separation of their micro-components using this method allows a comparison between good and bad strains and helps scientists analyse their differences.

There are many different types of electrophoresis used these include gel electrophoresis, capillary electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, laser, alternating field, pulsated fields and slab-gel (which is what we use in the college).

Figure 20 – Gel Electrophoresis Model

The method of slab-gel electrophoresis entails the mixing of gel materials together with a buffer and pouring it into a mould to define the gel structure. The gels may be formed in a vertical or horizontal format. The slab-gel medium is supported on a backing of glass or plastic, or sandwiched between two glass plates, and then inserted into a chamber. Gel combs are used in the moulding process to form wells. The amplified DNA samples are placed in the gel wells and exposed to an electric field while submerged in a buffer solution. The amplicons migrate through the gel in lanes defined by the samples wells, in response to the field. Smaller molecules move faster and farther than the larger ones. The amplicons are visualized using a staining technique or with florescent tags, resulting in sample bands that have a bar-code pattern representing the different sized molecules. Slab gels, once popular techniques, have largely been replaced by capillary electrophoresis methods which are easier to use, increase resolution, and automatable. The theory of electrophoresis is the underlying basis for these methods.

When carrying out this method firstly you have to prepare the gel matrix, this is important as this is where the currents will pass through and also it’s what hold everything in place, you then pour onto support backing and allow this to solidify, this then should be placed into the apparatus. After the gel sample is prepared you then need to add an appropriate buffer, we know from the calibration of pH metres that the buffer is used as it has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is added to it, buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications, after the buffer is added you then need to add/load the samples and standards that you would want to analyse for example as mentioned above, DNA, they can be placed in small wells cut out of one end of the gel plate, then after this the electrical current which is used to separate the particles is added, which for example could be a battery, it should be no more than 40V dc, which I think is to prevent electrocution as if you use an electrical system containing more than 40V it should have an interlock to protect user access to connections. This mixture then has to be allowed to separate, which for DNA would take about 2 hours. Then afterwards you can collect the data on-line detection or image after gel staining which then can be analysed, as DNA is negatively charged it would be attracted to the positive charge of the plate. The DNA sample would have to be viewed by staining them with a dye. Doing these steps to separate DNA fragments would allow analysis to find the base-pair sequence.

A9. Desiccators and Vacuum Storage

Desiccators are very important piece of equipment in the scientific laboratory, this Is because of their function, the primary role of a desiccator is to remove water or humidity from things. Desiccators are sealable enclosures containing desiccants used for preserving items which are sensitive to moisture. A common use for desiccators is to protect chemicals which react with water from humidity.

In the laboratory the most common desiccators are circular, and made of heavy glass. They look like a round glass bowl. They are air tight and this is how they protect substances from moisture. There is usually a removable platform on which the items to be stored are placed. Silica crystals or gels are added to the desiccator

The desiccators used in our scientific laboratory is much simpler than ones used in industry, this is because they do not contain a stop clock which aids vacuum storage. These are much more expensive pieces of equipment. They have a stopcock on the top; a stopcock may be included to permit the desiccator to be evacuated. Such models are usually known as vacuum desiccators. When a vacuum is to be applied, it is a common practice to criss-cross the vacuum desiccator with tape, or to place it behind a screen to minimize damage or injury caused by an implosion.

To maintain a good seal, vacuum grease is usually applied to the flanges. An airtight seal is maintained by applying silicone grease such as Vaseline, which was demonstrated to us, on the surfaces where the lid and body of the desiccator meet. It is important not to add too much grease, this is because it would affect the seal. Once the desiccant has been added, the lid to the desiccator should not be removed any more than is necessary, as this will tamper the seal, vacuum and possibly even the substance inside.

Any hot object should be cooled for about one minute before being placed into the desiccator, the lid of the desiccator should be slightly ajar for 30 seconds prior to complete closing the reason for this is that it will prevent a partial vacuum from forming as the heated air cools. If such a vacuum forms it might become very difficult to remove the lid without upsetting the samples within.

Blue indicating silica gel is impregnated with cobalt chloride which changes from blue to pink as the desiccant becomes saturated. This is an indicator of if there is any moisture present and it very affective of showing if there is any moisture remaining in the desiccator.

A10. Handling and disposal of radioactive substances

The most common places to find radioactive waste is in hospitals and also waste from the energy industry, some tests that are performed in a hospital require the use of very small amounts of radioactive materials for example x-rays, this can be mixed with clinical waste and be disposed of in the same way. Radioactive material like plutonium are used to make fuel in power plants, however this is a lot harder to dispose of.

In our college, if we were using radioactive substances, which would highly unlikely due to the health and safety implications. Special coats collect the radiation which is produced, it is then wrapped up and then taken away by special company, the same applies to other substances.

The policy for disposal in the UK is to dilute and disperse. This certainly applies almost without restriction in the case of aqueous disposal. In universities and in a variety of different industries this is different, for example at Bath University, they are told do dispose of aqueous material in designated sinks and flush with copious quantities of water. It is unnecessary to continue this flushing for hours. Once the radioactive waste has reached the main drainage system, the dilution from the operations going on within the rest of the University is extremely great.

Another way with disposing of radioactive waste is incineration waste goes into a special bin and an outside contractor is involved a record of the contents and activities of the scintillator waste must be maintained. An alternative to incineration is mechanical crushing and disposal to the main drains. This is a less preferable option but is available in an emergency.

Figure 21 – How low level radioactive waste is disposed

A11. Handling and use of glassware

Glassware is widely used in the science laboratory, this can be pipettes, test tubes or even glass stirrers, it is incredibly delicate and needs to be handed very carefully. Many accidents can occur through glassware being held incorrectly, this can even be to the extreme of amputation. When we handing for example a test tube, it is very important that we use tongs, we must always use tongs or heat protective gloves to pick up heated glassware this is because if using heat on them you could burn your hands It is important to never handle broken glass with your bare hands because of the obvious reason of cuts. It is important to use a brush and dustpan to clean up broken glass, to minimise these risks. When dealing with broken glass it’s important to place broken glass in the designated glass disposal container. You must examine glassware before each use it is important to never use chipped, cracked, or dirty glassware as this is more prone to breaking. If you do not understand how to use a piece of equipment you must ask the person teaching for help on how to use this, this will prevent the risk of human error causing damage. We must never immerse hot glassware in cold water; this is because the glassware may shatter. The heated glassware remains very hot for a long time. They should be set aside in a designated place to cool, and picked up with caution. Use tongs or heat protective gloves if necessary.

Figure 22 – Examples of glassware used in a laboratory

A12. Handling of Solvents and Poisons

A solvent is a chemical substance which dissolves another substance. The most common solvent is water. Most of the other solvents are called organic solvents. An organic solvent is one which contains the element carbon. Solvents are used extensively in the electronics industry. Compounds such as acetone are used to clean and dry wafers, glassware, equipment, like the burettes listed above and most working surfaces in the lab. There is no such thing as a safe solvent, although some solvents are less hazardous than others, there is a potential hazard associated with every solvent due to its very nature. For example, a solvent that is generally non-hazardous during normal use may become very dangerous if a large spill occurs, if there is improper ventilation, or if a leak goes undetected, all solvents must be treated with respect. Different people have different tolerances to different solvents. What may not affect one person could be devastating to another.

There are three primary hazards associated with solvents. Many solvents are extremely flammable and present a fire and explosion hazard. Solvents can also be toxic. The principle routes of exposure are inhalation of vapours, skin contact and or ingestion of liquids. Finally, solvents can react violently with acids, resulting in fires or explosions

A flammable solvent is an organic liquid whose vapour can form an ignitable mixture with air. ALL flammable solvents evaporate readily. All the elements of the fire triangle are present when an ignition source is added; this could even come from static electricity. All equipment that uses electricity or has moving parts should be considered a possible ignition source. The hazards of fire or explosion can be controlled by keeping flammable liquids in closed containers, removing sources of ignition, and providing ventilation to prevent the build-up of vapours.

Toxicity is a general term that refers to any harmful or adverse biological effects which result from exposure to a chemical or other substance. The word toxic is used interchangeably with the word poisonous. The most fundamental principle of the science of toxicology is that all substances are or have the potential to be toxic. The dose or quantity administered determines whether or not a substance will cause harmful effects. This principle gives rise to the concept of a threshold level or no effect level. By definition, the threshold level is the level of exposure at which toxic effects begin to occur. If the dose or exposure is kept below the threshold level, no toxic effects will develop. All of us, including you, must be committed to keeping all chemical exposures to safe levels. Exposure to industrial solvents generally occurs either by inhalation of the solvent vapours or by the liquid solvent contacting the skin. Most people are aware of the hazards of inhaling solvent vapours. However, many fail to recognize that the same toxic effects may occur if sufficient quantities of a solvent are absorbed through the skin. Additionally, solvents remove body fats and oils when they contact the skin, resulting in dry skin or dermatitis. A less likely route of exposure to industrial chemicals is by ingestion. Needless to say, no industrial solvent should be ingested intentionally. Most are very toxic by this route of exposure. The majority of incidents of ingestion occur through the consumption of food that has been tainted with residual substances left on hands or surfaces such as tables. Another factor regarding solvent toxicity is the extent of exposure to the solvent. This depends on the concentration of the solvent and the duration of exposure. For most solvents, a brief exposure to low levels is not very hazardous. However, continuous exposure to low levels or brief exposures to high levels should be avoided. In general, it is best to minimize exposure to solvents as much as possible. Solvents should always be handled either in fresh air or under a ventilated hood to prevent excessive inhalation of vapours.

Toxic effects resulting from exposure to solvents may be classified as short-term (Acute) or long-term (Chronic).

Acute effects include irritation of eyes and nose, headache, nausea, light-headedness, vomiting, fatigue, sleepiness, and loss of coordination. Chronic effects usually develop after regularly repeated exposures. These effects may include liver damage, hearing damage, problems with the blood forming system, adverse reproductive effects, cancer, or other complications.

As touched on above storage of these are very important solvents are stored in the storage cabinets provided for small amounts of flammable chemicals. Empty bottles should be taken care of as soon as they are emptied, we must not leave empty bottles lying around because they will have residual solvents and vapours in them and will become an explosion hazard. Do not store dissimilar chemicals in the same storage cabinets. The vapours from these chemicals could mix and set off a reaction with devastating results. Solvents must be stored and used below eye level in order to reduce the chances of getting solvents in the eyes, like we have in our labs flammable bottles are kept in the cabinets in the science classroom below eye level. Squeeze bottles should be placed away from sources of ignition and where they will not be subjected to rough handling or sudden shocks. Solvent squeeze bottles must be filled at the sink where the fumes will be exhausted away. Beakers need to be covered when not in use. Solvents should only be kept in beakers for short periods of time. Beakers of solvent must be filled and used at the solvent bench so the vapours will be exhausted out of the lab area. When you are finished with the solvent, pour the used or contaminated solvent into the proper waste container. This is also done at the solvent sink.

Handling these chemicals are incredibly dangerous so protective equipment is required to pour solvents and carry bottled solvents, this includes tying your hair back, wearing safety glasses, solvent resistant gloves and always wearing a lab coat or solvent resistant suit.

Wash hands and gloves after handling solvents this is because any chemical residue could cause irritation of the skin and possibly react with other chemicals you come in contact with, this is also a common cause of solvent ingestion. When handling solvents or poisons we must not use the same pair of gloves to handle solvents and acids this is because cross contamination could occur causing a chemical reaction which could cause serious burns. It is important not to eat or drink around chemicals, this is because it would be easy to contaminate food with residual chemicals and thus cause the ingestion of these chemical. Acetone for example is an extreme fire hazard with a low toxicity, improper use will irritate eyes, nose and throat and can cause headaches this can be compared to Methyl Isoamylketone which is a moderate fire hazard but extremely toxic, improper use of this can cause Irritation to eyes, nose and throat; may cause weakness, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting, or even kidney damage.

A13. Use of Ovens

A laboratory oven is not like the oven we use in a kitchen, and should never be used for preparing food, but for a variety of applications in the laboratory or industrial research and development environment where the thermal convection provided by these ovens are necessary. These applications include sterilizing, drying, annealing, baking polyimides and many others. Another difference between these two ovens are the temperature and size, from benchtop models with capacities of a single cubic foot to 32 cubic feet and above and temperatures as high as 340oc.

The type of oven that you would find in the laboratory is usually electrically heated ovens and the main function of these is to remove water or other solvents from chemical samples and to dry laboratory glassware. Laboratory ovens should be constructed such that their heating elements and their temperature controls are physically separated from their interior atmospheres. Laboratory ovens rarely have a provision for preventing the discharge of the substances volatilised in them. Connecting the oven vent directly to an exhaust system can reduce the possibility of substances escaping into the lab or an explosive concentration developing within the oven.

Ovens should not be used to dry any chemical sample that might pose a hazard because of acute or chronic toxicity unless special precautions have been taken to ensure continuous venting of the atmosphere inside the oven.

To avoid explosion, glassware that has been rinsed with an organic solvent should be rinsed again with distilled water before being dried in an oven.

Figure 23 – A laboratory oven

Bimetallic strip thermometers are preferred for monitoring oven temperatures. Mercury thermometers should not be mounted through holes in the top of ovens so that the bulb hangs into the oven. Should a mercury thermometer be broken in an oven of any type, the oven should be closed and turned off immediately, and it should remain closed until cool. All mercury should be removed from the cold oven with the use of appropriate cleaning equipment and procedures in order to avoid mercury exposure.

Some of the many common styles of laboratory oven include horizontal airflow, forced or natural convection and pass-through ovens. In the medical sector, ovens are especially common as a method of drying and sterilizing laboratory glassware; though there are quite a few other purposes for which a lab oven is used in both medical and research laboratory settings.

Due to the relatively low temperatures at which they operate (at least compared to kilns, incinerators and other industrial ovens), most ovens in use in the laboratory do not feature refractory insulation. However, this insulation is included in some higher temperature models of laboratory oven in order to provide the user with a safer operating environment.

The type of heat produced by lab ovens is something which can affect their pattern of usage. Common heat sources and/or thermal transfer include induction, propane, electric, dielectric, microwave, oil, natural gas or radio frequency. Each type of lab oven is better suited to a specific set of applications, with laboratories, clinics and other facilities choosing this important piece of equipment based on their heating or drying needs.

Other than the smaller benchtop and cabinet ovens which are perhaps the most commonly seen varieties of laboratory oven, there are other configurations available including continuous ovens for batch heating or drying and tube ovens which use indirect heating; a refractory container containing the material to be heated is warmed from the outside with these ovens.

Vertical ovens (with the name referring to the shape of the oven rather than the air flow) are a space-saving option for laboratories where space is at a premium. For especially high volume environments or for applications where extremely large samples or materials need to be heated or dried, there are even walk-in (and truck-in) styles of lab oven.

A laboratory oven may be controlled through a set point system or as is now increasingly common, feature programmable controls. Programmable controls allow the operator a much greater degree of flexibility, since a temperature may be set along with a specific length of time; generally, these controls support multiple programs for one-touch operation once routines have been programmed.

A14: Operation of the Cupboard

A fume cupboard is a very important piece of equipment in a science laboratory, they are used to keep harmful substances away from the person using fume cupboard and away from other users of the laboratory, this is because dangerous fumes shouldn’t be inhaled, this prevents any lung damage or even death. The fume cupboard work in the same way in which an extractor fan works in a kitchen, in the way that it sucks up air or fumes through a pipe and extracts it elsewhere. The cupboard will do this effectively only if it is used in the correct manner and is regularly maintained. Fume cupboards should be used only for experimental work and not as storage areas. Use for storage will interfere with the air flow within the cupboard and will increase the likelihood of harmful substances being released from the cupboard into the laboratory. If there were to be an accident, the presence of stored chemicals in the cupboard would increase the risks. No one should carry out an experiment in a fume cupboard that is being used as a store. It is also important not set up equipment close to the front edge of the fume cupboard. This will increase the likelihood of turbulent flow in the air stream being drawn in at the front of the cupboard which will make a greater risk of harmful substances being released into the laboratory. It is important when using a fume cupboard not to put any equipment in use far back in the fume cupboard, this is because it obstructs the extract slot at the bottom of the back of the cupboard and also it increases the possibility of the person using it to put their head in which increases the exposure of toxic fumes being inhaled. Also when using a fume cupboard it is important to remove any unnecessary clutter, this is because large objects such as safety screens, ovens and trays will all cause turbulence in the air being drawn across the base of the cupboard. The effect can be minimised by raising all large objects about 50mm above the base of the cupboard with blocks. It is also important to avoid rapid movements in front of and within the fume cupboard this is because any sudden movement is liable to disturb the air flow and allow harmful substances to escape.

Fume cupboards are intended to be used with fumes, like when we sprayed out chromatography samples, it is not meant or designed for work with micro-organisms, this is for our safety, microbiological safety cabinets must be used for work with hazardous micro-organisms.

When you use a fume cupboard it is important to firstly see if it is stationary/ fixed or a mobile cupboard, if the cupboard is mobile it is important to see whether there is enough gas in the top, this is compressed so it can be quite dangerous. Then you must check whether the screen can move up and down correctly as if this was not working you could be exposed to fumes. Another thing that you need to check is whether when you turn it on that the green light is on showing that it is safe for use.

It is very important for the fume cupboard to be inspected and maintained regularly this is because accidents can occur through the equipment being faulty and not performing to task it is meant to. Even the best designed and engineered installation will cease to perform effectively if not maintained on a regular basis. It is a legal requirement that all fume cupboards are maintained and that their performance is measured at least every 14 months. Inspection and maintenance is carried out in accordance with the relevant British Standard. Someone should be responsible for ensuring that· fume cupboards in the college are inspected and maintained records are kept of inspection and maintenance and certificates provided by maintenance contractors are kept on file. Face velocities are marked on the cupboards. Any fume cupboard which is not inspected on schedule or which fails its inspection is taken out of use. Every 12 months contractors will check the condition of services to the fume cupboard and the functioning of any alarms and controls, carry out a face velocity test and record the face velocity and the date of measurement on a label on the outside of the fume cupboard, carry out a detailed check on the condition of the fan, check the stability and condition of the discharge stack, check and clean duct work as is necessary, check that the makeup air into the laboratory is satisfactory, provide a certificate of inspection

Figure 24 – A Fume Cupboard in use

A15: Transfer of Materials

The main person for transferring materials in the college facility is the technician Rose, you will find that she usually brings the equipment and chemicals that are needed through a trolley or tray, this is because it could be dangerous for her to carry large amounts by hand. Wheeling the large chemicals in prevents breakages or exposure to herself. It is important for her to know the correct way in which to transfer the chemicals safety and what quantity is safe to carry. Flammable, biological and radioactive materials are commonly moved around and need special handling. This starts from supplying, when materials are ordered it is important for the supplier to deliver them safely, once they arrive it is the technician’s job to handle the hazardous material.

Dry chemicals should be stored and kept in a suitable container if taken from their original container then the relevant labelling should be transferred as well, this is to make sure staff and learners are kept safe. You may need to use a fume cupboard to prevent contamination from dust particles.

Wet chemicals must be carried in a bottle carrier in a suitable container, this is because it is important for them not to spill or contaminate with any other substance.

A16: Carrying Out Tests

In the laboratory practical experiments or tests are always conducted, It is very important when carrying out any test or experiment of any kind to be very careful and put safety implementations into place, this is very important for our safety, the staff’s safety, visitor’s environment and even the safety of the environment around us, failure to follow simple instructions can be very dangerous this is because experiments can be very dangerous if handled incorrectly. I will be explaining what needs to be considered when carrying out tests in the laboratory.

The laboratory can be a dangerous place and it is very important to conduct yourself in a responsible manner at all times, which means being in the right frame of mind and follow all written and verbal instructions carefully. If you do not understand a direction or part of a procedure, it is important to always ask what to do, this is because if you are following instructions incorrectly you can make an error and if chemicals for example are involved human errors could be fatal. There should be a method given to you before conducting an experiment, this is the standard procedure it is important to follow this, if you are not given a method or do not understand it; you must get advice from the tutor present.

We must not eat or drink in the laboratory, especially when conducting practical experiments as this poses dangerous for us, especially as cross contamination could occur.

Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times, put your stools in, putting bags away, this prevents risks of trips or falls which is required when completing the health and safety aspect of the risk assessments that have been carried out. Be prepared for your work in the laboratory. Read all procedures thoroughly before entering the laboratory. Never fool around in the laboratory. You must get everything ready before you start any practical experiment, doing this prevents the risk of accidents, spillage or even ruining your experiment, which saves time and ensures that you are not taking your eyes off the experiment, for example when we were performing chromatography, it was vital that we were keeping our eyes on the experiment as if the solvents being separated travelled to far, the experiment would have been ruined. We must follow good housekeeping practices which means that work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times, it is important to move anything which could be cluttering up the desks as this could pose a fire hazard if using Bunsen burners, could cause accidents or spillages or even cause damage to your work.

Before any experiment is carried out it is important to carry out a risk assessments, this helps identify any potential risks that could happen before an experiment, doing this can help you take steps to prevent this as well as being required by law, also at the end of an experiment a witness testimony is required to ensure that all the right steps have been addressed.

For our own safety in a lab it is important to keep hands away from face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals or lab equipment, doing this will prevent any cross contamination and possible ingestion of toxic substances, to prevent this we must wash our hands with soap and water after performing all experiments.

Experiments must be personally monitored at all times. It’s important not wander around the room, distract other students, startle other students or interfere with the laboratory experiments of others this prevents any accidents to yourself and others, doing this reduces the potential risk of damaging your experiment.

In the case of a fire or accident it is very important to know the locations and operating procedures of all safety equipment including the first aid kit, and fire extinguisher also Know where the fire alarm and the exits are located, to sure that you wouldn’t be trapped in a fire you Keep exits clear

You must dress properly during a laboratory activity, this means that you must tie hair back and ensure PPE is worn, this includes your lab coat, safety gasses, gloves and boiler suits if needed.

It is important to report all incidents and injuries immediately, any accidents whether they be spillages, breakages or even injury whether it be cuts or burns to the teacher or person in charge immediately, no matter how trivial it seems. If a chemical should splash in your eyes or on your skin, immediately flush with running water for at least ten minutes, there is an eye wash that is located at the front of the room, which should be also used to prevent any damage to your eyes. Rose is the trained first aider in the science department and in the case of injury it is important so see her, it is also wise to try and get some sort of first aid training so that you would know what to do in the case of an accident.

When conducting experiments in a laboratory there will always be use of different types of chemicals, all chemicals in the laboratory are to be considered to be dangerous, because of this it is very important that they are labelled correctly. On the bottle you would see a label which would show whether the substance irritant, corrosive or even toxic, it is very important to check this as if you are handling a corrosive substance you are more likely to take extra care as this could burn through your skin.

Figure 25 – Symbols you would find on labelling

Also when making an observation, keep at least 1 foot away from the specimen, it must not be tasted, or smelt, this is because it is quite likely that the molar strength would be unknown. You must check the label on all chemical bottles at least twice before removing any of the contents, just for reassurance, in case you misread the bottle, this ensures your own safety and this could also make sure that any experiment conducted is much more reliable. When chemicals are be used it is very important to handle chemicals with care, and not to use your fingers, you can avoid this through using tweezers, tongs, gloves or even pipettes, this is to make sure that no injury occurs to yourself and if any chemicals do splash onto your skin that it is washed accordingly. Another thing that should be considered is that chemicals are being used is to only take only as much chemical as you need, this is to meet COSHH regulations, this is when you can find ways of substituting strong to less dangerous chemicals if applicable, this was shown in our flame tests which were conducted in unit 11, to meet COSHH regulations, powder was substituted instead of using the much more dangerous chemicals and hydrochloric acid, this showed the same results, however arguably our test were less reliable to meet this regulation. To save chemicals being contaminated after an experiment it is important to never return unused chemicals to their original container, and if applicable to pour directly down the sink and rinse with plenty of water.

When actually carrying out the experiment you have to prevent any kind of damage to yourself this includes, never looking into a container that is being heated as this can splash back at you and not placing hot apparatus directly on the laboratory desk. This can damage and burn you or the college desks so it is important to always use a heat proof mat and if for example you are burning food to use two heatproof mats as in the case of something catching a light you can extinguish this by using the second mat. For example when using Bunsen burners you should allow plenty of time for hot apparatus to cool before touching it or putting it away.

A. Communicating Practices

B1. Lines of Authority and Accountability to and from Other Personnel.

Communication is the workplace is vital this is because no matter how organised people are the way people communicate within their team is crucial in the safe and smooth running of the organisation. Especially in a science environment the work carried out by scientists and technicians relies heavily on the structure of the team they work in and the way the team member acts. In practically every work environment there is a hierarchy, which is people put into a rank, this means that the most senior person will have various levels of personnel reporting to them. From the diagram below you can see that the highest member of authority is the principle, the chief executive principle of south Staffordshire college is Graham Morley, which is then followed by the assistant principle which in our college is Mark Robertson, the next person in the hierarchy is the curriculum director which is Claire Boliver, this is then followed by the head of faculty, this person is control of engineering, motor vehicles, science and construction, this person is very important in setting out specific goals and timelines for the science department and helping to support lesson plans and

Authority

Accountability

Figure 26 – Lines of accountability and authority

Principle/ CEO

Assistant Principle

Curriculum Director

Head of Faculty

Science Team

Learners

Principle/ CEO

Assistant Principle

Curriculum Director

Head of Faculty

Science Team

Learners

Authority

deadlines the head of faculty and the assistant head of faculty will communicate with the science team, this is usually once or twice a term through meetings, it is also very important for the science team to communicate back as this shows that the department is following the guidelines set to them. The science team consists of Steve Robins, Denise Shakespeare, Rose Jones and Glyniss Hiscox, the bottom of the line is the students, an example is myself. The relationship between myself and the science team is very important, the science teams accountability is looking after us learners, setting work the adequate standard of work for us to meet the grades set, to push us to work towards the grade, to monitor and check our work and also ensure we are learning in a safe environment, the learners accountability is the treat the science staff with respect, follow the guidelines set and ensure all work issued is returned to a reasonable standard and completed on time. Making sure all deadlines are met ensures that and helps the science team which will help their accountability towards the head of faculty and higher.

B2. Working as a Team

Working as a team involves either working with a partner or working as a group, this doesn’t necessarily mean working with people you don’t like this but regardless it is important to be pleasant and cooperative. Working as a team involves the some common characteristics, such as doing the same type of work, though in a workplace it probably would mean doing different jobs, a reason for working together, like in my case studying the same qualification. In this case when conducting experiments in a group I would be participating with other members of the class, it is very important to work as a team as we all have the same goal, failure to conduct yourself in a manner of professionalism would mean that you could fail your assignment, your experiments not working or even in the worst case scenario being kicked off the course. Working as a team involves working groups, whether you are at work or college, this can be an example of a working group. In a science laboratory it is very important to work as a team whether you are staff or a learner, the science department work together in many different ways, it important for the teachers to work together with the students and it’s also important for the technicians to work together with the teachers also. An example of this could be for example when setting up experiments, it’s the teachers responsibility to ensure the lesson plans are up to date and know what materials could be involved when a practical is needed, it then there responsibility to tell the technician what is needed for the practical experiments, the date that it is needed and what chemicals/ equipment should be supplied for the experiment, then the technician will need to be this adequately so that there is no hold up to the experiment, the learners would then perform there experiment, this is an example of teamwork, this teamwork could even involve cleaners into the scenario, it is there job to make sure that the lab is clean after each use which also ensures that the lab is running effectively.

When performing as a team member it is very important communicate correctly, this involves talking and listening to others as otherwise there would be problems among your team, as people wouldn’t know what they were doing, creating confusion. It is important not to let your feeling affect your work, regardless how you feel towards other team workers it’s very important to remain professional. It’s very important to focus on your social skills this means being courteous and treating the people you are working with the same way in which you want to be treated, not to lose your temper in anyway especially if people disagree with you and be committed to whatever you are doing, especially if the team are depending on you.

Figure 27 – Diagram to show teamwork

B3. Organisation of the Laboratory

In correct organisation of the laboratory there are many things that need to be conducted; this can be on a daily, weekly or even yearly basis.

1. Weekly

On a weekly basis staff must conduct a detailed health and safety report, this is very important to ensure everybody whether it be staff or students have the highest level of safety around a science laboratory. There are weekly meetings on a Wednesday which the staff has to attend, it is important to have these as this ensures everybody is up to date with the curriculum and procedures which happen around the science department, it is also a time where people can express any concerns, if any. If doing practical’s for the following week make sure Rose has the forms for chemicals and equipment, this is shown in the appendix, this is very important as it can take a week to collect all the chemicals, whether they need to be ordered or collected from other colleges.

2. Daily

On a daily basis there are many different tasks that have to conducted, if we are doing an experiment it is very important that these are cleaned up correctly, if using chemicals it is important that the hazcards are correctly followed, this is important as if any chemical is disposed of incorrectly, it could cause damage to our health or in a worse case scenario could even cause an explosion as some chemicals can be volatile. When we enter the science lab in the morning there is a daily health and safety sheet which we are required to fill in, this includes such issues as, whether there is enough eyewash stocked or if there is any obstructions to exits. This is very important as any issues addressed can be counteracted meaning that if there was an accident while conducting experiments our maximum safety is ensured. It is also important for students to turn of computers at the end of every day to save energy, also to tidy up workstations so cleaners are able to quickly clean up afterwards ready for the next day. Another thing which is done on a daily basis is the lecturers uploading information to STEPS so that students can access this easily and so that students can complete tasks given accordingly.

B4. Routines

1. Work Schedules

Whilst in a science laboratory it is important that work schedules are put in to place and followed correctly. There are many that are in place whether it is class plans for students work or experiment request forms from lecturers. The lecturers have many schedules in place before teaching, this is important to ensure that the entire curriculum can be covered and correctly taught and as mentioned in the weekly tasks, any experiments that need to be carried out can be done so in advance so that all equipment and chemicals can be in place. If they aren’t available for any reason class plans can be altered accordingly and chemicals can be ordered in or if needed equipment can be requested from other colleges.

Timetables are another work schedule that is present in a laboratory. These are a very important method of communication. They help ensure that both students and lecturers are aware of the deadlines in place when it comes to assignments and also the plan of work, what topics are done at the specific times which enables good organisational skills and prevents confusion.

2. Briefing

A briefing is a meeting held to provide information about the main facts of an issue or situation, so put into the context of a science laboratory there are many meeting which are held in order to communicate a variety of different matters. There are meeting after every science lesson which is used in order of an overview and summary of what is being taught. There are also a variety of different meetings along the line of authority as seen in figure 26. Once or twice a term there are meetings with the head of faculty and the science team, the head of faculty is control of engineering, motor vehicles, science and construction, this person is very important in setting out specific goals and timelines for the science department and helping to support lesson plans and deadlines the head of faculty and the assistant head of faculty will communicate with the science team, it is also very important for the science team to communicate back as this shows that the department is following the guidelines set to them. There will also be meetings between the head of faculty and the curriculum director, this is Claire Boliver, however these are less frequent and will happen once a year.

B5. Reporting of Results

There are many ways in which results are recorded, it is very important to report results as this is a form of evidence and can also be used in assignments.

When conducting an experiment we report our results in paper form, these will either go along side our assignments or be kept in our folders for use in the future.

Our lecturers will most likely then have a copy of our results and input this as a whole for the class. We can access these results through STEPS as an example, this is an effective way of storing and distributing results.

Our results can also be reported in the form of charts or graphs which enables us to see this with ease.

When it comes to our grades and how these are reported we can see these through our portfolios or etracker, this is very easy to see and if anything was to happen to our portfolios for example we could easily access this elsewhere and vice versa, the college can then easily report this to EDEXCEL.

B6. Scientific Terminology

Using the correct scientific terminology is very important when working or studying in a scientific work place. For example if you were unsure of what something was called relating to an experiment, you would hold both you and the staff up and could end up requesting an incorrect item. You would need to understand correct terminology to succeed, it is very important in the role of successful communication, it is very important where research work or production work is being carried out, especially in different countries where language may cause confusion and different terminologies are used.

Conclusions:

In the science laboratory it is very important that communication is used, this is because if we do not follow simple instructions dangerous repercussions can occur.

There are many places where communication is present, this isn’t just verbally. A few senarios in which I am going to comment on is where communication is present and what would happen if this wasn’t implemented, this includes labels on bottles of acids, risk assessments, use of hazcards, following procedures correctly, following health and safety and purchasing orders correctly.

Following health and safety, is very important. Health and safety is a form of communication, this is because communication can be defined as the exchange of information between people, by speaking, writing or even by means of using a common system of signs or behaviour. It is important to have relevant health and safety training; this includes what to do when you are working in a laboratory taking safety precautions such as not running and tying your hair back to what to do in the case of an emergency whether it be cleaning up cuts, using an eyewash or bandages. Rose is the person in charge of first aid around the laboratory, in the case of an accident it’s very important to communicate to her as she is the most adequately trained person to help in such a scenario and as a result can efficiently help the person if in danger. Failure to do this will result in a situation being worse than it should be and also in the worst case possibly death.

Labels on chemical bottles communicate to the person carrying or using the dangers of what is inside the bottle, such as the name itself, the best by date and important information like whether it is corrosive or toxic. This is incredibly Important because as this communication present tells the user the potential risks of using this chemical, this isn’t only for our maximum safety but also this is very important when conducting a practical as the sell by dates show whether the chemical will work at its optimum capacity as old chemicals could drastically alter the effects of a practical. If there wasn’t labels on bottles this would mean that we would have no knowledge of what is inside the bottle which could result in explosions or even if there wasn’t a corrosive sticker on for example this could result in terrible chemical burns as labels are a successful way of communicating to us the potential dangers and because of this we would change our behaviour towards the chemical accordingly.

Figure 27 – Picture showing reagent bottles with appropriate safety symbols

Risk assessments communicate potential risks, very important in identifying harms and when people are aware it means that they will act in a certain way and act responsibly. It is also very important if an experiment is too dangerous, using COSHH you could find a way to carry out the experiment in a safer way and if not putting different health and safety procedures into place to make an experiment safer. The lecturers also put a class risk assessment into place this is used to communicate to more authoritative figures the potential harms of an experiment which is very important when for example applying to whether it can be carried out or not. I have shown in appendix 3 an example of a risk assessment which are filled in at the start of every practical. If risk assessments weren’t in place the risks which are possible wouldn’t be illustrated to us, even though most is common knowledge we use many unknown chemicals and this poses a real danger, risk assessments successfully communicate these dangers and therefore make us more aware and act safer.

Another very important method of communication are hazcards, there are many different people who use them. They are very important for a laboratory technician, Rose, to use and they also readily available and important for all members of the science team including ourselves. They are cards which contain and communicate the following information, the dangers involved in using the chemical, medical advice in case of the chemical being swallowed, what protection to use in order to keep yourself safe, how to store the chemical safely and also how to safely dispose a chemical. An example of a hazcard is in appendix 1. Rose uses them especially when setting up experiments as it shows what chemicals can safely be combined and also disposed. They communicate to us when carrying out experiments as we know the dangers of using a chemical, what protection we need, whether it be just general PPE or for example needing a well-ventilated room or even a fume cupboard. We also need the information in regards to how to dispose in a safe manner whether we are pouring straight down sink, flushing with water, using spillage kits or even incineration. If we didn’t have hazcards available we would have little or no knowledge of how to use chemicals in a correct or safe manner, we may cause an explosion or serious harm to the environment if we disposed incorrectly or in some extreme cases death to ourselves through not correctly using chemicals or mixing incorrect chemicals together. Hazcards are very carefully organised in numerical form, this is an effective way of communication as this means chemicals can be found with ease so if in the case of an accident, so therefore we would be able to see to potential dangers before seeking medical advice.

Finally another place where correct scientific communication is important is when purchasing orders. Rose will be the main person involved in purchasing any equipment or chemicals. It is very important for the correct communication between lecturers and Rose to take place. Failure of this could possibly result in too many chemicals or not enough chemicals being ordered, this for example as a result you could waste chemicals as they not being needed or not being able to conduct an experiment as you do not have enough, this could result by not checking the amount for example putting down 50g instead of 500g. It is also important for Rose to check stock and to correctly send information, if for any case orders are not correctly ordered this could result in lack of equipment (or too much), which would affect lecturers, affect students, affect experiments and even grades. Also this could result in waste, from throwing out unused chemicals and also from wasting money which could be used elsewhere.

Recommendations:

I recommend that you use the information from this report and use it when you are working in either a laboratory in a workplace or in the college laboratory. This will ensure maximum health and safety and also that you have knowledge of what equipment is used, how to calibrate them and how to use them safety. Another use of this report is that full knowledge of communication within a laboratory is present.

Glossary:

Disposal: This is getting rid of something

Spillage kit: A kit which is used to collect harmful substances and make it easier for disposal

Personnel: A body of persons usually employed (as in a factory or organization)

Corrosive: having the quality of corroding or eating away; erosive, can be harmful or destructive

Science faculty: A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area, in this case being science

Legible: this is something capable of being discerned or distinguished:

Cross contamination: this is the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent (contaminant) in material

Flammable: Flammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion

Explosive: An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released

Ventilated: To admit fresh air

Carcinogens: This is a substance directly involved in causing cancer

Oxidizers: Oxidizers are compounds which are capable of reacting with and oxidizing (giving off oxygen) with other materials.

Compounds: Two or more elements

Organics: chemical compounds containing carbon

Combustibles: This is substances capable of igniting and burning. They are easily aroused or excited. A substance that ignites and burns readily

Biological: Relating to living substances, such as germs or animals

Enzyme: Enzymes are proteins that catalyse (increase the rates of) chemical reactions

Consumables: goods that have to be bought regularly because they wear out

Purity: the absence, or degree of absence, of anything harmful, inferior, unwanted, or of a different type

Stock rotation: This is A general rule is that the oldest stock should be issued first

Viable: Capable of living

Accurate: Something that is careful and exact; free from mistakes or errors.

Reliable Something that is suitable or fit to be relied on, it’s dependable by giving the same result on successive trial

Electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a non-metallic part of a circuit

Calibration: This is used to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of any instrument giving quantitative measurements

Universal indicator: A chemical used to determine the pH of a substance

Buffers: a buffer is an aqueous solution that has a highly stable pH. If you add acid or base to a buffered solution, its pH will not change significantly. Similarly, adding water to a buffer or allowing water to evaporate will not change the pH of a buffer.

Monotonous: tediously uniform or unvarying

Precise: exactly or sharply defined or stated

Distilled: Removing impurities, Water is distilled to remove impurities, such as salt from seawater.

Evaporates To convert or change into a vapour

Chemical: A chemical is any substance made up of chemical elements, such as iron

Radioactive: giving off, or capable of giving off, radiant energy in the form of particles or rays, as alpha, beta, and gamma rays,

Health and Safety: to protect people against risks to health or safety arising out of work activities.

Manipulated: to manage or influence skilfully, especially in an unfair manner:

Sedimentation: Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier

G force: The g-force (with g from gravitational) associated with an object in its acceleration relative to free-fall.

Sample: A portion, piece, or segment that is representative of a whole

Microfuge: Piece of equipment either glass or plastic used in a centrifuge

Friction: Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other

Vibration: an oscillatory motion—a movement first in one direction and then back again in the opposite direction.

Inertia: Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion

Absorbance: The extent to which a sample absorbs light depends strongly upon the wavelength of light.

Wavelengths: the distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation.

Concentration: concentration is defined as the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture

Solute: A substance dissolved in another substance, usually the component of a solution present in the lesser amount (Being in solution; dissolved).

Absorption: interception of radiant energy or sound waves

Beer-Lambert law: The Beer-Lambert law is the linear relationship between absorbance and concentration of an absorber of electromagnetic radiation. The general Beer-Lambert law is usually written as

Cuvettes: Simple instrument used for holding samples in colorimetery

Denaturant: to deprive (something) of its natural character, properties,

Migration: This is movement

Macromolecules: These are very large molecules

Pathogens: these are organisms, frequently microorganisms, or components of these organisms, which cause disease.

Amplicons: An amplicon is a piece of DNA formed as the product of natural or artificial amplification events. For example, it can be formed via polymerase chain reactions

Humidity: Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapour in the air

Preserving: to keep alive or in existence

Evacuate: to remove something (as gas or water)

Implosion: the inrush of air in forming a suction stop

Face velocity: this is the speed at which air is drawn in through the front of the fume cupboard.

References/ Bibliography:

http://www.EzineArticles.com/3598769

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorimeter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiccator

http://www.ehow.com/how_2044881_calibrate-pipette.html#ixzz1kLAyUweXA5.

http://www.southstaffs.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-team/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH_meter

http://www.radford.edu/fpc/Safety/ChemHyg/chp4.htm

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/safety/resources/substances/fumes/

Picture References:

http://www.mpw.pl/files/2312/4696/4142/MPW%20223E.png

http://www.lightlabsusa.com/images/T/t-16527-375.jpg

http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/bsl/pictures/phscale.jpg

http://www.kliva.com/assets/cache/images/5dfc66b4fede2317b3733e9dbffebfeb.jpg

http://www.learntobrew.com/store/image/2ojhw/-_Testing_pH_Meter_-_Hanna_Checker_1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ShYaZZY79tk/SfoEe6GT1sI/AAAAAAAAAPA/SqXDRTsioGE/s320/ist2_960327_chemical_hazard_labels_vector_jpeg.jpg

http://www.rogosampaic.com/WebRoot/ce_fr2/Shops/289299/4BFB/C536/868B/1927/8275/C0A8/8008/AC19/00_466_001.JPG

http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/demos/buretuse/pipwire.jpg

http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/photo-m2/portable-transmission-colorimeters-397404.jpg

Appendixes:

Below are appendixes which are mentioned in the report and will support the information stated above.

Appendix 1 –

This is an example of the typical hazcard in which you will find in a laboratory. From this you can see the dangers of the chemical, what it reacts with and also how to safely dispose of the chemical.

Appendix 2 –

This is an example of a stock check in which Rose will carry out, doing this helps her see what chemicals will need to be re ordered.

Appendix 3 –

This is an example of a risk assessment which needs to be carried out at the start of every practical experiment. Doing this helps acknowledge all the potential risks which will ensure the maximum safety.

Appendix 4 –

This is an experiment/equipment request form. This is what lecturers have to complete in advance and give to Rose to ensure that the correct equipment or chemicals will be ready for an experiment.

Appendix 5 –

This is a health and safety form which has to be completed on a monthly basis, doing this ensures all the health and safety requirements are in place and to a satisfactory level.

Appendix 1