Lab Safety
I. CHEMICALS:
Treat all fixatives with respect: because they will fix your tissue too.
A) OSMIUM TETROXIDE
- Handle ampoules with disposable gloves.
- Use double bottles and seal with parafilm.
- Open only in a fume hood, and well-ventilated room.
- when using OsO4, do not hold your breath as your nose is very sensitive to detect dangerous fumes.
B) ALDEHYDES
- Handle in fume hood only.
- Acrolein-See Osmium precautions.
C) BUFFER SOLUTIONS
Some buffers (e.g. Cacodylate and Veronal) contain toxic components, and must be handled with caution. USE GLOVES AT ALL TIMES.
D) PROPYLENE OXIDE
Warning: Orioylene Oxide is very volatile. To prevent hazard:
- Must be opened and used at room temperature.
- Never heat.
- Store in a cool properly ventilated area away from incompatible chemicals, heat, sparks, open flame and strong oxidizing agents. Store only in highly closed containers.
II EMBEDDING RESINS:
Embedding resins may cause dermatitis.
- When preparing the mixtures and during embedding procedures, ALWAYS uses disposable gloves.
- Cover all working areas with paper towel or diapers and wipe all spills immediately with alcohol.
- To remove resins from your skin, use soap & water. DO NOT USE ALCOHO as this will increases skin penetration.
- Seek immediate medical attention for any suspicious skin rash.
- Harden all waste resin prior to disposal. Carefully wrap discarded containers, beakers, vials, pipettes, etc.
- Never pour any plastic containing solutions (e.g., propylene oxide-epon mixture) down the drain.
- All hardened waste: RESINS, RESIN MIXTURE AND FILM MAKING SOLUTIONS) shall be stored in the fume hood until disposal.
III. SHARP OBJECTS:
To prevent injury to cleaning personnel, all used glass knives, razor blades and scalpel knives must be discarded only in designated containers, or well sealed and labeled cardboard boxes.
IV. EQUIPMENT:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPERATE ANY EQUIPMENT WITHOUT PRIOR INSTRUCTION BY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE LAB OR WITHOUT READING THE OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.
- Goggles MUST be worn to observe metal evaporation. The intense brightness can burn your retina.
- Critical Point Dryers can be potentially lethal. Seek advice from EMC staff for proper use techniques.