Lab general rules

Lab Rules

General lab rules & Safety reminders

• • All members working in the lab should have a BWH ID and completed general/ blood safety training. New members should consult their group coordinator for the BWH ID and safety training.

  • All experimental materials (i.e. tubes, samples) should be properly labeled with material information, user’s name and date.

  • All stuffs should be returned to original place after being used.

  • Write log book and follow notification and caution

  • Request the person in charge first if you want to use special stocks of reagent or equipment

  • Waste should be dumped in proper trash can (sharp, bio-hazard, general trash). Please make an effort and think about it at the time of throwing away something!!

  • Biologicaly related stuff (gloves included!!) => Biohazard boxes

  • Glass and pipette tips => sharp bins

    • EVERYTHING ELSE => normal (grey) trash

  • Open toed shoes may not be worn anywhere in the lab.

  • Food and drink are prohibited in all areas with the exceptions of Ali’s and Utkan’s offices and the administrative area next to the offices.

  • All flammable or hazardous chemicals should be used in the chemical hood with proper safety equipment.

  • Lab coats should be worn when conducting research at the bench tops, microscope room, or tissue culture room. For new members who need new lab coat, please consult with your group coordinator.

Microscope room:

• 1. Please keep the microscope room clean.

  2. New users must be trained by Seila or Mehdi before they start using the microscopes on their own. Seila gives training sessions Mondays 10-11 am on the old microscope. If you want to take part in the training, meet in the microscope room - not in front of it, not at your desk, and don't e-mail Seila. Just show up at 10 am sharp in the microscope room. Also, read and learn the info on microscopes that's avaialble on this website. You're expected to understand how a microscope works (what the different light paths are) in order to take best possible images, and not just to know what the different knobs do.

  3. Please save all data on the external additional hard drive (F drive) or under My Documents and please backup your data at the end of each experiment. All files / folders saved on the desktop will be deleted - no exceptions.

1. All items left in the work space will be trashed - no exceptions.

Bench area and chemical stock:

• 1. All the lab users should keep the lab bench and all equipments on the bench clean and tidy. Please clean and label your useful tools, containers and equipments. All the unlabelled wastes will be cleared without advanced notification.

  2. All the chemicals located on the shelf have been arranged alphabetically. A list of all the chemicals has been made and update every two months. Please check the availability of the chemicals before your purchase. The person who is using a particular chemical is responsible for re-ordering before the chemical is used up. Read MSDS first before using chemicals

  3. For Pipetters, we are going to order three new sets of pipetters. Please RETURN the pipetters to the pipetter racks after using them. Don’t leave them randomly on the bench.

  4. The computers on the bench would be carefully used and prevented from virus infection. We will check out whether there is any problem or infection on a monthly basis.

  5. Hojae and Celine have the lab duty of washing up the lab's glassware. They are doing it once a week approximatively. They take used glassware from the grey container and then, once they have been cleaned, put them back on the shelves at the bottom right of the 1st sink. So, please DO NOT PUT used glassware on those shelves but PUT it in the grey plastic container. Also, if you used viscous solution, please clean it directly after use. Otherwise, it dries and we might not be able to wash it up properly. Then, nobody can never use it again (glass bottle wasted).

     1. Furthermore, please make sure wether the chemicals you used to make your solution shouldn't be rather throw away in the appropriate waste bottles under the chemical hood! I washed the stuff today and found a lot of strange smelling beaker still full of solution or precipitated white layers... DO NOT THROW AWAY WHATEVER CHEMICALS IN THE classic sink!! It might be DANGEROUS !

Culture room:

1. Whatever the thing which is introduced under the culture hood, it MUST be spread with ethanol and briefly dried with wipes.

2. Wearing gloves is mandatory to open incubators !

3. Every week a group of 3-4 people is responsible for taking care of the culture room (add water in warm baths, empty waste flasks, check the stocks, ...). They MUST do their work properly and thoroughly.

4. some people forget to empty their used flasks after 1 day in Virkon. As it's understandable to forget about it, maybe you could empty old virkon flasks from others by the time you leave yours for 1 day, so that you ensure that no huge pile of flasks is accumlating.

5. theres is of course more rules than that (this list need to be completed)

Equipment:

Fridges

• • All samples should be labeled with name of user, chemical, and date

  • Fridges will be cleaned on a regular basis and any non-labeled samples will be disposed of without notice.

Balances

• • If any substance has been spilt on the balance, it must be cleaned immediately after use.

  • Stocks should be returned to the chemical shelves or flammable cabinets and not left in the balance area

  • Scoops and spatulas should be cleaned after use and left next to the balance.

  • The balances must be turned off immediately after use to preserve the balance tip.

Vacuum chambers

• • Chambers must be cleaned after use if any substance has been spilled on the surface.

  • Carefully monitor any PDMS that is degassed in the chamber. PDMS spills in the chambers are difficult to clean and unacceptable.

Liquid nitrogen and cryo-container

• • Do not use the liquid nitrogen or the cryo-container without training and approval from Halil Tekin

  • Always wear protective equipment when handling liquid nitrogen, especially cold gloves and face shield.

  • Removing storage columns too quickly from the cryo-container can result in spills of large quantities of liquid nitrogen.

  • If the liquid nitrogen canister or cryo-container is low, please inform Halil Tekin.

Lyophilizer

• • Do not use the lyophilizer without proper training and approval from Changmo. It is sensitive and other lab members work can easily be damaged by inexperienced users.

Ovens

• • All samples must be labeled with name of user and chemical name.

  • The oven will be cleaned periodically and unlabelled samples will be thrown away.

EXFO UV lamp

• • Anyone wishing to use the UV lamp must be properly trained by Jiankang prior to use.

  • Please turn off the UV lamp when you are finished using it for the day.

Utkan’s lab bench rule:

• • Do not put anything inside chemical hood without permission

  • Inform just after opening new stock bottle or package

  • For ordering, use EXCEL sheet

  • Request your own sample space if you want to use a space

  • Ware lab coat and put on goggle

  • Check your place before leaving (arrangement or ordering)

  • All equipment should be placed on the labeled place

  • Before using stock, get permission from Dr. Moon