Laboratory Safety

Appropriate laboratory hygiene, chemical safety, and training are critically important to your safety and in acquiring data that is trustworthy. You are expected to consult and follow all appropriate university and laboratory guidelines An incomplete list of areas this encompasses include:

    • Chemical Safety: You must take the OH 101, 102, and 201, classes before beginning work in the lab. You may also be required to take OH 204, 304, and 306 depending on the specifics of your research project. You can find a list of the safety classes as well as the instructions for signing up at https://ehs.utexas.edu/training/training-courses.php. In addition, you should read the MSDS for all chemicals you work with so that you are familiar with potential hazards
    • Clothing: Do not wear shorts or open-toed footwear in the laboratory. Do were safety glasses in the lab and other relevant safety clothing, even when you think you are not doing anything dangerous.
    • Cleanup: Clean up after yourself. Do not leave you experiments set up on lab benches for extended periods of time, when they can be easily taken down. Put tools away rather than leaving them on the benchtop.
    • Chemical storage and disposal: Label everything! When a chemical arrives, label it with
      • Your name and Kovar Group
      • The date the container arrived; this is important since some chemicals will degrade with time
    • Make sure that chemicals are stored in appropriate places with like, compatible chemicals
    • Our lab has limited storage so please think about the amount of material you are ordering and where you will store it.
    • If you transfer a chemical to a secondary container, label the secondary container, even if it is only temporary and “for a minute.” Unlabeled containers represent a serious hazard to first responders who may enter a room in an emergency, to your colleagues, and they create serious problems when it is time for disposal. DON’T LEAVE UNLABELED CONTAINERS in the lab, period!
    • Before your graduate you will need to get a signature from Dr. Kovar. Before he will sign, you will need to demonstrate to him that you have removed all of your samples, wastes, and other items from the lab.
    • Training: We use many specialized apparatii, most of which require training. In some cases the equipment is central equipment, in which case the training is conducted by Ph.D.-level staff, e.g. TMI equipment such as the TEM. For equipment that is in our research lab, discuss with D. Kovar who to contact about training.