These rules are to ensure the health and safety of everyone in the Department of Chemistry.
Golden Rules
You and I will
- Always consider the safety of everyone who could be affected by our work
- Aim for best practice in health, safety & environmental performance
- Comply with the law & workplace procedures
- Intervene in unsafe or non-compliant acts
Department Safety Rules Summary
You shall
- Leave the building within two minutes when the fire alarm sounds
- Keep all fire exit routes, corridors, doorways and stairs free from obstruction & combustible materials
- Minimize the amount of solvents, waste & gas cylinders in your area
- Keep your area tidy and clean
- Know how to respond in an emergency
- Deal immediately with all incidents, injuries, spills, unsafe acts & unsafe conditions - report as soon as practicable
- Obey all safety signs in your working area
- Wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment as given on signs or risk assessments, e.g. safety specs, gloves and labs coats
- Label all chemicals & waste accurately
- Only use equipment that is suitable for the task, in a safe condition and within its inspection/test date
- Obtain authorization prior to working outside normal hours
- Stop if you think your work is unsafe
You will not
- Eat or drink in labs & workshops
- Put hazardous materials down sinks
- Work under influence of alcohol/drugs
- Knowingly act in a reckless or unsafe manner
- Smoke within chemistry buildings or within Ten meters of the outside of buildings
Assessing and Minimizing Risk
- Understand the hazards of your work
- Always carry out a risk assessment for hazardous work
- Consult chemical safety data sheets
- Always consider flammability and runaway reaction hazards, as well as toxicity
- Always avoid risk if possible and, if not, minimize to an acceptable level
- Substitute harmful chemicals with non- or less harmful ones, if possible
- Minimize volume and concentrations of hazardous chemicals in experiments & labs
- Use volatile chemicals in fume hoods
- Always consider waste in risk assessments
- Always consider non-chemical hazards
- Only carry out experiments approved by your supervisor or line manager
Department Safety Policy Summary
The Department of Chemistry is committed to ensuring the health, safety & welfare of all its staff, visitors, students and others who may be affected by its activities; it fully accepts its responsibilities, and takes steps to ensure that its statutory duties are met at all times. The successful implementation of the departmental health & safety rules requires the commitment of all members of the Department & its visitors. Moreover, there is an expectation that all members will take a proactive approach to implementing the rules. Therefore, you have an obligation to take reasonable care of your own health & safety and others who may be affected by your work.