General Safety

Access to laboratory areas is restricted and is only granted to those who have completed safety training, as evidenced by successful completion of the safety induction quiz. Specific local training may also be required before access is granted to some areas. Anyone who commences a new role more than one year after completing the safety training is required to undergo this training again. Records of training completion must be kept by SESAME.

1. It is strictly prohibited to eat, drink, smoke, chew gum, apply cosmetics, or take medicine in any laboratory where hazardous materials are used.
2. You must not store food, beverages, cups, and other drinking and eating utensils in areas where hazardous materials are handled or stored.
3. Glassware use for laboratory operations should never be used to prepare or consume food or beverages.
4. Laboratory refrigerators, ice chests, cold rooms, ovens, and so forth should not be used for food storage or preparation.
5. Laboratory water sources should not be used as drinking water.
6. Laboratory chemicals should never be tasted.
7. You must never pipette by mouth: a pipette bulb or aspirator must be used.
8. Hands should be washed with soap and water immediately after working with any laboratory material, even if gloves have been worn.
9. Inform the Safety Office if you suffering from a chronic or infectious disease or have implanted metals.
10. Wear a face mask in case of respiratory difficulties.
11. Open toed shoes, high-heeled shoes and jewelry are not allowed. Long hair must be tied back.
12. You must be familiar with the risks of all procedures that you are carrying out, and how to deal with any emergencies.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last line of defense used when all other risk controls have or are likely to fail. Minimum PPE to work in wet chemical laboratories is a laboratory coat, fully covered footwear and safety glasses. Areas in which this PPE must be worn will be clearly signposted. Do not enter a laboratory without wearing the appropriate PPE, even if only visiting for a brief period. Laboratory coats and gloves should only be worn in the laboratory, and must be removed when leaving the laboratory. Laboratory coats should be buttoned up at all times, with the sleeves down. Long hair should be tied up. PPE should be kept clean and stored in an area where it will not become contaminated, nor contaminate other items.

For laboratory workers who wear prescription glasses, suitable safety glasses should be acquired to wear over the prescription glasses. If customized prescription glasses are worn, they must have a minimum width of 42 mm and height of 35 mm. It is not recommended to wear contact lenses in the laboratory, as corrosive liquids could become trapped under the contact lens, causing significantly more damage. Sunglasses should not be worn in the laboratory as they impair vision.

Disposable gloves should also be used only as a last line of defense, and must be replaced immediately after contamination. The compatibility of the chosen gloves with all components of the procedure should be assessed prior to use. While wearing gloves it is never acceptable to touch an object or surface that may be touched by someone who may not be wearing gloves (e.g. door handles, computers, mobile phones).

There may be situations where a risk assessment determines that additional protective equipment is required, such as the use of a full-face mask, or a blast shield.

Safety signs are color-coded according to whether they are indicating warnings, prohibited activities, or mandatory activities. Examples are shown below.

Sign color	Meaning	Examples
Yellow	Warning
Red	Prohibited
Blue	Mandatory

Yellow precaution tape labelled with “caution” means enter with care 

Red and white striped tape means do not enter

In all cases, call the Safety Office for assistance. Tapes should not be placed without advance coordination with the Safety Office;

Ad hoc safety inspections will be performed by the safety office and other co-opted individuals to ensure compliance to safe practices, and to identify any issues that require additional support or infrastructure. A report will be prepared for the director summarizing findings of the safety inspection and any other incidents.

All laboratory workers have a responsibility to ensure safety of their own work and that of their colleagues. To ignore unsafe behavior or an unsafe environment is equivalent to being unsafe yourself. Do not wait for an inspection to highlight an issue, correct matters where you can, or report any concerns to the safety officer or your supervisor. Similarly, if you identify a change that could be made to improve safety, please share this with the safety officer or your supervisor.

The safety officer, members of the directorate, and the SESAME director can issue warnings and safety infringements for unsafe behavior and/or environments. Actions that can result in disciplinary measures can include (but are not limited to):

• Damaging or improperly using any safety equipment or defacing signs and instructions.
• Working in an unclean and untidy manner.
• Preparing and/or consuming food outside the designated areas or using laboratory beakers and other glassware for drinking and eating. 
• Smoking in the building.
• Non-qualified persons operating specialized equipment and instrumentation.
• Not wearing the minimum protective clothing as per guidelines of each laboratory.
• Wearing laboratory coats and/or gloves in non-laboratory areas.
• Conducting an experiment without an approved risk assessment.