Chemistry Lab Inspection 2023

• Name of Lab:

• Conducted on

  Date

• Lab Room and office room:

• Gas cylinder room:

• Instrument room:

General Safety

• Are up-to-date Chemical hazard signs posted on doors leading to rooms with hazardous chemicals (need to be updated annually)?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If biohazards or radioactive materials (including naturally occurring) are used, are required permits in place (need to be posted at the lab door)?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• No food or drink present in lab space

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is any other appropriate additional safety signage posted where necessary? (e.g. X-ray, laser rooms)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is a monthly safety self-inspection checklist posted and completed?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are safety inspection records kept and maintained?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the SFU Laboratory Safety manual and the SFU Hazardous Chemical Storage Manual available? (Do people know where to find it?)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If biohazards or radioactive materials (including natural occurring) are used, are required permits in place?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are personnel aware of who the safety committee members are in their area?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are incident report forms being submitted for each incident?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Has the occupant or staff nearby reported/identified any recent water leaks or other items that require maintenance?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does your lab have a checklist on the door to go through if you are the last one in the lab? E.g. walk through lab, turn off hot plates, turn off water taps, etc.

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Training

• Have all personnel attended the relevant EHS lab safety training sessions? Is it documented? <br> EHS Laboratory Safety Training<br> EHS Safety Essentials <br> EHS Biosafety <br> PHAC module: General Safety for Containment Labs (anyone listed on any biosafety permit)<br>

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Have lab-specific safety procedures been discussed with personnel? Eg concerning specific instruments

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Emergency & Fire

• Are campus emergency numbers posted by the phone?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is there a first aid kit, and if so, a mechanism to track its use and keep it stocked?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Have the personnel been trained on how to use a chemical spill kit? And is it appropriately stocked? (Should include absorbent material, sealable plastic bas, PPE, etc.)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Have the safety showers and eyewash stations been inspected and tested monthly?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are emergency safety showers and eyewash stations available, and are the areas around them unobstructed?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are personnel familiar with the emergency evacuation plan, including egress routes, pull stations, extinguisher locations and assembly points?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are emergency exit signs functional (i.e., not burnt out)?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Has the fire extinguisher been inspected within the last year?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the fire extinguisher accessible and the seal intact?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Do sprinkler heads have a minimum clearance of 18 inches? (no storage less than 18 inches directly under sprinkler head)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Are lab coats available and worn when working in lab and stored separately from personal clothing, jackets, backpacks etc?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are safety glasses/goggles and face shields available and worn when working with hazards such as caustics, corrosives, UV radiation, cryogenic liquids, infectious materials, glass, lasers, machine tools, etc.?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are appropriate protective gloves available and worn when skin contact is a risk?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is fully enclosed footwear worn inside the lab?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are respirators being used? If yes, are they being stored properly? Are the respirator fit test records available?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Housekeeping

• Are all aisles and doorways clear of materials and equipment?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are office/work areas kept separate from laboratory areas?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are fridges, benches and sinks reasonably clean and uncluttered?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are supplies and materials stored properly on shelves i.e. heavier material stored on lower shelves?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are racks and shelving properly installed and in good condition? **Before inspection day: Check brackets supporting shelves for signs of rust or breakage.**

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Fume hoods

• Are the fume hoods tested annually, with a sticker to show the date last tested?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are fume hood sashes at recommended height?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the airflow monitor (if available) in the fume hood functioning? (test by raising the sash if safe to do so)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are fume hoods clean, uncluttered, and not used for storage to ensure good airflow?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the front 15 cm of the hood clear?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are fume hoods used for storage labeled and ONLY used for storage?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does your lab use any of the following: perchloric acid, HF, sodium azide, or pyrophoric compounds? If yes, what safety measures in place?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Chemical Storage and Handling Safety

• Is a hazardous materials inventory maintained? (State date of last inventory update.)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are you aware of all the 'high hazard' chemicals in your lab, and are they in the chemical inventory?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are SDSs available, up-to-date and accessible for all chemicals in use? (can have either available online or printed paper copies that must be updated every 3 years)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are all chemical containers legibly labeled for contents and hazard (WHMIS)? <br>Research samples must also be labeled with an identifier that allows others to look it up in the researcher's notebook. Samples with long-term storage must be clearly identified with the experiment number and structure/names.

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is secondary containment used when storing hazardous liquid chemicals in refrigerators, freezers and cabinets? (plastic trays)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are chemicals stored according to compatibility (oxidizers separated from flammables)?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are flammable materials stored in closed containers and in approved flammable storage cabinets or refrigerators?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are amounts of flammables and corrosives stored kept to a minimum?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are flammable liquids heated safely with proper equipment? (e.g. not using an oil bath, or not directly on a hot plate in a beaker. Steam baths, salt, and sand baths, beads baths, heating mantles, and hot air are preferable.)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are peroxide-forming compounds (e.g. ethers, isopropanol) labelled and dated when opened and not stored in direct sunlight?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Have peroxide-forming compounds been tested every 3-6 months for peroxide formation as per SFU protocols?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are safe transportation procedures and equipment used for chemicals where necessary? (e.g. chemical carriers)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are separate waste receptacles for chemicals, sharps, glass, biohazards, and radioactive materials available and used?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Do personnel know how to request disposal for hazardous materials? Have hazardous wastes produced in an area been identified, appropriately packaged and controlled?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are waste containers filled only 75%, labeled for contents/hazards, and capped?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are expired chemicals, after being reviewed by the PI, disposed of?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Equipment and Compressed Gases

• Are procedures and equipment posing potential hazards identified, and have safe work procedures been developed to mitigate the hazards?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are the operator and service manuals available for the equipment? Are emergency stop buttons operational? Do centrifuges have an interlocked lid, cover, system?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are vacuum pumps installed and used appropriately? <br> Are exhausted to the outside (e.g., through the fume hood) <br> Oil-lubricated pumps are equipped with an oil mist filter<br> Used with cold trap(s) and/or other appropriate inlet trap to prevent contaminants from getting into pump oil and exhaust <br> Oil is regularly inspected for signs of contamination and changed when needed<br> Used with a tray underneath the vacuum pump to catch oil leaks  Does not have any oil leaks/spills

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Do moving parts have guards installed (e.g. belt-drive vacuum pumps)?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Do vacuum pumps have cold traps to prevent volatile substances from getting into pump oil, or do they have a provision to purge pump?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are compressed gas cylinders appropriately secured to a wall or bench with two points of contact with two chains, properly capped or regulated, stored upright (especially corrosive gases), and kept away from doors and electrical outlets?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is a hand cart available for moving gas cylinders? The cart must have at least 4 wheels.

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are Dewar flasks and vacuum desiccators taped or guarded? Look for any rusty dewars - more accidents than usual lately.

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are all plastic and rubber tubes and hoses in good condition, with connections secured with wire or clamps to prevent accidental releases of hazardous materials?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are any mercury thermometers still in use in the lab? If yes, contact EHS for disposal and replace it with the mercury-free alternative.

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If an internal combustion engine is present, is maintenance and ventilation of the room verified and documented?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Electrical Safety

• Do all appliances have 3-pronged plugs for grounding?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Extension cords and power bars not excessively loaded?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are power bars used appropriately: <br> One power bar can be directly plugged into a wall outlet or through a single extension cord into an outlet. It is not ok to plug one power bar into another power bar (no daisy chaining) <br> power bars cannot be plugged into extension cords<br> 12 outlet power bars must not be used<br>

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are cord guards used when electrical cords pass through walls, doors, ceilings, or across floors? (otherwise not acceptable)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are all wires and plugs on equipment in lab in good condition?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are cables and cords secured to prevent a tripping hazard?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are all panels and covers in place on electrical equipment?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does electrical equipment have appropriate safety labeling present? (e.g., CSA certification)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are there no acids or flammables in close contact with electrical ignition sources?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Additional Comments

• Have the deficiencies from previous safety inspections been addressed?

• Any additional comments?