Health and Safety Hand Book Leeds

School of Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Health and Safety Handbook
Health and Safety Working Group
Version 15, July 2011

II
Safety Policy
The health and safety instructions and the procedures which are stated in this hand-
book must be followed.
It is a legal requirement to work safely and thus to be familiar with the contents of
this handbook.
New health and safety problems which arise should be reported to a supervisor, the
module leader for undergraduates, to a member of the Health and Safety Working
Group or directly to the Head of School.
Prof Bryan Hickey, Head of School
III
IV
Preface
Distribution of this handbook

Research laboratories, teaching laboratories, workshops and research groups should
have an up-to-date paper copy available. A wider circulation within the school is
encouraged. Printed copies are available from Baljit Kaur. The handbook can also be
downloaded from the school web pages.
Acknowledgements
The text in this handbook originates from many different sources. Present and past
members of the Health and Safety Working Group have contributed text on specific
topics. Other sections were either copied or adapted from the University of Leeds
Safety Advisory Services Office Safety Manual or from the University of Leeds Safety
Services web site. Some parts of this handbook originate from the Health and Safety
Executive web site [5].
Changes, comments and further inputs

Even if the contents of the this handbook were up-to-date and complete they would
not remain so for long. Teaching and research activities change and this then leads to
changes in health and safety arrangements. Please contact the School Safety Supervi-
sor or another member of the Health and Safety Working Group with any corrections,
suggestions, or further information to include in the next version of the handbook.
Contributions very are welcome, ideally in plain text or in LATEX.
V
VI
Contents
1 Safety Management 1
1.1 Introduction (Prof Bryan Hickey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Functions and Responsibilities (Prof Bryan Hickey) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Safety inspections (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Risk assessment (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Authorisation of laboratory work (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.6 Authorisation of work by technical staff (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . 10
1.7 Accident Reporting (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 Specific Hazards and Procedures 11

2.1 Fire (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Electrical Safety (Mr Richard Oliver) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 High Pressures (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.4 Manual Handling (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.5 Office Safety (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.6 Flood, gas leaks and electrical breakdown (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . 16
2.7 Out of Hours Working and Working Alone (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . 16
2.8 Unattended Overnight Experiments (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.9 Teaching labs and project work (Dr Peter Hine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.10 Non-ionising radiation (Dr Ben Johnson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.11 Ionising Radiation (Dr Peter Hine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.12 First Aid (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.13 Undergraduate project safety (Dr Peter Hine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.14 Chemical Safety (Dr Ben Johnson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.15 Working at Height (Mr Stuart Weston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.16 Off-campus work (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.17 Software controlled systems (Dr Joachim Rose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
A Chemistry Laboratories 29
A.1 Undergraduate Physicists doing Chemistry (Dr Ben Johnson) . . . . . . 29
A.2 Implementation of COSHH in the Chemistry Lab (Dr Ben Johnson) . . . 29
A.3 Lab Usage Guidelines (Dr Ben Johnson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
B Radiation safety 31
B.1 Radiation Protection Supervisor (Dr Peter Hine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
B.2 Controlled areas (Dr Mannan Ali) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
B.3 Rules for undergraduate work with ionising radiation (Dr Peter Hine) . 31
B.4 Rules for X-ray generators in room 8-237 (Dr Mannan Ali) . . . . . . . . 31
VII
VIII CONTENTS
C Portable appliance test guidelines 35

C.1 Testing of new or existing portable equipment (Mr Richard Oliver) . . . 35
C.2 Policy for repeat tests of existing portable equipment (Mr Richard Oliver) 35
D Risk Assessment Form 37
E Document status 41
References 43
Index 45
Chapter 1
Safety Management
1.1 Introduction (Prof Bryan Hickey)

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 [1, 2] and other health and safety
legislation the School of Physics and Astronomy is obliged to:
• Set standards so that the health and safety of staff, students, visitors and the
general public are not adversely affected by the activities of the School;
• Provide and maintain equipment and a working environment that are, so far as
is reasonably practicable, without risks to health and safety;
• Train all students and staff to be aware of their own responsibilities for and to
provide information, instruction and training on the particular hazards and risks
which exist within the school.
The University of Leeds Health and Safety Policy [4] sets out
• the University’s aims and objectives for the management of health and safety;
• outlines the organisation and arrangements for putting it into effect; and
• also outlines the arrangements for monitoring the policy.
The University Health and Safety Services website [3] provides detailed information
on specific topics. For individual groups, students, senior managers, specialists, staff,
principal investigators, there are separate lists of the most relevant topics. While parts
of this handbook reproduce University Health and Safety Services information this
handbook aims to
• describe the health and safety management functions and responsibilities which
are delegated to departmental staff;
• define and explain the safety procedures and rules which do exist within the
School;
• to provide the health and safety information which is specific to the School of
Physics and Astronomy.
1
2 CHAPTER 1. SAFETY MANAGEMENT
Head of School
Head of Head of
Director of Teaching Office Manager
Workshop Research Group
Academic Staff,
Module Leader
Research Fellow
Technical Staff, UG, PG, PDRA, UG, PG, PDRA,

Administration Staff
UG, PG, PDRA Visitors Technical Staff
Figure 1.1: Safety responsibility. Undergraduate students (UG), postgraduates (PG), postdocs
(PDRA).
1.2 Functions and Responsibilities (Prof Bryan Hickey)

1.2.1 Students
The University Safety Policy [4] draws the attention of all students of the University
of Leeds to their legal responsibility, under section 8 of the Health and Safety at Work
etc. Act 1974, not to interfere with or misuse anything, any objects, structures or
systems of work, provided by the University of Leeds in the interests of health and
safety. Students should
• report any accident at work which results in personal injury or ill health, how-
ever minor, and every dangerous occurrence, including fire, using the approved
reporting mechanisms;
• report ”near miss” incidents which have the potential to cause injury or ill health,
using the approved form;
• notify the Head of Health and Safety Services when suffering from a disease or
medical condition which may be caused by, or made worse by, work activities
(this information will be treated as confidential);
• not proceed with any activity if they feel it poses a threat to their health and
safety, or to that of others;
• report any unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, or suspected faults in build-
ings, building fabric, or in any equipment, to the Head of School, without delay;
• assist any visitors who may not be familiar with University procedures, to the
best of their abilities.
1.2. FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (PROF BRYAN HICKEY) 3
Any member of staff or any student may contact Health and Safety Services for
advice and guidance.
1.2.2 Staff
All staff are responsible for their own health and safety, and the health and safety of
others who may be affected by their acts and omissions. All staff must ensure that they
conduct their duties in a safe manner and in accordance with
• the University Health and Safety Policy
• any Faculty/School/Service Safety Policy or Guidance Notes
• any specific codes of practice relating to particular activities
• any relevant safety legislation and guidance.
Staff must ensure that they
• take reasonable care of themselves and have due regard for others
• where necessary help the University meet the duties imposed on it
• don not interfere with or misuse anything provided for health and safety
• bring any breaches of the safety policy to the employer’s attention via their Line
Manager or Health and Safety Manager
• report any accident at work which results in personal injury or ill health, how-
ever minor, and every dangerous occurrence, including fire, using the approved
reporting mechanisms
• report ”near miss” incidents which have the potential to cause injury or ill health,
using the approved form
• notify the Head of Health and Safety Services when suffering from a disease or
medical condition which may be caused by, or made worse by, work activities
(this information will be treated as confidential)
• not proceed with any activity if they feel it poses a threat to their health and
safety, or to that of others
• report any unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, or suspected faults in build-

ings, building fabric, or in any equipment, to the Head of School or Service, with-
out delay
• assist any visitors who may not be familiar with University procedures, to the
best of their abilities.
1.2.3 Academic Supervisors (including Principal Investigators)

The health and safety management of research projects and other related academic ac-
tivities is usually delegated to research supervisors and group leaders. This is assumed
unless an alternative arrangement is agreed with the Head of School and written down
as part of the research documentation. Their duties include
• ensuring that risk assessments take place at the planning stage of any research
proposal, and that the costs of implementing suitable risk control measures, and
disposing of any hazardous substances or materials, are included in the funding
arrangements;
• ensuring that risk assessments are reviewed and kept up to date as the research
proceeds, and that everybody involved in the work activity has read and under-
stood the risk assessment;
• ensuring local inductions into the work area are carried out and recorded;
• ensuring that control measures such as guarding of moving parts; provision of

protective equipment, are implemented and continue to be effective;
• leading on the performance of risk assessments and, where appropriate, working

with competent people to carry out the risk assessments for their work, ensuring
those people remain competent and receive appropriate training, resource, ad-
vice and support;
• ensuring that risk assessments are regularly reviewed. In the event of an incident,
accident or process change, the risk assessment must be reviewed immediately;
• understanding the University’s health and safety policy statement, codes and
guidance, how they are applied within the school, and within the working space
of the research team;
• maintaining suitable records of exposure to substances hazardous to health, in

accordance with University policies and guidance;
• arranging for any necessary and appropriate health and safety training, includ-
ing training identified in the risk assessment;
• liaising with specialist advisers, and providing information on request about the
risks and control measures; and
• ensuring that all research group members respond to, and cooperate with any
requests for them to attend for health surveillance and advice.
The health and safety management with respect to teaching is usually delegated to
programme leaders and course/module leaders. The following duties are included in
addition to the duties set out above
• ensuring that class teachers, whether University employees or not, are fully in-
formed of all risks and controls required as an outcome of any risk assessments;
• monitoring that work-based teaching in partner organisations is undertaken safely

and without risk to health.
To enable the Academic Supervisors to effectively carry out these responsibilities

and, hence, ensure compliance with statutory requirements, the University will pro-
vide essential training and development which Academic Supervisors are expected to
attend. This will be supported by the production of appropriate standards and guid-
ance.
1.2. FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (PROF BRYAN HICKEY) 5
1.2.4 Staff with Line Management responsibilities

All staff with line management responsibilities including first line supervisors and
unit/section leaders have an important role in setting performance standards for their
specific area of responsibility and monitoring for standards in these on an on-going
basis. They will ensure that risk assessments in their area are completed, that staff are
aware of them and that staff are aware of and adhere to all relevant safety policies and
arrangements.
To enable the Line Managers to effectively carry out these responsibilities and,
hence, ensure compliance with statutory requirements; the University will provide
essential training and development which Line Managers are expected to attend. This
will be supported by the production of appropriate standards and guidance.
1.2.5 Head of School

The University Safety Policy [4] describes the responsibilities of Heads of Schools:
• To have overall responsibility for ensuring effective health and safety manage-
ment in your faculty, school or service
• To ensure compliance with both legal and University health and safety require-
ments
• To ensure adequate time and resources are allocated for all the requirements to
be carried out
• To provide leadership for health and safety
• To ensure all staff are involved by promoting two-way communication
• To establish effective local health and safety procedures and communicate them
with staff
• To monitor and review health and safety performance within your faculty, school
or service
• To take appropriate action when procedures have not been complied with
• To be involved with accident and incident investigations
• To ensure staff are competent to undertake tasks safely
1.2.6 Health and Safety Working Group

Day to day safety matters are dealt with by the members of the Health and Safety
Working Group. The members of the group are listed in table 1.1 on page 6. The
members of the Health and Safety Working Group, the Health and Safety Officer and
the Health and Safety Coordinator act as contact points and focal points for the issues
that arise. The School Health and Safety Officer , the School Health and Safety Coordi-
nator, the School Laser Safety Supervisor, the School Radiation Protection Supervisor
and the Fire Wardens have specific tasks within their area or expertise. An appendix
to University Health and Safety Policy gives guidelines regarding the ”Roles of Faculty
or School Health and Safety Co-ordinators”.
Any health and safety issues which cannot be resolved by a supervisor or line man-
ager should be raised with a Health and Safety Working Group member, with the
Health and Safety Officer or with the Health and Safety Coordinator in the first in-
stance.
Specific role or expertise Person Phone e-mail
Dr H Christenson 33879 h.k.christenson@leeds.ac.uk

Radiation sources Dr Peter Hine 36648 p.j.hine@leeds.ac.uk
X-ray radiation protection Dr Mannan Ali 33833 phyma@leeds.ac.uk
Laser Safety Supervisor Dr Ben Johnson 37127 b.r.g.johnson@leeds.ac.uk
Prof Ben Varcoe 38290 B.Varcoe@leeds.ac.uk
Electrical Safety Mr Richard Oliver 33832 r.g.oliver@leeds.ac.uk
Health and Safety Officer Dr Joachim Rose 33889 h.j.rose@leeds.ac.uk
Chemistry, COSHH Dr Ben Johnson 37127 b.r.g.johnson@leeds.ac.uk
Health and Safety Coordinator, Mr Stuart Weston 33819 s.weston@leeds.ac.uk
First Aid, Fire Safety
Table 1.1: School Health and Safety Working Group members
The Health and Safety Working Group carries out regular inspections of laborato-
ries every 12 to 15 months. The members of the Health and Safety Working Group
have the authority to stop any work in any laboratory, workshop or elsewhere in the
School should the activity or the facilities not meet safety standards.
1.3 Safety inspections (Dr Joachim Rose)

There are safety inspections annually for each individual research group, teaching
lab and workshop. The inspections are carried out by members of the Health and
Safety Working Group together with trade union representatives. Collectively, the
inspection team should have sufficient expertise to be effective in spotting potential
problems. For example, when inspecting a research group using lasers the laser safety
supervisor should be present or a member of the team should have laser safety train-
ing. No member of the inspection team should in effect review their own activities;
there should be independent expertise present from another member of the inspec-
tion team. The head of the research group (or the equivalent for non-research spaces)
takes part in the inspection.
The inspection team produces an inspection report which contains a list of actions
items. The report indicates the severity of a possible accident that may result from
the identified problem. The report also indicates the likelihood of an accident. The
entries of low, medium, or high are used to decide which deadline to set. During the
inspection the deadlines for remedial action are agreed with the head of group, to
whom the report is sent promptly after the inspection.
It is the responsibility of the head of group to assign a group member for each
action items or to find other ways of meeting the deadline. The inspection reports
are available to all staff on the share computer system file space. The head of group
reports to the School Health and Safety Officer or the Health and Safety Coordinator
that the remedial work is complete by returning the signed inspection report. If any
problems in meeting a deadline arise the head of group contacts the Health and Safety
Officer or the Health and Safety Coordinator to discuss which measures to take. After
receiving the signed inspection report the School Health and Safety Officer or the
Health and Safety Coordinator (or another member of the safety committee) checks
1.4. RISK ASSESSMENT (DR JOACHIM ROSE) 7
that the identified safety problems have been dealt with. Finally the Health and Safety
Officer or the Health and Safety Coordinator sign the inspection report to indicate that
all action items have been completed and sends a copy of the reports to the Head of
School. If there are still outstanding issues the Health and Safety Officer or the Health
and Safety Coordinator takes appropriate action. While the issue is being resolved the
Health and Safety Officer or the Health and Safety Coordinator or the Health and
Safety Working Group may impose restrictions, shutdown some activities entirely or
close down whole laboratories or rooms.
1.4 Risk assessment (Dr Joachim Rose)
1.4.1 Legal requirement for risk assessment

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 [1] introduced the concept of reason-
able practicability which implies the need for employers to protect persons affected
by their work and to provide a degree of control commensurate with the level of risk.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations [10] take this one stage
further by explicitly requiring employers to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk
assessment. Health and safety risk assessment is the systematic identification of the
hazards associated with an organisations work activities and premises; and the evalua-
tion of the risks associated with those hazards: it then involves the identification of the
measures necessary to control these risks. The advice in this School Safety Handbook
outlines the standards to be achieved for various hazards. It also outlines the con-
trol measures which ensure that the risks arising from these hazards are adequately
controlled. If however there are additional hazards or specific activities in the school
which are not adequately addressed in the School Safety Handbook then the onus is
on the school to develop and set standards for the hazard or activity.
1.4.2 Risk assessment procedure

The principal responsibility for risk assessment rests with the research group lead-
ers, with the module leaders of laboratory based modules, and with the heads of the
school workshops. They have the responsibility to ensure that the risk assessments
are carried out for new activities, that the assessments cover all significant risks, that
the existing risk assessments are kept up-to-date and that the assessments are of a suf-
ficiently good quality. Ideally the risk assessment is carried out by the person, for
example the researcher preparing a new activity, who will later carry out the activity.
Each laboratory or workshop should be assessed in a one or more risk assessment doc-
uments. Where the assessment of the significant risks becomes too complex, for exam-
ple because there are several different workplaces or different procedures to consider,
a number of individual assessment documents should be prepared. The complete risk
assessment is signed by the group leader and forwarded to the School Health and
Safety Coordinatorto be approved. Where reasonably practicable all risk assessments
should be displayed in the laboratory or workshop. Ideally the risk assessment should
be displayed together with the School Safety Notice and a copy of the School Safety
Handbook. If this is not practicable then all safety information for a laboratory or
workshop should be collected in a file which is visible and easily available to everyone
in the laboratory or workshop.
The University has introduced software, RIVO, for risk assessment and COSHH
assessment. Potential user are encouraged to try RIVO. The Faculty Health and Safety
Manager can assist in getting started with the new procedure.
1.4.3 Guidelines for Risk assessment

The Health and Safety at Work Act requires that employers make a suitable and suf-
ficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees and non-
employees affected by their work. While the requirement to do risk assessments stems
from the law, the underlying objective of this is to ensure that risks arising from work
activities are controlled and that as a consequence of this no one engaged on work
activities gets hurt or becomes ill.
1.4.3.1 Definitions
Hazard means ”anything that can, or has a potential to cause harm” (e.g. chemicals,
electricity, machinery, etc). Risk is the chance that someone will be harmed by the
hazard. How to assess the risks in your laboratory/area.
1. Identify the hazards

2. Determine the people at risk
3. Evaluate the risks and decide whether existing precautions are adequate
4. Record the findings
5. Review the assessment and revise if necessary
1.4.3.2 Risk Assessment: Risk Ranking

The Health and Safety Executive use the simple equation:
RISK RANKING = HAZARD SEVERITY x LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE
Both the hazard severity and the likelihood of occurrence are categorised, or assessed,
on the basis of a for example three point scale. For each category outline guidelines
are given to define that category. For Hazard Severity, (i.e. potential for loss), the three
categories are:
3 - High: Loss of life / permanent disability / Major injury; Extensive loss of plant
or building infrastructure; Prohibition notice served by HSE / Prosecution
2 - MEDIUM: Serious Injury or Illness / Temporary disability; Some damage to plant,
equipment; Improvement Notice served by HSE.
1 - LOW: Minor/ non-disabling injury or illness; Minor disruption to plant, equip-
ment
For Likelihood of Occurrence, i.e. probability that loss or harm will result from haz-
ard, the three example categories are:
3 - HIGH : once or several times per day/ or per activity
2 - MEDIUM : once or several times per month/ or per activity
1 - LOW : once or a few times per year/ or over lifetime of project
The product of the two values is used as the basis to determine the Risk Ranking
for each item. As a rough guide, a HIGH Hazard Severity, a HIGH Likelihood of
Occurrence or a HIGH RISK RANKING is undesirable and effort should be made to
eliminate or reduce these as far as is reasonably practicable.
1.4. RISK ASSESSMENT (DR JOACHIM ROSE) 9
Professional judgement is required to categorise items which represent a breach

of a specific statutory provision. Indeed such breaches are difficult to categorise in
terms of hazard severity and likelihood of occurrence and the assessors have to de-
cide on whether a specific breach represents a significant issue of non-compliance, in
particular whether it would lead to internal or external enforcement action, and from
this consideration, decide on whether risk is HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW. This is why
it is important for the assessor(s) to have an understanding of the significance of any
statutory breach which might arise from an activity. If the assessor is uncertain as
to the significance of any breach then he/she can discuss this with the School Safety
Supervisor, or other ”competent person”, before signing the risk assessment.
1.4.4 Hierarchy of Risk Control

Where an aspect of the activity is ranked as HIGH RISK then the assessor/s should
consider whether they have done all that is reasonably practicable to reduce risk tak-
ing into account the following risk control hierarchy namely:
1. avoidance /elimination (of risks) e.g. contracting out to specialists with appro-
priate facilities
2. substitution e.g. using a less hazardous substance or better guarded machine or

again subcontracting a dangerous activity
3. controlling risks at source reviewing engineering controls
4. safe systems of work reviewing system of work for activity
5. use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort to consider whether

PPE, as a complementary aspect to the above, could help to reduce risk. e.g.
fume cupboard for expelling noxious vapours
Similarly when an aspect of the activity is ranked as MEDIUM RISK then the re-
search/assessment team should again consider whether risks could be reduced further
by going through the above risk control hierarchy. There is no need to do the above
for LOW RISK issues but there is still an obligation to reduce risks to the lowest level
reasonably practicable.
1.4.5 Documenting the Risk Assessment

The Physics and Astronomy Risk Assessment template is available on the shared in-
ternal file space within the /safety top level directory. The risk assessment proforma
and any other relevant information e.g. Safe Operating Procedures, Method State-
ments operators manuals etc. must be communicated to all persons involved with
the work. Therefore on an additional sheet those engaged on the activity will be re-
quired to “sign up” to the fact that they have had the activity and risks associated
with that activity explained to them, and that they have read and understood the risk
assessment. Copies of the risk assessment and other documentation such as method
statements should be displayed next to fixed equipment/processes or stored in the
immediate vicinity so that it is available for consultation or for inspection.
1.4.6 Monitoring, risk assessment and safety inspections

To ensure that the risk assessment procedures are operating satisfactorily the regular
safety inspections of workshops and laboratories examine the risk assessments.
Both positive examples of good practice and any action items arising from prob-
lems are identified in the inspection report. Even though there are regular safety
inspections, all group leaders are still responsible to ensure a complete and accurate
set of risk assessments is maintained. Whenever there is a significant change, for ex-
ample, if a new potentially hazardous experimental procedure is introduced, then a
new or modified risk assessment is needed.
1.5 Authorisation of laboratory work (Dr Joachim Rose)

Prior to the start of any laboratory work the students, staff or visitors involved need
to first become authorised as users of the laboratory. The head of group, a direct
supervisor or the laboratory manager can authorise users. In each case a decision is
made on whether the person is competent to safely work in the lab and has received
all relevant information and any necessary training. The lab user authorisation form
also indicates whether any out of hours work can take place. The from is displayed
in the lab together with the relevant risk assessments. Where there is a change in the
laboratory activities with a significant hazard a new risk assessment of the activity is
needed.
For a person to become a user of equipment or the user of a laboratory the relevant
safety training must be complete and documented. The new user must either complete
risk assessments for new activities or follow the induction for established procedures.
In either case there must be evidence that this process has been completed.
1.6 Authorisation of work by technical staff (Dr Joachim Rose)

All requests for workshop time must include the relevant health and safety informa-
tion from the originator of the request. Before carrying out a task this information,
which may in effect be a full risk assessment, is discussed between the technician and
the head of workshop, who authorises that the work is carried out. The request form is
also used to feed back safety information - new issues may have come to light - to the
head of workshop after completion of the task. Minor technical work without com-
pletion of a job request and a subsequent discussion of the safety issues should - if at
all - only take place if there are very clearly no significant hazards.
1.7 Accident Reporting (Dr Joachim Rose)

The University of Leeds Safety Services operate the accident reporting system (Sen-
tinel). The Health and Safety Coordinator and other members of staff are trained in
the use of the accident reporting system. A list of trained staff can be found on the
School of Physics and Astronomy web pages.
The advice from the University of Leeds Safety Services is to record all accidents,
however trivial (let common sense prevail) and also all Dangerous Occurrences (’near
misses’). The guiding rule is: If in doubt report it. Accidents reports - even of very
minor incidents - are a valuable source of information, as they can reveal a hazard
that has so far escaped the effort to eliminate or control risks.
Chapter 2
Specific Hazards and Procedures
2.1 Fire (Mr Stuart Weston)

The University of Leeds Safety Services web page provide Fire Safety information on
their web site, http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/fire.
You should know the location of your assembly point outside the building and the
designated emergency escape routes from the building. The emergency escape route
and the assembly point depend on where you are in the building. Anyone working in
the School should also know the location of the nearest fire extinguisher and of the
nearest fire alarm point.
2.1.1 Fire Alarm procedure

Circumstances must dictate whether attacking a fire with portable fire-fighting equip-
ment should take priority over summoning the fire service and raising the alarm.
Clearly it is undesirable to allow a small fire to take hold through waiting for out-
side help but it can be dangerous to delay calling for assistance in dealing with any
outbreak which may not be quickly extinguished by prompt action. Only use fire
fighting equipment if the full extent of the fire can be ascertained and you are con-
fident that the fire can be easily extinguished. In all other cases the alarm should
be raised by breaking the nearest break glass call point. If your efforts to extinguish
the fire are unsuccessful raise the alarm. Security will be alerted automatically but if
there is time contact the Security Office on Ext 32222 with details (i.e. building, room
number). Every case of fire must be reported to the School Health and Safety Officer
or the Health and Safety Coordinator.
2.1.2 The Fire Alarm System and evacuation of the building

As well as manual break glass call points located on emergency escape routes there
is an automatic fire alarm system utilising smoke detectors. When either is activated
electronic sirens will sound throughout the School. On hearing the fire alarm siren
• you must leave at once and make for the official assembly points. Do not wait to
be asked to leave.
• if at all possible make safe any potentially dangerous equipment or experiments
first.
• do not congregate around the exits and in particular keep the area around the
building clear for emergency services to gain access and park.
• do not leave the assembly area or re-enter the building until given permission to
do so by the Fire Officer or Fire Wardens even if the alarm has ceased to sound.
11
12 CHAPTER 2. SPECIFIC HAZARDS AND PROCEDURES
• never use lifts after the fire alarm has sounded.
The only circumstance in which people may remain in the building is during a
brief equipment test which use a different sound and which has been announced.
2.1.3 Fire protection equipment

• Fire Extinguishers: Fire extinguishers are available in all laboratories, each with
a security tag. Every worker must know the position of these fire extinguishers,
type and method of operation. It is too late to learn this when a fire starts! If
you use a fire extinguisher or note the loss of the security tag this must also be
reported to the School Safety Supervisor or a Fire Warden to obtain a prompt
replacement. Remember a colleague’s life may depend on it.
• Fire Blankets: These are provided in red containers fastened to the wall at various
points in the building. They are primarily intended for use when clothing catches
fire and may be quickly removed from their containers by a downward pull on
the tape attached to the blanket. Wrap the victim in the blanket and make them
roll on the floor. The use (or unpacking) of a fire blanket must be reported to the
School Safety Supervisor.
• Fire Doors: Fire resistant doors are strategically placed in corridors and at the
entrance to laboratories to limit the spread of fire and smoke throughout the
building. Never leave such doors wedged open. Please be vigilant to make sure
they are closed at all times.
The School has appointed Fire Wardens whose main duties are to assist in the evacu-
ation of the building in the event of fire. On these occasions they normally wear an
identifying arm band or a high visibility vest. The Fire Wardens regularly check the
fire protection equipment. Fire precautions and other related activities are coordi-
nated by Mr Stuart Weston.
2.1.4 Fire Wardens

A list of fire wardens can be found on the School Health and Safety web pages. The
duties of School Fire Wardens include:
1. monthly check of the alternative exit routes.

2. ensure that all staff and post graduate students are familiar with the alternative
routes.
3. check that corridors and staircase enclosures are not used for the storage of com-
bustible materials.
4. check that fire resistant and self-closing doors are not wedged open or fastened
back.
5. carry out a monthly check of fire fighting equipment.
As part of fire drills fire wardens ensure that staff and post graduate students are
aware of the procedures to adopt when:
1. a fire is discovered
2. on hearing the fire alarm
2.2. ELECTRICAL SAFETY (MR RICHARD OLIVER) 13
3. ensure that the area is evacuated.

4. assist Security to prevent any persons re-entering.
5. liaise with the Safety Officers and or Security regarding any local knowledge
which may be of assistance to the Fire Authority.
Re-Entry Procedure:
1. at small incidents liaise with Security regarding the re-entry.
2. at prolonged incidents or where contamination is suspected liaise with the Safety
Officer, the assistant Safety Officer or in their absence the representative from the
Division of Works and Services.
3. if requested to do so assist the Safety Officer or the representative from the Di-
vision of Works and Services to carry out any safety tasks prior to the general
re-entry.
Evacuation Drills:
1. where practicable arrange for evacuation drills to be carried out annually.
2. where a full evacuation drill is impracticable an evacuation exercise should be
arranged annually.
General Fire Precautions:
1. give advice and approval on the use of naked flame and the heating of com-
bustible materials.
2. ensure that LPG and open element electrical fires are not used.
3. inform the Safety Service on any change which may effect the means of escape or
other fire precautions.
2.2 Electrical Safety (Mr Richard Oliver)

Follow this code of behaviour:
1. All incoming new electrical equipment should be channelled through the School
Stores, so that it is recorded on the School Register for a PX Number to be allo-
cated, after which it must be tested for electrical safety (using a Portable Appli-
ance Tester (PAT)). The details of the tests are then downloaded onto a database.
In this way the frequency of the tests for particular electrical equipment can be
controlled. There should be regular visual inspection of items particularly prone
to wear or abuse e.g. flex and cable, at reasonable intervals.
2. Do not interfere with any electrical apparatus or equipment or attempt to repair
it unless you are an electrician and authorised to do the work.
3. All plugs must be in good condition. Any damaged plugs or plugs which get hot
when in use must be changed. Whenever possible, 3-core cable should be used
to permit proper earthing of apparatus.
4. Do not change fuse ratings arbitrarily, Electricians are the right people to deter-
mine and set the fuse ratings. All 13 amp three pin plugs must be fitted with a
fuse rated for the equipment concerned.
5. Keep distribution boards and similar installations clear of obstruction and water
spillage at all times. Do not overload distribution boards or adapters. Heaters
and Electric Kettles should always be connected directly to the wall outlet and
not to a distribution board. If in doubt, contact the Electronics Workshop for
advice.
6. Where extension multi-sockets are used, care must be taken to ensure the total
loading does not exceed 13 amps. Extension multi-sockets should not be daisy-
chained together.
7. Do not improvise with electrical equipment, this means:
(a) Never jam wires into sockets with matchsticks or nails.
(b) Never run power tools from lighting sockets.
(c) Never hang flexible cables over nails, leave them where they can get dam-
aged or wet, or frozen if liquid Nitrogen is likely to be spilled. Do not use
them to lift or pull the equipment to which they are connected.
(d) Where possible, cables should be strapped into a neat bundle and secured.
(e) Cables crossing open floor areas should be covered with cable protectors.
(f) The interchanging of cabling between appliances should be avoided. This
will ensure correct fuse ratings for the appliance.
8. Large items of metal equipment (e.g. laser tables, lathes, vacuum line frames
etc.) should be separately earthed. Accidents have resulted when such apparatus
has become live.
9. Report details of any ineffective or damaged electrical equipment to the Elec-
tronics Workshop Supervisor. Do not use it until it has been repaired.
10. It is illegal under workplace law to intentionally or recklessly interfere with or
misuse any electrical equipment. Never override any safety interlocks.
11. The Electronics Workshop run courses in the use of the PAT tester so that groups
can then carry out their own electrical safety checks using the PAT tester. This
normally records the Earth bonding, Insulation resistance and load current. Mains
leads should be PVC coated, colour coded Brown (live), Blue (neutral) and Green-
Yellow (earth) and be of the correct current rating for the equipment concerned.
Serious accidents to personnel and damage to apparatus can result from failure
to observe this wiring rule. Some equipment of foreign manufacture may not
comply with this colour code. In cases where foreign colour codes are used a
member of Electronics Workshop staff should be consulted. Visitors from over-
seas please note that the British system of colour coding is different from that
used in certain other countries. The use of private electrical equipment must be
reported to a member of Electronics Workshop staff who will arrange for it to
be tested. If any electrical equipment is disposed of the Electronics Workshop
need to be informed of its appliance number. Further details on PAT testing are
available in appendix C
2.3 High Pressures (Mr Stuart Weston)

2.3.1 Pressure Vessels
Pressure vessels (operating above 1.5 bar or 22.5 psi), or when the product of pres-
sure (in bars) and the volume in litres exceeds 250 bar litres, officially require annual
2.4. MANUAL HANDLING (MR STUART WESTON) 15
inspection and certification and should only be used if they have a valid current cer-
tificate. Before ordering pressure vessels or starting to operate any pressure vessel the
School Health and Safety Coordinator (Mr Stuart Weston) should be contacted.
2.3.1.1 Gas Cylinders

Cylinders must not be moved with the regulators attached. Cylinder trolleys must
not be used to store cylinders. A cylinder must never be left free-standing but be se-
curely clamped or held in a proper stand. Cylinders must be fitted with regulators
appropriate to the type of gas and cylinder pressure. Oxygen cylinders, in particu-
lar, should only be used with oxygen gas regulators. Regulators must not be greased
and normal PTFE tape must not be used to help seal cylinder regulator connections.
Grease and normal PTFE tape (which is highly plasticised) can spontaneously com-
bust/explode in contact with compressed oxygen. A more expensive grade of safe
PTFE tape (from Manchester Valve and Fitting) can be used. Whilst this is mainly
intended for use in connection with oxygen lines, since confusion can easily occur, it
is recommended as the only grade for all uses. Return faulty regulators and report
leaking cylinders to Stores. Diaphragm valves have a useful life of about five years
and should have either a date of issue or retest date label and should not be used
after this date. It is good practice to fit cylinders of flammable gas with an appropri-
ate flash arrestor and for some applications this is required as for example when the
mixture formed downstream is inflammable or potentially explosive (e.g. hydrogen/
air-oxygen or hydrocarbon/air oxygen). For further details consult the HSE website
http://www.hse.gov.cdg/pdf/safusgc.pdf
2.4 Manual Handling (Mr Stuart Weston)
The Manual Handling Regulations 1992, in principle, require generic risk assessments
to be made for all lifting, carrying, moving tasks, etc. In practice this only becomes
a regular problem for a few members of staff but there are obviously some jobs and
some circumstances (e.g. for new or expectant mothers) where the risks are real and
need to be considered very carefully. Never try to move very heavy equipment on your
own. Remember that manpower can be provided at both University and School level
and that lifting equipment suitable for some difficult jobs is kept by the Mechanical
Workshop. The HSE publication Guidance on Manual Handling Regulations is useful
or and manual handing web pages ar http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety.
2.5 Office Safety (Dr Joachim Rose)
The University has produced detailed training material and protocols for office safety
which those working principally in an office environment need to read.
In particular everyone regularly working with Display Station Equipment must
carry out an online risk assessment of their workplace. This includes a training ele-
ment in the safe use of DSE. See the web pages at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety.
A common cause of overheating of office equipment and sometimes of fires is the

obstruction of the ventilation, particularly with thoughtlessly placed sheets of paper.
Unless closed on sides electric radiators including fan units should not be used.
Office equipment must carry a valid Portable Appliance Test (PAT) label or not be
used.
2.6 Flood, gas leaks and electrical breakdown (Mr Stuart Weston)
During the working day cases of floods, gas leaks or electrical breakdown should be
reported directly to Works and Services (tel. 35555 ) and the School Safety Supervisor
should also informed. After normal working hours University personnel are at home
but on stand-by. They can be contacted through the Security office. Contact University
Security Ext. 32222 and report the incident. You must give your extension number.
The Security Officer will telephone the appropriate person on stand-by. In some cases
it will be possible for you to talk directly to the person concerned. Otherwise the
Security Officer will relay your report.
2.7 Out of Hours Working and Working Alone (Dr Joachim Rose)
Working out of normal hours, before 8:00 or after 18:00, or working alone can increase
the severity of an incident or accident. For example, the person involved can become
incapacitated and therefore not able to summon help. Even if an alarm is raised there
may be no trained or knowledgeable staff present to help (first aiders, co-workers,
technical staff).
Experimental work out of normal hours or alone therefore requires a risk assess-
ment that addresses the additional hazards and the increased severity of incidents that
may arise. The risk assessment must be approved prior to authorising any out of hours
laboratory work. Additional risk assessment guidelines apply:
• Laboratory work alone or out of normal working hours should only be considered
if it is unavoidable.
• Any risk of the person(s) involved becoming incapacitated and thus unable to get
assistance is not acceptable. Any such activity is forbidden while working alone
or out of normal hours.
• The risk assessment must detail the measures to either eliminate or else to sub-
stantially reduce the impact of incidents while working alone or out of normal
hours.
• An emergency plan, attached to the assessment and posted at the workplace,

must detail how to respond to the situation and especially how to raise the alarm
and how to obtain any necessary assistance (security, fire brigade, first aider,
technical help).
• In case of an unrelated incident, for example a building fire, Security (first con-
tact for fire brigade and ambulance services) need to know who is present in the
building and where. The risk assessment must therefore outline a procedure to
guarantee that the information is available to Security and that it is correct.
In future a swipe card system at every laboratory door may provide information to
Security. Until then other arrangements must be operated to inform Security. Records
should be kept to monitor that the arrangements are working.
Out of normal hours office work alone or computing work alone in a low hazard
environment is discouraged. Where available a swipe card system or an internet login
system must be used to ensure the presence and location of the person in the building
is known.
There are procedures for the use of the School telescopes at night. Before the first
night of unsupervised observing with the one of the School telescopes, first contact
2.8. UNATTENDED OVERNIGHT EXPERIMENTS (DR JOACHIM ROSE) 17
Prof M G Hoare to discuss how to get access to the telescopes and which precautions
and safety rules to follow while observing. The list of rules is posted on the telescope
web site, in the telescope warm room, and paper copies of the list are given out.
2.8 Unattended Overnight Experiments (Dr Joachim Rose)

Minimise overnight running of experiments to the absolutely necessary minimum. If
any experiment or equipment is left on overnight it is your responsibility to make
sure that it is safe and fail-safe. The required risk assessment for an overnight experi-
ment or processes needs to address the increased hazard and the describe the specific
measures to eliminate or reduce the hazard.
2.9 Teaching labs and project work (Dr Peter Hine)

2.9.1 Laboratory safety tours
All students working in one of the teaching laboratories for the first time or starting
project work are required to take part in a safety tour of the laboratory. This safety tour
informs the students about the location of safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers
or first aid boxes, and of the safety procedures, for example in the event of a fire. The
attendance of students is recorded to make sure all students do take part.
2.9.2 Laboratory experiments

The handbooks for undergraduate laboratory modules include information on general
laboratory safety and on the general safety procedures. In addition both the University
Health and Safety Handbook and the School Health and Safety Handbook are available
in teaching laboratories. For undergraduate laboratory experiments which are not
covered by the general safety information and the safety procedures in the handbook
extra more detailed safety information is provided. This is done either by including
the safety information in the description of the experiment in the laboratory handbook
or by displaying a safety note at the workplace. Additional detailed information, for
example risk assessments, COSHH assessments or rules for working with radioactive
sources, should be referred to and should be attached in appendices.
Like any other possibly hazardous activity undergraduate laboratory work requires
a prior risk assessment. Some experimental activities may require their own detailed
risk assessment, while other experiments may be included in a generic risk assessment
covering the activities in the lab. The risk assessment are displayed in the laboratory
and should be discussed by the demonstrators with the students before allowing stu-
dents to start on a new experiment.
Demonstrators and staff will ask a student to leave the laboratory, if they have
reason to think that the student is insufficiently prepared to work safely or that the
student is not following the health and safety procedures and rules.
2.9.3 Project work

Dissertation type projects, which may include some computer work, do not require the
completion of a project safety note. For experimental projects a safety note is required
and is drafted by the project supervisor. The note is then discussed and signed by both
the project supervisor and the project students before the start of the project work. A
copy of the safety note is kept by the students and is displayed at their workplace. A
further copy is held by Dr Hugo Christenson(level 3) or Dr Stuart Lumsden(level 4).
Any safety issues should first be discussed with the project supervisor. If uncertainties
remain then students and staff are encouraged to contact the module leader, the School
Safety Supervisor or any member of the School Safety Committee.
2.9.4 Teaching laboratory safety management

The safety of laboratory experiments and of project work is the responsibility of the
module leaders in close contact with the School Safety Supervisor. The members of
the school safety committee assist in the assessment of potential risks such as lasers,
radiation sources, or the use of chemicals. The school safety committee carries out
regular inspections of the health and safety arrangements in teaching laboratories.
2.10 Non-ionising radiation (Dr Ben Johnson)

2.10.1 Laser safety procedures
2.10.2 What is required
Every new laser user in the school is required to register with the School Laser Safety
Supervisor and with the University Radiation Protection Service. Registrations forms
are available from the School Laser Safety Supervisor. New laser users are also re-
quired to attend the University laser safety course, where notes on protection against
non-ionising radiation’ [3] will be issued and a certificate of attendance will be pro-
vided. This certificate is a requirement for all researchers working in the University
with lasers, class 3b or above. It is both the user’s and the research supervisor’s respon-
sibility to ensure that the registration and any relevant training is completed before
work commences.
Every laser user in the school is required to adhere to the operational and safety
procedures outlined the Universities "Local Rules for the Safe Use of Lasers" - a copy
of which can be obtained from the Laser Safety Officer. [7]. N.B. The whole area of
Laser Safety is currently being reviewed at the University Level, with new guidance
and procedures due to be implemented towards the end of 2011.
2.10.3 School Laser Safety Supervisor

The School Laser Safety Supervisor conducts an annual laser safety inspection in the
context of the risk assessment made by the laser user. The School Laser Safety Super-
visor provides advice on laser safety procedures and sources of supply for laser safety
equipment.
2.10.4 Procedure in case of an accident

Depending on the seriousness of the accident the priority is to obtain medical atten-
tion for the injured party. A list of School First Aiders is displayed in all laboratory
areas. The accident should be reported (see the section on accident reporting on page
10) and the School Laser Safety Supervisor informed. The School Laser Safety Super-
visor will assess the cause of the accident and will require that precautions are taken
to prevent a repetition. The user will be required to assist in this follow up procedure.
2.10.5 Microwaves and UV Radiation

All persons intending to work with microwaves at high power (e.g. microwave ovens)
or ultra-violet radiation must discuss their work with the Radiation Protection Super-
visor of the School. Long term exposure to bright light, particularly in the ultra violet,
can lead to premature ageing of the eye and cataract formation in later life.
2.11. IONISING RADIATION (DR PETER HINE) 19
2.11 Ionising Radiation (Dr Peter Hine)

2.11.1 Local Rules (University of Leeds, Part 2)
It is the responsibility of all members of the School who wish to carry out experiments
involving the use of ionizing radiations to be aware of:
1. the statutory regulations governing the use of ionizing radiations

2. the University regulations relating to the use of ionizing radiations
3. the School Rules governing the detailed application of the regulations in 1 and 2.
A copy of the Local Rules, Part 1, is issued to prospective ionising radiation workers
by the University Radiation Protection and Safety. The School Rules are set out below
and all radiation workers are given a copy of this document before they start work.
2.11.2 Registration
A risk analysis carried out by University Radiation Protection Service has concluded
that the four research grade x-ray diffractometers situated in room 8.237 and the stu-
dent x-ray experiments situated in the undergraduate labs are inherently safe in de-
sign. It has therefore been deemed by the University Radiation Protection Service and
Safety Service that only members of the school who are directly involved in main-
tenance /or live alignment of the x-ray optics should be registered with University
Radiation Protection Service (http://rsid.leeds.ac.uk/). Note that all users must still
register with the School Radiation Protection Supervisor (SRPS).
All prospective new users must first contact the SRPS (Dr Peter Hine for under-
graduates or Dr Mannan Ali) who will arrange training and ensure that all safety
aspects have been highlighted. Short term visitors to the School who wish to use any
radiation facilities should contact the SRPS before starting work in order to obtain
temporary clearance and local registration.
2.11.3 Purchase of Radioactive Sources or Radiation Generators

Any new proposal to use or purchase a radioactive source or an X-ray generator must,
in the first instance, be discussed with the SRPS. Orders for radioactive materials or
sources must be countersigned by the SRPS(Dr Peter Hine) or, in his absence, by the
School Safety Supervisor. All radioactive materials or sources must be purchased via
University Radiation Protection Service in conjuction with Dr Peter Hine.
2.11.4 Location of Radioactive Sources

Radioactive sources are under the control of Dr Peter Hine. Sources may not be re-
moved from the designated rooms, transferred from one location in the School to an-
other or removed from the School without notifying either Dr Peter Hine(SRPS) or
University Radiation Protection Service.
2.11.5 Return of Radioactive Sources after Use

Radioactive sources no longer needed for a particular piece of work must be returned
to Dr Peter Hineeither for storage or, if applicable, disposal via the University Radia-
tion Protection Service.
2.11.6 Dosimeters
Dosimeters are no longer used in the school for day to day users.
2.11.7 Controlled Areas

Certain areas in the School are designated as “Controlled Areas” (Appendix B.2) .
These areas may only be entered by persons who are working to an appropriate scheme
of work. For the purposes of the rules a “Controlled Area” may be a small volume
forming part of a piece of experimental equipment. Such areas will be clearly labelled
and identifiable. “Entering a Controlled Area” does not necessarily mean entering it
with the whole body.
2.11.8 Cleaning of Rooms

The only relevant rooms are room 8.237 where the Polymer X-ray generators are housed
and the teaching laboratories. The cleaners come in daily to sweep the floor. No special
precautions or warnings are issued since the X-ray tube heads and associated equip-
ment in room 8.237 are housed in 100% radiation proof enclosures and there is no
radiation background in the rooms over the normal environmental background which
is common to all rooms. The equipment in the teaching laboratories is switched off
outside normal laboratory hours.
2.11.9 Summary of Sources of Ionising Radiation in the School

2.11.9.1 Radio nuclides
All sources are sealed and of comparatively low activity. Holdings have been allo-
cated to the School under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. A current list of
actual sources held and their location is maintained by the School Radiation Protec-
tion Supervisor (Dr Peter Hine) and is mirrored on the University Radioactive Source
Database. At the beginning of each academic year the Radiation Protection Services
audits the sources and wipes for leaks. A copy of the report is sent to the SRPS. The
closed SPUCRS registration certificate is displayed with the sources and on a notice
board. Each month these sources are checked in their storage cupboard located in
room 8.10j. Whenever these sources are used in the second year teaching laboratory
they are kept in a temporary, lead protected storage area. New additions to the stock
of sources and any movement from the School are reported to the Radiation Protection
Services when they occur. A current copy of the Registration Certificate is displayed
on a School Safety Notice Board in the Small Common Room.
2.11.9.2 Machine Sources

All machine sources are X-ray Generators used for X-ray crystallography.
There are four research grade x-ray diffractometers situated in Room 8.237 (x-ray
Lab). Four Rontgengerat Leybold didactic generator 55481 capable of 1 microsievert
per hour situated room 8.10 (UG Lab) along with five miniature generator/goniometers
-Tel-X-Ometer situated room 8.30(UG Lab).
2.11.10 Regular Testing of X-ray Generators

The superstructures of the three DG2 generators in room 8-237 are all surrounded
by interlocked enclosures. These are checked for radiation leakage by the SRPS or
by an appointed person every six months using an appropriate monitor (Provdied by
University Radiation Protection Service) and the results are recorded in a book which
is kept in the laboratory and the SRPS (Dr Peter Hine) is informed of the results. Any
problems are dealt with and the leakage rectified before the generators are used. The
Tel-X-Ometer and Leybold didactic generators in room 8.30/8.10 are tested (Dr Peter
Hine) for leakage at the start of each term when they are to be used and a written
2.12. FIRST AID (MR STUART WESTON) 21
record is kept of the results.
2.12 First Aid (Mr Stuart Weston)

Before beginning any work the location of the nearest qualified First Aider and of the
nearest first aid box should be established. A list of qualified first aid personnel, their
locations and phone numbers, and a list giving the location of all first aid equipment
in the school should be displayed in all laboratory areas.
Any use of a First Aid box should be reported to a first-aider who will arrange
replenishment of any items used. Before ordering new First Aid supplies please con-
tact the School Health and Safety Coordinatorfor advice. Even when no First Aider is
called then accidents and incidents should still be reported. See the section of accident
reporting 1.7.
Arrangements for First Aid in the school are co-ordinated by Mr S Weston (phone
33819), who can give advice on becoming a First Aider, training, and on first aid equip-
ment. The Student Medical Practice are prepared to provide on-campus assistance in
emergencies but recommend that injured personnel or students are taken directly to
Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) Casualty school. The Student Medical Practice can be
contacted on telephones with an outside line on 9 295 4488 or on internal telephones
via the Security Office 32222 .
The School aims to train all first year postgraduates in first aid. This training is
part of the generic skills training. The qualification as a First Aider remains valid for
three years.
2.13 Undergraduate project safety (Dr Peter Hine)

At the start of any undergraduate project work a project safety note should be drafted
by the supervisor and is then discussed with the project students. The project safety
note includes:
1. Module code and module title:

2. Project title:
3. Project supervisor(s):
4. Project student(s):
5. Before start of project:
6. Each student should consult the School Safety Handbook and know where to find
copies of the handbook.
A laboratory safety tour of all relevant laboratory areas takes place. The safety risks
and the safety procedures for the project are:
1. Manual handling:
2. Electrical hazards:
3. Chemical substances:
4. Lasers or ionizing radiation:
5. Other risks and procedures:
6. Arrangements for working unsupervised, alone, or out-of-hours:
7. The safety risks and relevant safety procedures for the project have been dis-
cussed between supervisor(s) and project student(s). All safety questions arising
have been answered. The information in this safety form is complete and correct.
Any safety actions required before the start of the project work have been taken.
8. Signature(s) of project supervisor(s), date:
9. Signature(s) of project student(s), date:
Project students are encouraged to immediately contact Dr Hugo Christenson(level

3 projects) or Dr Stuart Lumsden(level 4 projects) or the School Health and Safety
Officer about any safety concerns that still remain after discussion with the project
supervisor.
2.14 Chemical Safety (Dr Ben Johnson)

2.14.1 Chemistry Procedures
2.14.1.1 General
Much experimental research involves the use of hazardous chemicals particularly for
the preparation of samples, from simple cleaning with common solvents to com-
plex organic synthesis. The COSHH regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous
to Health) require that all activities involving the use of hazardous chemicals must be
assessed by the person concerned before the procedure is carried out and checked by
a responsible person (see below). Most laboratories have their own local procedures.
For the Main BioPhysChem Lab (8.331) and the Satellite BioPhysChem Lab (8.312),
the essential rules that everyone (including those not intending to use the lab) needs
to know are:
Access is strictly controlled (through an electronic system) and will only be granted
once a full lab induction has been given by Ben Johnson.
1. Special local rules apply (read notices on the door) especially including
(a) There is CCTV in use for the purpose of safety management and security.
(b) Lab Coats and safety specs must be worn at all times.
(c) Laboratory hours are 8.30 am to 5.30 pm unless an out of hours risk ass-
esment has been completed and fully authorised and the control measures
implemented.
2. Any chemical process must have a completed COSHH form associated with it in
the red folder in the lab. Even if the process has been deemed non-hazardous,
the COSHH form shows that the chemicals and the process has been assessed
and been designated as non-hazardous
3. All stock chemicals must be on the inventory database. Any items found not on
the database will be disposed of, without notice. All chemicals must be left in
a clean and safe state and be clearly and correctly labelled: What, Who, When,
Hazard. The labs are communal facilities and good housekeeping is to be ob-
served at all times.
2.14. CHEMICAL SAFETY (DR BEN JOHNSON) 23
2.14.2 COSHH
The essential purpose of the COSHH regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous to
Health) is
1. to know the hazard of the chemicals involved (both initial and reaction products)
and
2. to minimize the risk of people being exposed to that hazard.
The COSHH regulations require that all experiments etc. involving the use of chemi-
cals must be assessed by the person concerned according to hazard and risk before the
procedure is carried out. Normally this involves filling in a COSHH form which can be
downloaded from the School of Physics website (under Safety) and filled in electroni-
cally. It is then scrutinized, checked and the experimenter cross-examined about their
procedure by a responsible person familiar with COSHH and who then signs the form.
(At the time of writing, COSHH authorisers are Ben Johnson and Hugo Christenson).
The signed COSHH form must be clearly displayed adjacent to the experiment being
undertaken (red file near door for the Chemistry Lab). It should be clear, concise and
readable by anyone. In the event of an accident etc., the COSHH form provides infor-
mation for any rescuer of the hazard and risk of the experiment. The COSHH form
contains a number of sections:
1. Personnel involved:
2. Workplace: laboratory no etc.
3. Brief description of experiment: it is useful to include here the amounts of the
substances involved.
4. Substances involved: clear and precise name.
5. Hazards identified: simple readable descriptions, e.g. corrosive, flammable, irri-
tant etc.
6. Sources of information: all chemical suppliers are required to provide safety
sheets on the chemicals they supply. This is usually too much information, pro-
vided to cover the supplier’s back and is not always very helpful. Other informa-
tion is available in suppliers catalogues and in the library.
7. Precautions to be taken:
(a) under normal conditions (storage, handling, etc) e.g. wear specs, gloves,
handle in fume cupboard etc.
(b) in an emergency: e.g. how to deal with spillage.
8. Procedure for disposal of waste material: when the experiment is complete how
is the waste to be disposed of. If it cannot be thrown away or flushed down the
sink, it can be disposed of formally via the waste management procedure.
2.14.3 Advice on how to assess risk

The COSHH forms and advice on the assessment of risk may be obtained from Ben
Johnson who also has the relevant literature. If the substances involved are particu-
larly hazardous then the assessor should seek sustained and professional advice, possi-
bly from several sources. It maybe necessary to undertake the experiment in specially
controlled premises outside the School of Physics.
2.14.4 Waste Disposal

Anything which could be seen by the general public as offensive (e.g. gloves, plastic
tubes, petri dishes etc) must be disposed of in an Offensive Waste Bin. These are avail-
able from Ben Johnson, who will also arrange their emptying and disposal when full.
Only certain chemicals can be thrown in the bin or poured down the drain. The rest
need to be disposed through Ben Johnson in a controlled and specified manner. Ben
needs to be informed of what the material is, its likely hazard, the quantity, whose it is
(or contact name), the origin (radioactive or hazardous materials must be negotiated
in advance) and where it is presently located. Materials left for waste disposal must
not be left in a hazardous state, and must be clearly labelled what, hazard, who. Ben
will then arrange for the items to be safely stored in a designated area until collection
by an outside company.
2.15 Working at Height (Mr Stuart Weston)

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work at height where there is a risk
of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, the self-
employed, and any person that controls the work of others (for example a workshop
manager, a principal investigator or a module leader who may direct others to work at
height). The Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 which came into force on
6 April 2007 apply to those who work at height providing instruction or leadership to
one or more people engaged in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team
building or similar activities in Great Britain. As part of the Regulations, duty holders
must ensure:
• all work at height is properly planned and organised;
• those involved in work at height are competent;
• the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is
selected and used;
• the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
• equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.
There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height.
Duty holders must:
• avoid work at height where they can;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid
working at height; and
• where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other mea-
sures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
The Regulations include schedules giving requirements for existing places of work
and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (eg guardrails and
working platforms), collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc), personal fall protec-
tion (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders. See the Health and
Safety Executive web site [5] for more information. The site gives Work at Height Solu-
tions to provide good practice advice for people planning a task that involves work at
height. There is a list of solutions and a Frequently Asked Questions section. 1
1 The text of this section is adapted from the HSE web site pages.
2.16. OFF-CAMPUS WORK (DR JOACHIM ROSE) 25
2.16 Off-campus work (Dr Joachim Rose)

Postgraduate students or staff within the School of Physics and Astronomy may have
to work off-campus for some time period. For example to attend a conference or to use
an external research facility. The health and safety rules and regulations still apply as
they would on campus.
• The off-campus work and the travel to and from the off-campus site may not sig-
nificantly increase the risk. For example a conference trip within Europe, travel-
ling by train or with a major airline. In such cases postgraduates or staff should
indicate this on the Application for Approval for Leave of Absence Form 2 .
• If either the proposed off-campus work itself or the necessary travel do lead to
a significant increase in risk then a prior risk assessment is required. In this
case the Application for Approval for Leave of Absence Form should reference an
approved risk assessment for the trip. For repeat visits, provided there have
been no significant changes, it can be reasonable to refer to an earlier existing
risk assessment.
• There may be occasional cases where it is not reasonably practicable to carry out
an advance detailed analysis of each hazard. In such cases the risk assessment
should then describe the potential hazards as far as they are known, together
with the steps that will be taken to reduce the risks. For example, the person trav-
elling may be sufficiently competent to respond appropriately to an unforeseen
situation or he or she will receive suitable training by the external organisation
prior to starting the off-campus work.
Undergraduates need to discuss the safety arrangements for off-campus work with
the project supervisor or module leader. The safety arrangements are then recorded
in a form which is handed into the undergraduate office prior to the trip.
2.17 Software controlled systems (Dr Joachim Rose)

The data acquisition systems and instrument control systems in research labs and
workshops often contain processors and associated software. In the worst case even a
simple malfunction, such as a false reading, may not only result in damage to equip-
ment but also in major injury. Changes to either the operating system or the applica-
tion software can have unintended or unforeseen consequences. For example a well
intended overnight remote modification of the operating system aimed at saving en-
ergy by letting idle computers go to sleep can disable a vital control system thus lead-
ing to a major incident. Hardware and software in research labs and workshop should
therefore be under the direct and full control of local staff who understand the poten-
tial impact of configuration changes, who can carry out tests for correct behaviour and
who are able to handle and contain the impact of failure situations.
• Modifications to laboratory equipment, including any related related software,

must only be carried out by the laboratory staff or the workshop staff unless by
prior agreement or in response to a request by the laboratory manager or the
head of the workshop to involve staff (or contractors) which are external to the
laboratory or workshop.
2 http://www.physics.leeds.ac.uk/forms/index/absence-form
• Within research labs and workshops any mechanism for remote or automatic
operating system modification or application software upgrades should be dis-
abled, unless the laboratory manager or head of workshop decides that it is de-
sirable and safe to enable automatic or remote modification.
• Physical access to the equipment in a laboratory or workshop (as a supervised
visitor) requires the prior permission of the laboratory manager or the head of
the workshop. A procedure for the activity must be agreed and the safety impli-
cations need to be discussed. A record of the authorisation by the laboratory of
workshop should be kept.
• If there is a possible hazard then a prior risk assessment of the activity is needed,
which then requires approval before the modifications are carried out.
• Any agreed work by IT support staff (or any other persons external to the lab-
oratory or workshop) needs to be monitored and supervised by laboratory staff
or workshop staff. Laboratory and workshop staff must be actively involved at
a level that allows them to maintain a detailed understanding of the state of the
system and of the potential impact of any changes.
• As far as practical safety critical systems should be isolated from any network
or protected against incoming connections, unless the lab manager or head of
workshop decides that it is desirable and safe to enable network access.
• If there is no other practical alternative then accounts for persons external to
the laboratory or workshop, for example IT support staff, can be created. These
accounts must never used to circumvent or disable the access restrictions for
laboratory or workshop equipment.
Similar arrangements apply to systems and software outside the laboratory or work-
shop, for example in office environments, if they are used to develop safety critical
software, are used as an external monitor or as a remote control station or if they are
in some other way safety critical.
Appendices
27
Appendix A
Chemistry Laboratories
The two chemistry laboratories (8.331 and 8.312) have over 50 combined registered
users - from simple sample cleaning to complex organic synthesis. It is essential that
all users are aware of what they and other users are doing. All users must undergo
an induction into the lab, before use is authorised. The Laboratories are run by Dr
Ben Johnson, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the laboratories and
is empowered to ensure that users follow the correct procedures. Training about the
correct procedures is given during the lab induction. Regular laboratory users may be
required to undertake additional general laboratory duties.
A.1 Undergraduate Physicists doing Chemistry (Dr Ben Johnson)

Undergraduates are not permitted to work alone in the chemistry labs. Any process
being undertaken by undergraduates in the lab must have a COSHH assessment and
be limited to low hazard processes. Further guidance must be sought from the lab
manager prior to work commencing.
A.2 Implementation of COSHH in the Chemistry Lab (Dr Ben Johnson)

In both Chemistry Labs, COSHH forms are not kept adjacent to the experiment in
progress where pieces of paper could constitute a fire risk! Instead the COSHH forms
referring to experiments currently in progress are to be kept in the marked red file
clearly displayed near the laboratory door.
A.3 Lab Usage Guidelines (Dr Ben Johnson)

Usage guidelines, recommendations etc. for the lab are constantly evolving, so please
check the lab’s website to keep up to date with these: http://www.mnp.leeds.ac.uk/
biophyschemlab.
29
30 APPENDIX A. CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES
Appendix B
Radiation safety
B.1 Radiation Protection Supervisor (Dr Peter Hine)

The School Radiation Protection Supervisors are: Dr Peter Hine, Ext:36648(Radiation
Sources and X-rays). In his absence Dr Mannan Ali, Ext:33833should be consulted.
B.2 Controlled areas (Dr Mannan Ali)

The following areas in the School are designated as controlled areas, access to which
is restricted to workers operating under a written system of work. Most of the con-
trolled areas are regions of space in the vicinity of X-ray Generators and are not to
be considered as controlled areas when the generators are switched off or if the high
voltage supply to the appropriate X-ray tube is clearly off.
Room 8.237 - X-ray Laboratory
The interiors of each of the three enclosures mounted on the X-ray generators.
These enclosures contain the X-ray tube, tube shield and associated equipment and
the doors are interlocked with the generator and shutter controller.
Rooms 8.10, 8.30 - First and Second Year Laboratory
The interiors of the clear Perspex housing which serve as safety shields for the Tel-
x-ometer X-ray generators in the First Year Laboratory. When the mains supply to
these units is interrupted the interior of the enclosure is no longer a Controlled Area.
B.3 Rules for undergraduate work with ionising radiation (Dr Peter Hine)
For the attention of undergraduate students carrying out experiments with ionising
radiation
All workers with ionising radiations have the obligation:-
1. to be aware of the hazards associated with such radiation

2. to follow rigorously any procedures and practices specified in the manuscript for
the conduct of a particular experiment
Accompanying the experiment which you have been given to perform you will
find listed certain procedures which have been devised for the safe handling of radio
nuclides or for the safe operation of machine sources of radiation. You MUST NOT de-
viate from these procedures. If any problem arises in connection with the procedures
you MUST consult a demonstrator or the laboratory technician before proceeding.
B.4 Rules for X-ray generators in room 8-237 (Dr Mannan Ali)
For the attention of users of the X-ray generators in room 8.237.
31
32 APPENDIX B. RADIATION SAFETY
New users and anybody who is unfamiliar with a particular piece of equipment
or technique involving use of one of the X-ray generators must consult one of the
two persons named below in order to obtain appropriate instruction. “Second hand”
instruction is potentially hazardous and must not be sought. The enclosures on the
X-ray generators are interlocked to prevent access to the beam. No attempt should
be made to defeat these interlocks at any time. If any problems arise which require
access to the X-ray beam or if the equipment malfunctions or if instruction is required
Dr Mannan Ali, Ext:33833, should be approached:
B.4.1 Work inside interlocked enclosures

General Protocol for working inside the interlocked enclosures mounted on the X-ray
generators in Room 8.237,
Personnel: These procedures may only be carried out by Dr Mannan Ali.
1. Before commencing work possible hazards should first be considered. If there is

any doubt then one of the above persons should be consulted at an early stage.
2. Use the override key to disable the interlocks and warn other persons in the room
that you are doing so.
3. Install as much temporary shielding as you can around the beam in the area in
which you are working.
4. Switch on the generator at minimum power and open the shutter.
5. Check the radiation field in the area where your hands will be. If the radiation is
significantly above general background close the shutter and check/increase/reposition
the temporary shielding. Open the shutter again and check the radiation field.
6. If the radiation field is now satisfactory increase the beam power to the working
power which should be the minimum consistent with being able to carry out the
work.
7. Check the radiation field again. If it is satisfactory proceed with the work. If it
is not satisfactory rearrange the temporary shielding until it is. 8. Remove the
override key to a safe place as soon as the procedure is completed.
B.4.2 Protocol for diffractometers adjustment

Protocol for making adjustments to one of the diffractometers on generator C in room
8.237 when the other diffractometer is in use Personnel: All radiation workers Nor-
mally the diffractometers are used with all of the interlocked doors closed. It is per-
missible, however, to make adjustments to the superstructures on one of the diffrac-
tometers whilst the other is in use. Care should be taken to avoid radiation exposure
in these circumstances.
1. Make sure that the shutter on the equipment you are working on is clearly closed.
2. Open the appropriate interlocked door.
3. Mount a freestanding shield immediately in front of the beam exit aperture.
4. Check, using the minimonitor, the radiation field at all points where you will put
your hands inside the half of the enclosure in which you are working.
B.4. RULES FOR X-RAY GENERATORS IN ROOM 8-237 (DR MANNAN ALI) 33
5. If the radiation level is significantly higher than background level either (a) con-
sult SRPS or Dr Mannan Ali or (b) wait until the other diffractometer is not in
use and proceed with the generator switched off.
6. If the radiation is only slightly above background levels outside the enclosure
you can proceed.
7. If you can proceed, carry out any operations as swiftly as possible.
8. When you have finished make a positive check that the shutter is still closed
before you remove any temporary shielding.
9. Close the interlocked door.
B.4.3 Protocol for the Wide Angle Camera

Protocol for the Alignment of the Wide Angle Camera on Generator B in Room 8-237
1. Appropriate personal dosimeters must always be worn during this operation.

4. Check the radiation field in the area where your hands will be. If the radiation
is significantly above general background, place temporary shielding in position
to reduce it.
5. Mount a mirror behind the fluorescent screen so that the rear of the screen can
be seen clearly from outside the enclosure.
6. Using just sufficient beam power to observe the beam spot observe the spot on
the screen and adjust the camera mount using the two positioning screws on the
tube shield mounting block. to maximise the beam intensity. Be very careful not
to move your hand towards the film holder. Keep it as far as possible from the
collimator exit in order to prevent inadvertent exposure. If any movement of the
camera other than a slight realignment is required switch off the generator and
check the whole assembly for correct mechanical alignment.
7. Remove the override key to a safe place as soon as the procedure is completed.
B.4.4 Protocol for the Pole Figure Goniometer

Protocol for the Alignment of the Pole Figure Goniometer on Generator B in Room
8.237.
2. Before switching on the generator mount a fluorescent screen in the sample holder
position.
34 APPENDIX B. RADIATION SAFETY
4. Check the radiation field in the area where your hands will be. If the radiation
is significantly above general background, place temporary shielding in position
to reduce it.
5. Using just sufficient beam power to observe the beam spot watch the spot on the
screen and adjust the tube shield position using the two socket head adjusting
screws on the base of the tube shield mounting column to maximise the beam
intensity. Be very careful only to position your hands in the vicinity of the ad-
justing screws and do not lean into the cabinet. If any adjustment other than
a slight realignment is required switch off the generator and check the whole
assembly for correct mechanical alignment.
6. Remove the override key to a safe place as soon as the procedure is completed.
N.B. A plastic divider panel should always be positioned between Airedale and
Wharfedale. Interlock key must not be on display Dr Mannan Ali to keep it in a
safe place. Red light to be positioned centrally at back.
Appendix C
Portable appliance test guidelines
C.1 Testing of new or existing portable equipment (Mr Richard Oliver)

All portable electrical equipment needs to be tested for electrical safety.
1. All new electrical or electronic items powered from the mains MUST be taken to
Electronics Workshop before first use to be electrical safety tested. At this point
each item receives an unique appliance number.
2. When the new item is brought for PAT testing a job request form should be filled
in including the owner’s name and the location where it is used - Testing all items
as they enter the department in Electronics Workshop maintains that all items
have at least been tested once before being used. An appropriate test interval can
be allocated to that item and the serial numbers of the items can be recorded for
audit purposes on the database.
3. Existing items in the department (many of which have been through the PAT
testing procedure several times from the early 1990s) will be tested according to
the policy outlined below and merged into the new system.
C.2 Policy for repeat tests of existing portable equipment (Mr Richard Oliver)
Detachable power cords should have their own appliance number, consisting of the
appliance number of the item it connects to + C and should be tested separately. The
test sticker being placed on the plug face for ease of checking.
Review of items that have passed PAT test several times, obtained from PATS database
to allow for an increased test interval. Analysing the PATS database indicates that no
new PCs failed PAT test and they did not fail subsequent tests. As these items are
not really ’portable’ and most of the monitors are now LCD without the internal high
voltage of a CRT screen, a 5-year interval would be most appropriate.
The analysis shows a very low failure rate for instruments and general electrical
equipment. There should be a sliding scale of test intervals as the test results mount
for that equipment. A 2-year interval applied for new instruments, moving to 4 years
for successive passes.
The analysis shows that items of heavy usage, e.g. heaters, kettles, distribution
boards, soldering irons etc., should be tested every year, as cables become damaged
sockets become damaged and strain relief fail. These should remain at a 1-year inter-
val.
The teaching lab areas currently operates a sliding scale test interval up to 2 years
for test instruments. As this equipment is operated by undergraduates it is suggested
35
36 APPENDIX C. PORTABLE APPLIANCE TEST GUIDELINES
Colour Instrument Status Test Interval
Red Failed or items not used Do Not Use (Label)

Green Heavy use and regularly moved items e.g. 1 year
heater, distribution leads, Lamps
Green Moderate use and less frequently moved items 2 - 4 years
Items that have gained several test passes at
more frequent intervals e.g. Test instruments
Green Light use or hardly ever moved items e.g. PC 5 years
and IT items.
Table C.1: Testing intervals and colour coding
that a 2-year interval be the maximum interval for safety reasons. The PCs can have
an extended interval.
Attended two PAT testing courses run by different companies neither highlighted
and problems with our testing strategy.
The testing intervals and colour coding would be as outlined below in Table C.1.
The Pass sticker contains the appliance number, initials of test person, date tested
and next test date.
These proposals require approval by faculty and university safety officers.
Two new PAT testing kits have been purchased (tester and accessories) to provide
4 modern and 2 old testers for general use.
Nominated persons from each group, along with technical staff have attend train-
ing courses. Nominated persons from each group to assist the students in ensuring
rooms are fully tested.
The ’Duty Officer’ regarding any issues from the test results and visual inspections,
should be a member of Electronics Workshop.
To make it easier for the user of the PAT tester, to know the most appropriate test
for a given item and to carry out additional tests the names and settings of some of the
standard pre installed tests have been changed.
Appendix D
Risk Assessment Form
The risk assessment form, shown on page 39, is available as a Word document on the
departmental web pages. The form shown here had to be modified and reduced in
size to fit into the page. Changes to the form may have occurred since the printing of
this book. Therefore please obtain an up to date copy of the Word document before
starting a new risk assessment.
As an alternative University of Leeds Safety Services provide software to record
and maintain risk risk assessments (RIVO).
37
APPENDIX D. RISK ASSESSMENT FORM
RISK ASSESSMENT DETAILS Legend

Building: Room No.: Severity Risk Rating Matrix
5 Very High - Multiple Severity
Lab Name: Deaths 1 2 3 4 5
4 High - Death, serious
Risk Assessment Title: 1 1 2 3 4 5
injury, permanent
LIikelihood
disability 2 2 4 6 8 10
Date: 3 Moderate - over 3 3 3 6 9 16 15
days (reportable to 4 4 8 12 16 20
Assessed by: HSE) 5 5 10 15 20 25
2 Slight - First Aid
Group Head: treatment
1 Nil - Very Minor Persons at Risk
Safety Advisor:
Employees
Description of Activity: Likelihood Students
Clients
5 Inevitable
Contractors
4 Highly Likely
Members of the public
3 Possible
Work Experience students
2 Unlikely
Other Persons
1 Remote Possibility
Review dates Risk rating
Action
Date Reviewed by Signed score
Broadly Acceptable
1-4
No action required
Moderate
5-9
Reduce risks if reasonably practicable
High Risk
10 -15
Priority Action to be undertaken
Unacceptable
16 -25
Action must be taken IMMEDIATELY
Overall risk rating:
Page 1 of 2
38
Hazard Persons at risk Adverse effects Existing control measures Severity Likelihood Risk rating Further Action? + details
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
Additional references Additional comments
•
39
Page 2 of 2
40 APPENDIX D. RISK ASSESSMENT FORM
Appendix E
Document status
page section, title author or reviewer last review

1 1.1 Introduction Prof Bryan Hickey 20 June 2011
1 1.2 Functions and Responsibilities Prof Bryan Hickey 20 June 2011
6 1.3 Safety inspections Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
7 1.4 Risk assessment Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
10 1.5 Authorisation of laboratory work Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
10 1.6 Authorisation of work by technical staff Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
10 1.7 Accident Reporting Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
11 2.1 Fire Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
13 2.2 Electrical Safety Mr Richard Oliver 1 July 2011
14 2.3 High Pressures Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
15 2.4 Manual Handling Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
15 2.5 Office Safety Dr Joachim Rose 30 June 2011
15 2.6 Flood, gas leaks and electrical breakdown Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
16 2.7 Out of Hours Working and Working Alone Dr Joachim Rose 30 June 2011
17 2.8 Unattended Overnight Experiments Dr Joachim Rose 20 June 2011
17 2.9 Teaching labs and project work Dr Peter Hine 1 July 2011
18 2.10 Non-ionising radiation Dr Ben Johnson 1 July 2011
18 2.11 Ionising Radiation Dr Peter Hine 1 July 2011
21 2.12 First Aid Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
21 2.13 Undergraduate project safety Dr Peter Hine 1 July 2011
22 2.14 Chemical Safety Dr Ben Johnson 1 July 2011
24 2.15 Working at Height Mr Stuart Weston 1 July 2011
24 2.16 Off-campus work Dr Joachim Rose 1 July 2011
25 2.17 Software controlled systems Dr Joachim Rose 4 July 2011
29 A.1 Undergraduate Physicists doing Chemistry Dr Ben Johnson 1 July 2011
29 A.2 Implementation of COSHH in the Chemistry Lab Dr Ben Johnson 1 July 2011
29 A.3 Lab Usage Guidelines Dr Ben Johnson 1 July 2011
31 B.1 Radiation Protection Supervisor Dr Peter Hine 1 July 2011
31 B.2 Controlled areas Dr Mannan Ali 1 July 2011
31 B.3 Rules for undergraduate work with ionising radiation Dr Peter Hine 1 July 2011
31 B.4 Rules for X-ray generators in room 8-237 Dr Mannan Ali 1 July 2011
35 C.1 Testing of new or existing portable equipment Mr Richard Oliver 1 July 2011
35 C.2 Policy for repeat tests of existing portable equipment Mr Richard Oliver 1 July 2011
41
42 APPENDIX E. DOCUMENT STATUS
References
[1] Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

See or http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk or http://www.hse.gov.uk.
[2] Wikipedia article on the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_and_Safety_at_Work_Act.
[3] University of Leeds Safety Services web site,
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/index.htm
[4] University of Leeds Health and Safety Policy
Download from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/index.htm.
[5] Health and Safety Executive web site, http://www.hse.gov.uk.
[6] Office Safety Manual University of Leeds,
University of Leeds, Radiation Protection and Safety Services, 2003.
[7] Notes on protection against non-ionising radiation,
University Radiation Protection Services Handbook
[8] CVCP document Safety -Universities: Part 2.1 Lasers (1992 Code of Practice)
[9] BS 7192 -Radiation Safety for Laser Products and BS EN 60825, Laser Safety
Officer and EBL
[10] Management of Health and Safety at Work etc Regulations, 1992, S.I. No. 1992/2051.
43
44 REFERENCES

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School of Physics and Astronomy

Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences

Health and Safety Handbook

Health and Safety Working Group

Version 15, July 2011

Prof Bryan Hickey, Head of School

Distribution of this handbook

Changes, comments and further inputs

2 Specific Hazards and Procedures 11

C Portable appliance test guidelines 35

D Risk Assessment Form 37

1.1 Introduction (Prof Bryan Hickey)

• also outlines the arrangements for monitoring the policy.

Technical Staff, UG, PG, PDRA, UG, PG, PDRA,

1.2 Functions and Responsibilities (Prof Bryan Hickey)

• the University Health and Safety Policy

• any Faculty/School/Service Safety Policy or Guidance Notes

• any specific codes of practice relating to particular activities

• any relevant safety legislation and guidance.

Staff must ensure that they

• where necessary help the University meet the duties imposed on it

• report any unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, or suspected faults in build-

1.2.3 Academic Supervisors (including Principal Investigators)

• ensuring that control measures such as guarding of moving parts; provision of

• leading on the performance of risk assessments and, where appropriate, working

• maintaining suitable records of exposure to substances hazardous to health, in

• monitoring that work-based teaching in partner organisations is undertaken safely

To enable the Academic Supervisors to effectively carry out these responsibilities

1.2.4 Staff with Line Management responsibilities

1.2.5 Head of School

1.2.6 Health and Safety Working Group

Specific role or expertise Person Phone e-mail

Dr H Christenson 33879 h.k.christenson@leeds.ac.uk

Table 1.1: School Health and Safety Working Group members

1.3 Safety inspections (Dr Joachim Rose)

1.4 Risk assessment (Dr Joachim Rose)

1.4.1 Legal requirement for risk assessment

1.4.2 Risk assessment procedure

1.4.3 Guidelines for Risk assessment

1. Identify the hazards

1.4.3.2 Risk Assessment: Risk Ranking

Professional judgement is required to categorise items which represent a breach

1.4.4 Hierarchy of Risk Control

2. substitution e.g. using a less hazardous substance or better guarded machine or

3. controlling risks at source reviewing engineering controls

4. safe systems of work reviewing system of work for activity

5. use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort to consider whether

1.4.5 Documenting the Risk Assessment

1.4.6 Monitoring, risk assessment and safety inspections

1.5 Authorisation of laboratory work (Dr Joachim Rose)

1.6 Authorisation of work by technical staff (Dr Joachim Rose)

1.7 Accident Reporting (Dr Joachim Rose)

Specific Hazards and Procedures

2.1 Fire (Mr Stuart Weston)

2.1.1 Fire Alarm procedure

2.1.2 The Fire Alarm System and evacuation of the building

• never use lifts after the fire alarm has sounded.

2.1.3 Fire protection equipment

2.1.4 Fire Wardens

1. monthly check of the alternative exit routes.

3. ensure that the area is evacuated.

2.2 Electrical Safety (Mr Richard Oliver)

2.3 High Pressures (Mr Stuart Weston)

2.3.1.1 Gas Cylinders