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Fire and Explosion Hazards Expected in a Laboratory

Article · July 2016

DOI: 10.5923/j.jlce.20160402.02

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Karbala International Journal of Modern Science 2 (2016) 276e279
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Laboratory biological safety cabinet (BSC) explosion

Wedad H. Al-Dahhan a, Ali Jasim Al-Zuhairi b, Falah H. Hussein c,
Kabrena E. Rodda d, Emad Yousif a,*
a
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
b
College of Engineering e Al-Musayab, Babylon University, Babylon, Iraq
c
College of Pharmacy, Babylon University, Iraq
d
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA
Received 17 September 2016; revised 25 October 2016; accepted 5 November 2016
Available online 8 December 2016

Abstract

Scientists at universities across Iraq are actively working to report actual incidents and accidents occurring in their laboratories
in order to raise awareness and encourage openness, leading to widespread adoption of robust Chemical Safety and Security (CSS)
practices. In this study, we describe a serious event that resulted in a postgraduate student sustaining serious injuries when the
biological safety cabinet (BSC) she was using exploded. Of particular note, the paper highlights how a combination of failures and
deficiencies at many levels within an organization and its technical community (rather than a single piece of faulty equipment or the
careless behaviour of one person) can lead to a dangerous, potentially life-threatening incident. By openly sharing what happened
along with the lessons learnt from the accident, we hope to minimize the possibility of another researcher being injured in a similar
incident in the future.
© 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of University of Kerbala. This is an open access article
under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Keywords: Chemistry laboratory; Scientific practical skills; Biological safety cabinet

1. Introduction 2010 involving a postgraduate student at the Chemistry

Scientists at universities across Iraq are actively
working to report actual incidents and accidents
occurring in their laboratories in order to encourage
openness and encourage widespread adoption of robust
Chemical Safety and Security (CSS) practices [1,2]. In
this manuscript, we report an accident that occurred in
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: emad_yousif@hotmail.com (E. Yousif).
Peer review under responsibility of University of Kerbala.
and Biochemistry Department at an Iraqi University
who sustained eye injuries and burned her hands and
face when the biological safety cabinet (BSC) she was
using exploded, sending glass fragments into her face
and upper torso (Fig. 1).
The university's CSS Committee investigated, using
guidelines published by the American Chemical So-
ciety (ACS) and the Centre for Chemical Process
Safety (CCPS) [3e5] and found a number of de-
ficiencies within the department that contributed to the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.kijoms.2016.11.001
2405-609X/© 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of University of Kerbala. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 Author's Personal Copy
W.H. Al-Dahhan et al. / Karbala International Journal of Modern Science 2 (2016) 276e279 277

the student turned on the LPG and when she lit it.
While the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) fil-
ters inside BSCs remove particulates and microorgan-
isms, they do not remove fumes from the air inside the
cabinet. Furthermore, BSCs are not designed for
Bunsen burners to be used inside them. Fortunately,
the injuries were not serious and the explosion was
contained within the BSC and the surrounding area
(Figs. 3e6).
The researcher was taken by ambulance to the
hospital, where she received stitches above her eyes
and other treatment for her injuries. She was released
and sent home the same day.

Fig. 1. Glass shards remain in the frame of the sash in this BSC after 3. CSS committee findings
an explosion in a university laboratory.
After the explosion, the university's CSS Committee
investigated, using guidelines published by the Amer-
incident. The CSS Committee's findings and associated
ican Chemical Society (ACS) and the Centre for
lessons learnt are summarized in this manuscript in
Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) [3e5]. They found
order to minimize the possibility of a similar incident
the following deficiencies within the department that
or accident occurring in the future.
contributed to the incident:
2. Incident description
 The department leadership failed to exercise
effective oversight or to hold its staff and students
A postgraduate (M.Sc.) student researcher was
accountable for safety and security management.
using a Bunsen burner for hygiene purposes before
 Lessons learnt from previous incidents, which
starting an experiment in a BSC involving Mesen-
might have encouraged measures to be adopted to
chymal Stem Cells (Fig. 2). When she ignited the
prevent this incident from occurring were not
Bunsen burner, it exploded, sending glass towards her
collected or communicated to department staff.
face and upper torso and starting a fire, which singed
the researcher's clothes.
Furthermore, the CSS Committee identified that at
The explosion was caused by a build-up of Liquid
the time of the accident, the university had not desig-
Petroleum Gas (LPG) that had accumulated in the BSC
nated an individual responsible for communicating
during a three-to-five-minute delay between the when
staff's and students' laboratory safety obligations, or of

Fig. 2. BSC with Bunsen burner inside. Fig. 3. Damage to the secondary roof and lighting system.
 Author's Personal Copy
278 W.H. Al-Dahhan et al. / Karbala International Journal of Modern Science 2 (2016) 276e279
Fig. 4. Steel barriers on the front of the BSC after the explosion.
Fig. 5. Damage to the lab door after the explosion.
Fig. 6. Damage to the windows after the explosion.
distilling the vast number of references, standards and
procedures that address how to assess and mitigate
industrial hazards into a form that could be easily
understood and used in the university's laboratories.
According to Prudent practices in the Laboratory:
Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards [6],
while addressing the risks inherent in laboratory work
is the joint responsibility of everyone who handles or
makes decisions about chemicals, institutions must
create environments where safe laboratory practices
are the norm.
One of the most important actions normally un-
dertaken by academic institutions is to establish an
Occupational Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE)
Program. The main role of OSHE is to advise all
laboratory personnel of their obligations and how they
may best be discharged. Whereas a massive number of
internationally accepted references, standards and
procedures have been developed promoting hazard
assessment methodologies to be used in an industrial
setting, analogous, internationally accepted standards
that address the unique culture of innovation and the
dynamic nature of an academic laboratory do not exist.
As a result, individual universities have no guidance to
rely on to create such standards for themselves [7,8]. In
Iraq, most universities have yet to accomplish this
important task, putting staff and students exposed to
unnecessarily high levels of risk. Guidelines for safe
laboratory practices can provide universities a baseline
against which to evaluate their current hazard assess-
ment and mitigation procedures, but it may not provide
a comprehensive assessment of all laboratory hazards.
For example, it may only address chemical exposure
hazards and avoids discussion of physical hazards.
Fume cupboards are commonly used to protect
laboratory workers from exposure to harmful respi-
rable substances. The Control of Substances Hazardous
to Health (COSHH) Regulations 19997 require expo-
sure to hazardous substances to be minimized to the
greatest extent possible through the use of specialized
safety equipment such as ducted fume hoods that expel
fumes to the outside air, ductless or recirculating fume
cupboards that rely on filters, microbiological safety
cabinets. The British Standards, BS 72588 and BS
79899, provide guidance regarding installation and use
of vented and re-circulating fume cupboards. Unfor-
tunately, the fume cupboards in the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department at the university where the
explosion occurred do not meet required safety speci-
fication and have not been maintained to the level of
any of the standards mentioned earlier in this manu-
script [9e11].
 Author's Personal Copy
W.H. Al-Dahhan et al. / Karbala International Journal of Modern Science 2 (2016) 276e279
4. Lessons learnt
In addition to identifying the root cause of the ex-
plosion, this case study highlights concerns related to
safe lab operations. While these concerns may not have
directly contributed to the accident or its severity, they
are nevertheless worth noting and learning from to
improve lab safety in the future.
 An academic institution should model its laboratory
safety management, according to OSHE principles,
and ensure that all safety hazards, including the
physical hazards associated with chemicals, be
addressed.
 Academic institutions should write Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs) that address all
physical and chemical hazards a researcher is
likely to encounter in the laboratory. Training on
how to use these SOPs to manage and mitigate
risks should be provided.
 Researchers should work with their institution's
OSHE program to ensure their SOPs adequately
address the hazards unique to laboratory research
in the academic environment.
 Safety inspectors/research laboratory auditors
should directly report to a person or office with the
authority necessary to apply safety improvements.
 Near-misses and previous incidents are important
opportunities for education and improvement and
should be shared widely with other researchers.
5. Conclusions
The damage caused by the explosion described in
this manuscript was severe, but could likely have been
avoided. Through a systematic risk assessment and
implementation of mitigation measures, properly
educating staff and students about the chemical and
physical hazards associated with their work, and the
establishment of a single point of contact responsible
View publication stats
279
for oversight of laboratory operations as well as
developing and publishing laboratory safety and se-
curity procedures relevant to the university setting, the
events that allowed the accident to take place likely
would not have happened. It is our sincere hope that
researchers at other universities will review the lessons
summarized here and implement appropriate preven-
tive measures.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the staff of the
US State Department's Chemical Security Program,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Al-Nahrain
University and Babylon University for their encour-
agement and support.
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