Safety Guidelines

CASTILLO
DAGDAG
DUYAG
ECHANIQUE
FLORES
FREO
REYES
REYES
 General Guidelines
1. These guidelines cover all College of Science Laboratory facilities located at
GB, GE, and GL.
2. Only laboratory classes scheduled officially are allowed to use the
laboratory facilities, equipment, supplies and materials; and must be
supervised by the faculty-in-charge.
3. All requests to use the lab facilities, equipment, supplies, and materials are
entertained all throughout the school year excluding semestral breaks.
4. Request for make-up laboratory class by the faculty-in-charge is allowed
only upon presenting a letter of intent. It is the sole responsibility of the
faculty-in-charge to search for available laboratory room to use.
5. Extension of laboratory class beyond 7pm is discouraged. It is also
necessary that all laboratory class be ended or discontinued 15 mins before
the expiration of 3 hr laboratory period. It would allow more time for the
personnel to have a day-end inventory of laboratory facilities, equipment,
supplies, and materials.
6. Accomplish the Chemical Supplies Request Form and
the Borrower's Slip.
7. Only designated group leader is authorized to transact
matters pertaining to his/her group's concerns.
8. Replace any broken, damaged or lost laboratory
materials and equipments within 7 days.
9. Student who would like to avail himself/herself of the
services, facilities, chemical supplies, materials,
instruments and equipments for thesis must submit a
Letter of Intent. 10. A faculty-in-charge/adviser must be
present it accompany students doing research works and
laboratory activities. 11. The SLS has the right to
limit/deny access of non-laboratory personnel from the
use of laboratory facilities, chemical supplies, materials
and equipments.
1. General Policies in the laboratory.
• Accidents can be prevented by abiding by the safety rules and procedure.
• Always be prepared before working in the laboratory.
• Perform only the procedures or the experiment authorized by the
instructor.
• The work area should be kept in order during experimental work.
• Personal protective equipment should be worn inside the lab. 1.5. Follow all
instructions (oral or written).
• When in doubt, ask the instructor.
• Food and drinks are not allowed inside the lab.
• Chemical spills should be cleaned immediately.
• Dispose waste properly.
• Maintain cleanliness properly.
• Wash hands with soap before leaving the lab.
• No students should be worked unsupervised.
• Undergraduate thesis students shall submit a laboratory form to the
committee on laboratory safety before starting their work.
2. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
(PPE)
• Most important PPEs: Laboratory coat, safety goggles or
glasses and gloves.
• Lab coats: Long sleeves and snap closure is recommended. Made up
of non-synthetic cotton. Fit user perfectly.
• Safety Goggles: To provide protection to eyes from chemical
splashes. (Contact lenses are highly discouraged in the laboratory)
• Gloves: This is a must when handling chemicals. Dispose after use.
Use thick butyl rubber gloves when handling concentrated
chemicals.
• Long hair should be tied back and avoid the use of jewelries
especially those that are dangling.
• The use of face mask is also recommended when handling powdered
and volatile substances.
• Closed-toe shoes is a must in the laboratory. Sandals and other
fancy footwear are discouraged.
3. Handling Chemicals
• Be informed! Be aware of the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
Read labels of chemical containers before handling them.
• Label containers before transferring substances or putting anything
in them. (name of reagent/ chemical, amount, purity,
concentration)
• Use of metallic spatula in handling solids is highly discouraged.
• In transferring solids, shake the bottle cautiously to extricate some
of the materials. Transfer to the cap then transfer to specific
container with the use of spatula.
• Do not use pipettes directly in the reagent bottle to avoid cross
contamination.
• Dilution: Add the acid to the water.
• Do not mix incompatible chemicals.
• When carcinogenic and extremely toxic substances are involved,
avoid long term exposure.
4. Handling glasswares and miscellaneous
equipment
• Glasswares can be considered as the powerhouse of the
chemical laboratory.
• Handle one glassware at a time. Use a basket to carry multiple
glasswares.
• Long pieces of glasswares should be carried vertically. It should be
clamped immediately on a sturdy iron stand.
• Use proper lubrication like glycerol or soapy water in inserting
thermometer and glass tubing into corks. Use grease if water-tight
seal is to be needed. Wear thick cotton gloves to avoid slippage.
• Use thick cotton gloves in handling broken glass, or better yet, use a
broom and a dusk pan.
• Mercury thermometers are discouraged in laboratory. Use alcohol
or digital thermometer instead. Don’t throw broken mercury
thermometer in the garbage bin. Notify the instructor in case of
breakage or spillage.
• Use blunt tip needle syringe in delivering reagents.
• Do not leave the hot plate unattended. Place the hot
plate on the center. After using it, allow it to cool down
before returning it to the laboratory stock room.
• Use hot plates instead of flame burners in heating
volatile liquids. Heating the liquids in reflux and inside
of fume hood. The room should be well-ventilated, if
fume hood is not available.
• Always keep the balances clean.
• No substances should be weigh directly on the balances.
Any use of paper in weighing is discouraged. Use
appropriate weighing containers instead.
5. For Biological and Microbial work
Additional care must be undertaken to prevent
contamination - PPE should be followed
- Hands should be washed before and after the laboratory
activity. Alcohol based disinfectant should be 70% EDTH
- The tables used for the activity must also be disinfected
(i.e 20% Cl + liquid soap or 10% Formalin)
- There is a visible bio hazard signage on the room
cultures must be labeled properly
- sharps, needles or blades must be disposed properly
contaminated materials should be decontaminated
before disposal all samples must be labeled properly
7. Observance of enforcement of the
policies
• All the policies should be observed by the
students, faculty members and administrative
staff. Everyone should ensure safety in handling
materials and chemicals
How to use a pipette:
• Hold pipette in solution, don’t touch the bottom.
• Squeeze bulb and attach to top of the pipette.
• Hold forefinger on top of pipette to control volume aspiration.
• Subtract the amount needed into separate beaker while staying
eye level to assure proper measurement.
• Measure solution from bottom of the meniscuses, the crescent
shaped surface of liquid that is visible in the pipette.
• Subtract needed volume from the initial volume and find the
volume needed to release to in order to get the desired amount.
How to use a Top-Loading Balance :
• Turn on the Balance and Wait until the Display Stabilizes. Re-Zero if
Needed.
• Place Object to be Weighed on the Pan and wait until the Display
Stabilizes. Record the Weight.
• If you wish to Tare your Weighing Container, place the Container on
the Pan and Wait until the Display Stabilizes. Press the Tare Button.
Allow the Display to Stabilize at 0.00g. Carefully add Material to the
Container. Wait until the Display Stabilizes. Record the Weight.
• Remove the Object from the Balance and Gently Clean the Balance with
the Brush Provided.
• Allow the Display to Stabilize. Re-Zero the Balance.
 How to use a graduated cylinder:
• Select a cylinder that is large enough to hold the volume of liquid being measured.
• Confirm that the tube is clean and dry. Unwanted particles or drops of liquid in the
cylinder could throw off the measurement.
• Steady the tube with one hand while pouring the liquid you are measuring into it from
another container. Graduated cylinders are thin and can be tipped over easily, so take
special care when working with noxious or volatile liquids.
• Hold the cylinder at eye level to take a reading. Ensure that it is hanging straight
down. Avoid crouching to read the cylinder while it is resting on the table; if jostled,
the container could tip over and pour liquid onto your face or torso.
• Take the liquid measurement at the very bottom of the dip in the surface of the liquid.
This dip is called the meniscus; it forms because liquid molecules are more attracted
to the glass than they are to each other.
• Look at the horizontal lines on the side of the cylinder. Ascertain to which
line the meniscus is closest.

• Determine the increments of measurement on the tube. For example, if the

area between the 40ml mark and the 50ml mark is divided into ten
segments, each segment represents 1ml.

• Locate the closest whole measurement below the surface of the liquid.

• Count the number of segments up to the line nearest the meniscus.

Calculate the volume of the liquid by adding the whole measurement to the
sum of the segments.
Sources:
• http://www.ttelaboratories.com/Accuracy-
Matters-Blog/entryid/26/how-to-use-the-
various-types-of-pipettes
• https://infohost.nmt.edu/~jaltig/BalanceEtique
tte.pdf
• https://sciencing.com/measure-liquids-using-
graduated-cylinder-7514485.html
• images.google.com/