Work habits:
- It is convenient to document all the activities carried out in the laboratory and the incidents (laboratory notebook).
- Work in an orderly, clean and unhurried manner.
- Work tables should be kept clean, with no products, books or material unnecessary for the work being performed.
- Work surfaces should be cleaned before and after the activity to be performed, and should be protected with absorbent paper. The cleaning procedure will depend on the type of activity and the substances handled. If any substance has been spilled, it should be cleaned up properly and in accordance with safety measures.
- Work equipment should never be used without knowing how it works.
- Ensures disconnection of equipment, water and gas at the end of the work.
- Use appropriate PPE for each experiment.
- Always use racks and stands.
- When moving around the laboratory, you must be cautious, without interrupting those who are working.
- Do not pipette with your mouth: use a pipettor.
- If the activity requires it, fume hoods should be used whenever possible.
- Fume hoods are a means of collective protection and should not be used to store products.
- Require or provide (as appropriate) safety data sheets for reagents to be handled.
- Read the label on the containers and consult the safety data sheets of the products before using them for the first time.
- At a minimum, the R- and S-phrases of the products (included on the package label) should be known.
- If it is necessary to move around the laboratory it should be done with caution, without interrupting those who are working.
- The work material should be transported safely, using trays or trolleys. The laboratory notebook should never be used as a tray. Do not move reagents or solutions in uncovered containers.
- At the end of a task or operation, collect materials, reagents, equipment, etc., avoiding unnecessary accumulations.
- Do not use your hands to force directly on bottles, flasks, stopcocks, etc. that have become clogged. Use appropriate protection (gloves, goggles, hoods, etc.).
- Never mix unknown products without express indication.
- Put the reagents back in place after use.
- For heating flammable products, use heat sources that do not produce flame, such as plates, sand baths, etc.
- When heating test tubes, avoid directing the mouth of the tube towards people or equipment.
- If a burner is not used, it must be turned off.
- Chemical products, once removed from their bottles, should not be reintroduced into them.
- The use of needles and other sharp objects should be strictly limited to those practices in which they are indispensable.
- Handling biohazardous agents requires special precautions. Aerosol formation must be avoided, specific pipetting rules must be followed and possibly the use of biological safety hoods with exclusive material.