Chemical Laboratory Safety Training Part 7 Risk Assessment

Chemical & Laboratory Safety Training Part 7 – Risk Assessment Health, Safety & Environment Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Working with Chemicals • Before starting to work with chemicals, plan your work carefully – ideally, you should write up a Safe Operating Procedure for the experiment (more on this later) • If the experiment is new, do a “dry run” to practice using the equipment • Consult the SDS for all chemicals you will be using – know the hazards before • Ensure proper PPE is in place • Check that the appropriate spill kit is available for the chemicals you will be using • Make sure you know what to do with the chemical waste you will generate • What size of container will you need? • What type of container is compatible with the waste? • Do the hazards of the waste differ from the starting materials? Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Key Definitions • Hazard – Anything that can cause injury, or damage to property, the environment, or reputation • Risk – The chance or probability that an event could occur, and how bad it will be if it does. • This section of the training will show you how to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and take steps to mitigate those risks to keep you safe Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Steps There are 5 main steps to completing a hazard/risk assessment; 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify potential hazards Assess the risk associated with each hazard Select appropriate controls Implement the selected controls Assess the effectiveness of the selected controls Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Identify Potential Hazards There are lots of hazards we encounter every day, without even realizing it: This uneven sidewalk is a tripping hazard Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Identify Potential Hazards It is easy to avoid tripping. . . IF you are able to see that the sidewalk is uneven This is why it is important to identify hazards. So we can prevent them from hurting us. If we don’t see it, we can’t mitigate it. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Identify Potential Hazards Remember, a hazard is simply anything that can hurt us, so try to think of every possible hazard associated with the experiment you are planning to do Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Identify Potential Hazards • Chemicals, biological agents (bacteria, viruses, dust, mold) • Equipment in motion • Electricity • Sharps, broken glass • Extreme temperatures • Noise • Vibration • Violence, harassment • Field work Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment • • • Work design (ergonomics) Working alone Unattended processes Unplanned loss of air power or water Fire, explosion Spills Slip, trip, fall Heavy lifting UV, laser, radiation

Assess the Risk Once all hazards have been identified, the risks associated with each hazard must be assessed Risk is assessed by considering the frequency of the task, probability of an event in combination with the severity of harm the event would cause to the University community, public, property and or environment if it occurred. For example, say we need to use Ethanol in a task. We identify that this is flammable, and so we want to determine the risk of fire and burns: Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Assess the Risk Probability –select the appropriate probability of an incident (fire or a burn) occurring: 5 -Almost certain 4 -Has happened before (here or elsewhere) 3 -Possible 2 -Heard of 1 -Unlikely Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Assess the Risk Frequency - Select the frequency of using ethanol; 5 -Continuous 4 -Daily 3 -Weekly 2 -Monthly 1 -Once or twice a year The more often you handle something, the more likely you are to experience an incident. For example, if you rarely drive a car, you are less likely to be in a car accident than someone who drives a car for a living Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Assess the Risk Severity - Select the consequence/outcome that would occur if you were to experience the hazard 5 -Multiple Fatalities 4 -Fatality 3 -Disability/disfigurement 2 -Will need time off work/school to recover 1 -Medical Aid – minor treatment, able to return to work/school immediately afterwards Think about what the worst-case scenario would be. It is known that several people have died from being exposed to a fire cause by ethanol and similar solvents Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Assess the Risk Now that you have selected the Probability, Frequency and Severity of the potential hazard, the next step is add up the score. The higher the number, the higher the risk. Note: you don’t need to use this specific rating scale, or to tally up the scores for each hazard, but this approach will give you a better idea of which risks need to have more mitigation strategies developed. If an activity is very low-risk, simply being cautious might be all that’s required Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Assess the Risk Thinking back to the example of the uneven sidewalk… Scenario 1: This sidewalk is in a high-traffic area next to a senior centre: • Probability – 4 • Frequency – 5 • Severity – 4 Risk rating: 13 Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment Scenario 2: This sidewalk is in a low-traffic area next to an abandoned factory: • Probability – 4 • Frequency – 1 • Severity – 1 Risk rating: 6

Assess the Risk The hazard is the same for both scenarios, but the details of the scenario is what affects the level of risk. Falls account for 85% of injury-related hospitalizations for seniors. 40% of seniors' falls result in hip fractures and 1 in 5 older adults will die within 12 months of suffering a hip fracture. Younger people may simply get a cut or bruise, (or perhaps break a bone) but will likely fully recover. Likewise, having an uneven sidewalk that people need to use on a daily basis exposes more people to the risk of a fall, and increases the likelihood of an injury. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Hazard Control Measures • The main ways to control a hazard, in order of priority (most effective to least effective), are: Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Hazard Control Measures • The main ways to control a hazard, in order of priority (most effective to least effective), are: – Elimination/substitution – remove the hazard – Engineering controls – includes designs or modifications to equipment, ventilation systems, and any process that reduces the source of exposure – Administrative controls – controls that alter the way the work is done, including the timing of work, implementing policies and procedures – Personal Protective Equipment – worn by individuals to reduce exposure Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Hazard Control Measures • Substitution example: using the same chemical but in a different form. Instead of a dry, dusty power which is an inhalation hazard, that material can be purchased as pellets or crystals, and therefore there is less dust released into the air • Engineering controls example: Fume hoods, glove boxes • Administrative controls example: written step-by-step procedures, training, supervision • Administrative controls are not favoured because they do not actually remove or reduce the hazard itself, and are difficult to implement and maintain (people can disobey the safety rules and put themselves in danger) • Personal protective equipment includes lab coats, hearing protection, safety glasses, respirators etc • PPE is considered the least effective way to control hazards because again, the hazard itself is not removed or reduced and is the “last line of defense” Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Mitigation strategies are ways that we can lessen the risk. As mentioned, when deciding where to focus your efforts/ resources, you can use a risk rating to guide you. For example, if the City only had enough money to fix one of those uneven sidewalks this year, which one do you think they should repair? They should choose the sidewalk that is in a high-traffic area next to a senior centre, because the risk there is higher. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Mitigation By fixing the sidewalk, we are eliminating the hazard. For the sidewalk that is in a low-traffic area, we may not be able to fix it completely (via elimination) but we can implement other hazard controls to mitigate/lessen the risk Engineering control: block off access to the sidewalk Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Mitigation Administrative control – signage/ other methods to alert others to the danger (they can still access the hazard, but we are trying to change the way they use it) Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Implement & Assess The next two steps are simply to implement whatever controls you have selected, and then to re-evaluate their effectiveness periodically. You may need to adjust your mitigation strategy if you perform the experiment and find that the hazards still cause problems. You may also notice other hazards you may not have initially identified. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Implement & Assess Managing risk is all about evolving the safety of your processes. Always look for ways to improve and refine the process. Don’t wait for an incident to happen, be proactive and re-evaluate the procedure once in a while Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment • Let’s try assessing a common procedure as an example: performing a distillation of a solvent (methanol) • First lets think about all the things we need, and then we can determine what hazards are associated with those materials Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment • Here is a diagram of a simple distillation apparatus setup Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment • We can see that the equipment itself may pose some hazards: • Heat and electricity from the heating apparatus • Potential for broken glass • Does thermometer have mercury in it? • Water lines are needed for cooling, what happens if they pop off, or if the water in the building is shut down? Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment • What about the chemical itself, what are it’s hazards? • From the SDS we can see that methanol is fairly hazardous! Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment • Other hazards we need to consider, might not be immediately obvious: • Work design (ergonomics), • Working alone, • Unattended processes, • Spills Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment It’s a good idea to organize our thoughts and make sure we are assessing the risks systematically to hopefully avoid missing things. Let’s put the identified hazards in a simple chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control 1. High heat 2. Electrical equipment 3. Broken glass 4. Mercury (toxic) 5. Water used for cooling 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design 8. Working alone 9. Unattended process 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment Risk Level

Planning an Experiment Some of these can be eliminated/ easily controlled right away: • Ergonomics might only be a concern if you are doing something for a long period of time, or if the setup of the experiment is in a hard-to-reach area. Likely, the fume hood is a suitable work surface and won’t result in any awkward bending, lifting or repetitive movements • Working alone – if you plan your distillation so that you are able to start and finish it within regular working hours, this hazard is eliminated as well Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Some of these can be eliminated/ easily controlled right away: • It’s best practice to never leave a distillation unattended – but again, this might require planning ahead: • Go to the washroom prior to starting, or make sure a lab mate is around to watch the distillation in case you need to leave the lab at any time • Don’t start the distillation prior to your lunch break, so that you don’t have to shut it down in order to leave the lab to eat something. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment So let’s update our chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat 2. Electrical equipment 3. Broken glass 4. Mercury (toxic) 5. Water used for cooling 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Let’s try to find other hazards that might be easy to eliminate: Mercury thermometer– why not replace the mercury thermometer with one that uses alcohol instead? We’ve eliminated that hazard if we do that simple switch Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment So let’s update our chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat 2. Electrical equipment 3. Broken glass Use alcohol thermometer instead None 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 4. Mercury (toxic) 5. Water used for cooling 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Let’s go back to the equipment and think about the ways we can mitigate our risk based on what we’ve learned: Heating equipment – we can mitigate our risks by ensuring we check the wiring of the heating mantle and make sure there are no frayed wires. We also want to ensure the temperature control is working properly (determine what temperature setting to turn the heating mantle to), and that the equipment meets CSA standards -check the equipment for a label like this: Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment So let’s update our chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low Use alcohol thermometer instead None 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 2. Electrical equipment 3. Broken glass 4. Mercury (toxic) 5. Water used for cooling 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Heating equipment – We’ve addressed some of the electrical hazards, but we should also think about the other electrical hazards that we may be introducing: we are using water to cool the condenser, if the hose comes loose, or the tap leaks we might expose the electrical appliance to water, which can result in fire or electrocution. Side note: Flooding the lab is also a possibility if a hose pops off. . however, you aren’t likely to cause a flood if you are always present during the distillation because you will notice quickly and shut the water off before it becomes a flooding concern. But even a small splash can cause electrical equipment to malfunction so simply watching the distillation won’t prevent the electrical hazards should the hoses come loose. . Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment How can we prevent this? By clamping water lines to both the condenser and the water tap, we prevent them from coming off in case of an abrupt change in water pressure Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment So let’s update our chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses 2. Electrical equipment 3. Broken glass Medium 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment High heat – we need to be aware of the fact that hot glass and cold glass typically look the same. Once we start the distillation we need to remember not to touch the distillation flask or the distillation head. We also need to think about what to do if the temperature is rising too fast. We don’t want the liquid to boil over and potentially push open any part of the distillation apparatus. Ways to prevent this would be to have a means of quickly removing the heat source, and clamping the glassware together securely. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Looking at our initial setup, the only way to remove the distillation flask from the heat will be to raise the flask and the connected apparatus, but that would require loosening and lifting three different clamps: Not exactly easy or simple to do if you need to remove the heat quickly! Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment A better option would be to set up the heating mantle on a lab jack, so that you can easily and quickly lower the heating source without disturbing the rest of the apparatus Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment A common problem with distillation is called “bumping”. This occurs when a liquid is heated and does not immediately being to boil/bubble, thus when the liquid finally boils, a large vapor bubble is formed that pushes the liquid out of the flask. This expulsion of boiling liquid poses a serious hazard. To help prevent this from happening, boiling chips/stones should be used Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment To prevent glassware from coming apart and vapours or liquid potentially being released, we should use clips to hold together the different pieces of glassware: Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment So let’s update our chart: Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jack & boiling chips Medium 2. Electrical equipment Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses 3. Broken glass Medium 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Hazard Mitigation/Control 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jack & boiling chips Why did we leave this risk level as a medium, Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment even after adding controls? Because there is 3. Broken glass nothing preventing us from touching the hot 4. Mercury (toxic) mercury a thermometer glassware and Use suffering burn, andinstead heating equipment of water the most 5. Water used for cooling is one Clamp hoses common of&lab fires (high severity, high 6. Methanolcauses (flammable toxic) probability). We aren’t eliminating the risk (we still have to. Proper use heat) we hood are just 7. Work design of fume should reduce risk lessening it as Will bestnotwe can. 8. Working alone work alone for this experiment 2. Electrical equipment 9. Unattended process 10. Spill Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment Risk Level Medium Low None Low

Planning an Experiment Just a few more hazards to think about: Broken glass, hexane, and spills Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jack & boiling chips Medium 2. Electrical equipment Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses 3. Broken glass Medium 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Broken glass –intact glassware isn’t a concern, but we should take steps to avoid causing glassware to break. We must make sure: • The glassware we intend to use is able to withstand the temperature we need to operate at. • We check the glassware for flaws or cracks • We don’t force the apparatus together, glass joints should fit easily and never need to be forced together (check the size numbers on each joint to be sure they match) • Handle the glassware with care, lots of these pieces are more delicate than simple beakers and flasks Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Broken glass –We also need to be realistic – we might accidentally drop a piece of glassware on the floor, breaking it. Cleaning up broken glass is a hazard, we should make sure our spill kit has forceps or tongs to pick up larger pieces (if needed) and a broom and dustpan for the smaller shards of glass Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Hazard Mitigation/Control Risk Level 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jack & boiling chips Medium 2. Electrical equipment Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 3. Broken glass Inspect glassware, use broom & dustpan to clean up Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses Medium 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Methanol–we would approach the assessment of the hazards of methanol in much the same way we did during the WHMIS 2015 portion of the course: • Read the SDS • Choose appropriate PPE • Plan for any problems that may occur (what to do in case of fire, if you come in contact with the chemical, how to dispose of it, etc) • The simple chart we’ve shown on previous slides may not be enough space to detail everything we need, but we can refer to additional information as well • This is likely going to be the hazard with the highest level of risk involved, so it makes sense that we would give more attention to it’s mitigation Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Hazard Mitigation/Control 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jac & boiling chipsk Medium 2. Electrical equipment Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 3. Broken glass Inspect glassware, use broom & dustpan to clean up Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) Refer to SDS and other written procedures High 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment Risk Level Medium

Planning an Experiment Spills–similar to broken glass, our first priority is to prevent a spill in the first place: • Use funnels to transfer the liquid from the container to the flask • Only use the smallest volume necessary to limit the volume of a potential spill And of course, we want to still plan ahead for what to do if a spill does occur: • Proper spill kit available and stocked • Know the procedure for what to do in case of a spill (call 911? Call Campus Security? Clean it up yourself? ) –Decide ahead of time, that way you can act quickly if a spill happens Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment Hazard Mitigation/Control 1. High heat Don’t touch hot surfaces, clamp glassware, use lab jack & boiling chips Medium 2. Electrical equipment Check for frayed wiring, use CSA approved equipment Low 3. Broken glass Inspect glassware, use broom & dustpan to clean up Low 4. Mercury (toxic) Use alcohol thermometer instead None 5. Water used for cooling Clamp water hoses 6. Methanol (flammable & toxic) Refer to SDS and other written procedures High 7. Work design Proper use of fume hood should reduce risk Low 8. Working alone Will not work alone for this experiment None 9. Unattended process Ensure timing allows for constant monitoring, have back-up personnel if needed, or shut down distillation before leaving the lab Low 10. Spill Use funnel, stock spill kit, limit volume, review spill training & decide what volume we can clean up on our own Medium Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment Risk Level Medium

Planning an Experiment What are some other things we learned about that might help us? • We could set up a “dry run”, this is a great way to find other hazards we may not have been aware of • For example, I might set up the apparatus and realize that the water tap is on the left of the fume hood and my water hoses end up crossing over the heat source, which might cause them to melt once I turn the heat on! • By doing this dry run, I find out that I need to get a longer hose, or that I need to turn my distillation apparatus around to prevent this from happening. • This would have been difficult to visualize from the picture we saw earlier, so it’s understandable that this detail got overlooked Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment What are some other things we learned about that might help us? • We always want to take a “cradle-to-grave” approach to planning experiments • This means that we want to think about safety from beginning to end, from purchasing all the way to waste disposal. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment With that in mind, let’s think about the things we need to be aware of right from the start: • How is this chemical being purchased? Or do we already have some on hand? • In both cases, I need to think about how much I will need. If I need to distill 250 m. L, and will likely need to do the distillation 3 different times throughout the semester, I should buy a 1 L bottle (or check how much is already in the inventory, maybe I can use a bottle from another lab that doesn’t want it anymore) • It might be less expensive to buy a 4 L bottle, but if no one else in my lab is going to need methanol after I do my experiments, then the left over chemical will sit on the shelf taking up space. • It also increases the risk of a spill, and as containers age, they have a tendency to degrade, leak, or the labels fade Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment With that in mind, let’s think about the things we need to be aware of right from the start: • If I’m getting this chemical from another lab, I need to make sure the inventory system is updated to reflect the change in location • I will also need to determine where I can safely store it in my lab in between experiment days • If I need to pour it into secondary containers (instead of the supplier container) I will need to obtain WHMIS labels Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Planning an Experiment How about the things that need to happen once the distillation is complete? • You should never distill a flask to dryness, so there will be some impure solvent left behind in the distillation flask which will likely end up as waste • I should obtain and label a waste container ahead of time • Again, I need to plan ahead to think about what size of waste container I might need, • Or maybe we already have a waste container for compatible solvents, and I just need to make sure that methanol is listed on the label and that there is enough space available in the waste container for my waste Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Putting the Plan Together So we’ve covered quite a bit for such a simple experiment, how can we make sure we remember all these details? What can we do to prepare other people in our lab that might need to perform this same task while we are away? The best approach is to create a Safe Operating Procedure (SOP). An SOP is just a step-by-step procedure for an activity that incorporates all the safety information that is needed for a person to perform that task. Typically you would review an SOP with someone while giving them a hands-on demonstration first, an SOP isn’t a substitute for training, it is simply a way to ensure all the training is remembered during an activity Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Putting the Plan Together An SOP can take a variety of formats and styles, as long as it clearly communicates what needs to be done, it doesn’t matter what format or style you use! Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Putting the Plan Together Step Hazards/Risks/Mitigation 1. Put on appropriate PPE Lab coat, long pants, enclosed shoes, safety glasses, gloves 2. Gather necessary glassware & equipment Inspect all glass for chips/cracks, ensure the correct size of each piece. Check heating equipment wiring and operation. 3. Assemble apparatus inside fume hood as shown in diagram Make sure all connections are clipped together and fit securely, make sure water hoses do not make contact with heating equipment 4. Gather methanol, funnel, graduated cylinder inside fume hood Ensure spill kit is readily available 5. Pour methanol into grad cylinder to measure necessary amount Pour slowly and carefully, wipe up any drips off side of methanol bottle and grad cylinder 6. Using funnel, transfer the methanol into the distillation flask, add boiling chip Again, watch for drips and cross contamination 7. Begin distillation by turning Keep constant watch on apparatus once heating has begun, if you on heating mantle to need to leave, shut off and lower the heat source Human Resources predetermined setting Health, Safety & Environment

Putting the Plan Together Step Hazards/Risks/Mitigation 8. Allow distillation to proceed until complete Never boil the flask to dryness, shut off and lower the heat source before the distillation flask is empty 9. Let distillation apparatus cool before touching You can remove the collection flask, as it will be cool to the touch, but leave the rest of the apparatus for a while before dismantling 10. Once cool, dismantle apparatus and clean glassware Take care during cleaning, wet glassware may be more slippery and prone to dropping/breaking – make sure to clean up broken glass properly with tongs and broom & dustpan 11. Pour methanol remaining in Watch for drips, use funnels when pouring the distillation flask into the appropriate waste container Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment

Putting the Plan Together You won’t have a perfect SOP the first time you write it, so it’s a good idea to get several sets of eyes to look it over. Ask your supervisor and lab mates to see if they can think of anything else you should watch out for. Send it to HSE for another opinion. Walk through the SOP during a dry run and see if there’s anything you missed. And of course, SOP’s should be updated and reviewed if anything changes or if you notice they don’t address all the concerns. Human Resources Health, Safety & Environment