Organizational measures
Your umc has taken organizational measures so that you can work safely and healthily with hazardous substances. The following applies to you:
- Only work with hazardous substances if you are experienced . Your umc must provide sufficient instruction and information.
- Roles and responsibilities in relation to work with hazardous substances have been clearly assigned, for example for stock management, registration and purchasing.
- Follow written work protocols.
- Follow safety regulations.
- Follow access regulations.
- Follow dress procedures.
- Follow cleaning procedures.
- Follow the emergency scheme.
- Perform periodic tests and inspections.
- stick to the procedure for working alone in the laboratory.
- Follow the policy for risk groups: under 18 and pregnant women.
- use, if necessary, personal protective equipment.
- If necessary, request an occupational health examination.
- Monitor the proper implementation of the above rules.
- There is validated substances information. For example, via NFU Hazardous Substances Database.
- If the safety data sheet indicates that additional measures are necessary, apply them.
- Provide clear instructions or warnings at the workplace during (ongoing) experiments, especially if there is no expert supervision. In the case of incidents, the following information is important:
- What kind of experiments are being carried out.
- Which substances are used.
- Who are the contact persons in the event of incidents.
Working alone in a room with hazardous substances
You may work alone in a room with hazardous substances if an accident where someone else has to provide immediate assistance is not to be expected. If you work alone, you must be able to call for help by phone or another alarm. If you work alone for a long time, it is wise to inform a colleague or a security officer in the event of an evening or night shift. They can then regularly check whether everything is going well. Do not operate in a cold room or freezer if it does not have a time security alarm. If an alarm is present, there must be a colleague who can respond to the alarm. Pay attention to personal circumstances that make risky to work alone for a long time.