John R. Bolte

Vice-president of Administration and Finance

University of Central Florida
Preface

This University of Central Florida General Laboratory Safety Manual is a production of the University of Central Florida Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S). The purpose of this manual is to help university departments recognize, evaluate, and control hazards associated with university laboratory operations. This manual intends to establish basic, safe operating practices so that faculty, students, and staff can do effective teaching and research programs in a safe and healthy environment.

This manual is the third in a series of EH&S safety publications. Other EH&S safety manuals in print:

• Accident Prevention Manual
• Radiation Safety Workbook
• Radiation Training Guidebook
• Hazardous Chemical Waste Manual
• Hazard Communication Standard / Florida Right-To-Know Manual.

• Chapter 1: Areas of Responsibility
• Chapter 2: Safety and Accident-prevention Guidelines
• Chapter 3: Emergencies
• Chapter 4: Safety and Emergency Equipment
• Chapter 5: Chemical Safety
• Chapter 6: Definitions of Hazardous Materials

Tables listed in this manual are:
 

Table 1: Flammability data of common laboratory solvents

Table 2: Maximum size of containers permitted for flammable liquids

Table 3: Maximum quantities permitted for flammable liquids

Table 4: Toxicity classifications

Table 5: Examples of common compounds that can form peroxides during storage

Table 6: Examples of chemicals that can form peroxides

Table 7: Examples of incompatible chemicals

Each table is placed as close as possible to the relevant section in the manual.
How To Use This Manual
This manual has some tools that were constructed so you can spend less time looking for information and spend more time finding out what you really need to know about general laboratory safety at UCF.

Warnings

A Warning is always shown first immediately following a heading.

Every Warning in this manual highlights definite life-threatening hazards that cause severe personal injury or loss of life, either immediately or over time. A Warning always contains or consitutes a command.

You must have no misunderstanding of the message a Warning is communicating. If you have any questions regarding the intent of a Warning, carefully read the appropriate section of this manual or ask your laboratory supervisor, manager, or instructor.
Notes

Notes differ from Warnings in that the message is not a command. Notes highlight additions to the regular text, and feature suggestions and tips that promote laboratory safety. Also, Notes can contain precautionary statements. Notes are always shown last in a section, after the regular text. An example of a Note is shown below.
Tables

The tables included in this manual are constructed to summarize technical aspects of laboratory chemicals. These technical aspects are related to the manual's goal of communicating laboratory safety to readers like yourself. For instance, Table 7 can help you recognize the dangers of combining certain incompatible chemicals.

See How this manual is organized on Page vi [Page 6 of this Preface] for a brief description of the Tables.

Icons

Icons signal the beginning of a new subsection within a chapter. For example, an icon of an open book signals the beginning of Section 2.1: Hazard Information in Chapter 2.

Also, smaller versions of section icons are located at the top outside corner in the pages of this manual. They are a quick-reference aid. If you are flipping through the pages quickly, you can use the icons to find your section.

The Table of Contents lists all the icons used in this manual.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge these institutions, references, and people that have made considerable contributions to the completion of this current edition of the UCF Lab manual:

• Hugh Ivie, Past Director, EH&S
• Dr. Dan Jones, UCF English department
• Paul Sicard, Lab Manager, UCF Chemistry department
• Dr. Guy Mattson, UCF Chemistry department
• University of North Dakota,
• University of Florida
• University of Massachusetts
• University of Georgia
• American Chemical Society
• National Research Council
• Manufacturing Chemists Association
• Gerald J. Alred, University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee
• Walter E. Oliu, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Charles T. Brusaw, NCR Corporation (retired)
• Lotus Development Corporation
• Carol M. Barnum
• Saul Carliner
• Hewlett Packard Corporation
• Microsoft Corporation
• Corel Corporation.
• Dr. Madelyn Flammia, UCF English department

• William Booker, Martin Marietta
• Monica Harry, Tupperware World Headquarters
• Josh Penick, Cabletron Systems, Inc.
• Melissa Pellegrin, UCF Technical Writing Laboratory
• Richard Brown, Adventure Tours, Inc.
• Society for Technical Communication, Orlando chapter.

Tom Perhai, Project Writer
Foreword       General Safety       Emergencies       Safety and Emergency Equip.
Chemical Safety        Appendix       Back to EH&S Homepage