Laboratory equipment maintenance/repair

Subject

Laboratory Equipment Maintenance/Repair SAFETY 90-2 (Rev. 5/95)

Purpose

To establish minimum safe work practices for laboratory equipment, including biological safety cabinets, fume hoods, centrifuges, and refrigerators.

Practice

To protect themselves and others, employees must follow, as a minimum, the safety practices described below whenever they work on laboratory equipment, including fume hoods, biological safety cabinets, centrifuges, and refrigerators.

Laboratory workers are required to clean and prepare their equipment for maintenance and repair work and to clear the area surrounding the equipment to provide safe, unobstructed access for maintenance workers. If equipment is to be removed or demolished preparatory to facilities alterations, it also must be cleaned and labeled.

References

Responsibility: Action

RoleResponsibility
Supervisor/Lead
  • Ask laboratory personnel to identify hazardous substances processed or stored in equipment, and to complete “Notice of Laboratory Equipment Decontamination” (UoW 1803)
  • Complete Safety Hazard Checklist (see SAFETY 93-2a)
  • If any doubts, or if clearly determined to be hazardous substances, ask laboratory personnel to clean equipment for EH&S inspection
  • Contact EH&S for followup; monitor employees’ work practices
Employee
  • Wear contact protection (gloves and dust mask, and possibly face shield and coverall)
  • Disconnect equipment and lockout as appropriate
Laboratory
  • Clean tools and shop equipment after completion of maintenance/repair
  • Identify hazardous substances used
Personnel
  • Identify hazardous substances used
  • Decontaminate laboratory equipment; complete and post “Notice of Laboratory Equipment Decontamination” (UoW 1803)
  • Post or seal off equipment to prevent recontamination
  • Clear work space around the equipment to provide unobstructed access to equipment
EH&S
  • Advise laboratory personnel on cleaning/decontamination
  • Follow up on maintenance worker concerns