Personal Protective Equipment
Appropriate Lab Clothing
Always - long pants/closed toe shoes. Safety or prescription glasses.
Never - Shorts, skirts or sandals.
When working in a lab with hazardous materials:
- Safety glasses
- Lab coat
- Chemical-resistant gloves
Remember:
- Tie back/up long hair
- Remove lab coats and other PPE when leaving the lab.
- Contact lenses are not recommended.
- Wash hands after removing gloves and before leaving the lab.
Emergencies
Know locations of nearest:
- Exits from room and building
- Safety shower
- Emergency eyewash
- Spill response supplies
- Phone
- Fire alarm pull station
- Gas shut off valve
Emergency contacts
Medical, Fire, Police
911 or 203-432-4400
EHS Emergency Line
203-785-3555
Yale Health Acute Care
203-432-0123
EHS Main Line
203-785-3550
Basic Laboratory Safety
- Do not work alone in the laboratory.
- Know the hazards of the materials and equipment you will be using prior to beginning your experiment.
- Plan experiments ahead of time, using written procedures. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
- Seek advisor or instructor approval before modifying approved experiments, such as chemical substitution or reaction scale-up.
- Use a fume hood when working with volatile or hazardous materials.
- Never mouth pipette.
- Avoid use of sharps such as needles or glass pipettes if possible. Never recap needles, and dispose of needles in needle boxes and all other sharps in appropriate sharps containers.
- Use a hotplate, heating mantle or heating block instead of an open flame where possible.
- Store all chemicals in approved storage location in the laboratory.
- Label all containers, including samples, chemicals and waste.
- Avoid placing personal items on work surfaces.
- Keep backpacks out of the lab or work area.
- Protect the environment! Never dispose of hazardous waste down the drain or in the regular trash. Follow guidelines in the Yale Laboratory Waste Disposal Tool (ehs.yale.edu),
- Clean lab work surfaces and equipment at the end of your experiment or procedure.
- Remove PPE and wash hands with soap and water before leaving the laboratory
Remember: Food and beverages are not allowed in any Yale University laboratory. Also, smoking, vaping and applying cosmetics - including lip balm - is not allowed in any laboratory.