Lab Safety, Ethics and Essential Duties

Lab Safety, Ethics and Essential Duties• Guidance webinar for CWEA’s Lab Analyst Certification Grade 1 and 2• Basic skills for new laboratory analysts regarding safety, ethics and record

maintenance

Welcome to a rewarding career as a laboratory professional!

You are making a difference in many people’s lives; you are essential!

Let’s get started!

Mollie Wooden, Lab Supervisor at Monterey Bay Analytical Services: mwooden@mbasinc.com

David Holland, Lab Director at Monterey Bay Analytical Services: dholland@mbasinc.com

Mindy Boele, Water Quality Manager, City of Vacaville Utilities Department

Who we are:

Questions during?David and Mindy will be monitoring the Q&A, if they can’t answer we will review before moving on to the next section.

Topics: KSA= Knowledge Skills and Abilities

!What to expect for the test – 5min

!Lab Safety (KSA 107/209) – 20min

!Ethics in the Lab (KSA 110/212) – 20min

!Record Maintenance (KSA 111) – 20min

What should I focus on?

! Computer based

! Multiple choice! Choose best available

answer! Feedback section at the

end of test

! No penalty for wrong answers

KSA (Knowledge Skills and Abilities)

Weight Total covered today

107 10%

110 4% 24%

111 10%

209 7%

212 4% 11%

How to start studying

Take the practice exam• Write down

KSAs failed

Read all sections of failed KSAs• Focus on

standard methods

Retake test • Reread KSA

sections failed

• Take a class or ask for help

Right before test•Write down all

questions and correct answers

•Retake test until 100%

•Explain question and answer to someone else

Laboratory SafetyKSA 107 and 209

Think about your real experiences…

What do you do when you walking into a lab?

Protect yourself:

Types of PPE:

• Lab coat• Goggles, face shields- protect

your eyes!• Gloves• Long pants• Closed toed shoes• Mask (COVID-19 or special)• Ear plugs- protect your

hearing!• Hard hat• *Change of clothing

Chemical Hazards:

• Can it go down the drain?• Acids/bases• Heavy sediment

• Spill kits

• Proximity of chemicals• Reacting with each other; separate

cabinets

• Fume Hoods• Ventilation

Physical Hazards:

• First Aid Kits

• Fire hazards• Heaters, Bunsen burners, ovens, hot

plate

• Lock out Tag Out

• Earthquake/Falling objects• Compressed gas cylinders hazards• Shelving and bottles

Biological Hazards:

• Dealing with biologicals• Autoclaving• High counts of bacteria

• Clean work area• Before and after • Bleach solution (5%)

• Record what you did• Autoclave in-out times• Autoclave temperature and

pressure

Documentation

Where is all this information?!Chemical hygiene plan (CHP)

!OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) ! “Laboratory Safety Chemical Hygiene Plan”

!OSHA 29 CFR 1910

!Right to Know Law! Hazard communication- MSDS/SDS

! Injury Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP)! Standard Methods 1090 A

!Corrective Action forms! Near misses

Who is responsible

• You are responsible for a safe and healthful workplace

• The lab management and staff are responsible for establishing, documenting and implementing LH&S (Laboratory Health and Safety Program), Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP)

• Designate a Safety officer or chemical hygiene officer (CHO)• Hold Safety meetings regularly

Confined space and Manhole

"Confined space" means a space that:

(1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and

(2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and

(3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

*OSHA

Quiz (Grade 1)!

1. Why do we avoid using mercury in titrations:

a. results are not as reliable as those achieved by other techniques.

b. endpoint is difficult to determine.

c. technique is lengthy and requires highly skilled instrument technicians to accurately analyze the samples.

d. mercury creates a hazardous waste disposal problem.

2. Hood flow should be monitored and documented at:

a. 100 milligrams per liter.

b. 100 parts per million.

c. 100 linear feet per minute.

d. 100 cubic feet per minute.

Quiz (Grade 2)!

3. Standard phenylarsine oxide solution (PAO):

a. should be handled with caution because it is a severe poison.

b. should be handled with caution because it is highly corrosive.

c. should be handled with caution because it is highly acidic.

d. requires only routine laboratory safety considerations.

4. Which of the following practices is important in storing and handling flammable liquids?

a. Flammable liquids must only be used in a low oxygen environment.

b. All nonworking quantities of flammable liquids should be removed from the bench top

and stored under the counter or in a laboratory storage cabinet.

c. Flammable liquids need to stored separate from other flammable organic solvents.

d. Segregate flammable liquids from other hazardous materials and minimize ignition sources whenever flammable liquids are being stored or handled.

Questions?Please use “Raise Hand” to ask verbally or enter question in Q&A box.

Ethics in the LaboratoryKSA 110 and 212

Does it feel right?

Fraud (intentional) vs Improper Practice (non-intentional)

How it occurs, handle and prevent:

! Lab provides environment where analysts can make mistakes!Pressure!!

!How to ethically handle problems!Underlying issues could be found!Method development, SOP changes, new lab practices!Acknowledging your mistakes can build trust

! Laboratories should have YEARLY training, and for new employees!Data Integrity Training

Examples (1/3)

You’re in a hurry because it’s a short week. Youstarted up the autoclave and forgot to check thepressure and temperature during the sterilizationcycle as required by the SOP. Why not just check offthe column in the log book. We have that positivebottle in there to determine sterility, right? It’s justthis one time.

This practice is:A.An improper lab practiceB.Lab fraud

Examples (2/3)

An analyst knows that the response to VOCsdegrades over time on their GC/MS. The lab isslammed with VOCs and analyses will be going out ofhold if they have to stop to recalibrate.When they prepare the samples they put just a little

more standard into the LCS sample to make surethey get good resultsThe results are almost always ND it really won’t make

a difference.

This practice is:A. An improper lab practiceB.Lab fraud

Examples (3/3)

Max is scheduled to read some Colilert results in the afternoon, he gets very busy with an emergency in the plant which makes him late for his son’s big game and he totally forgets about the micro samples. The next morning Max looks at the samples and they are all yellow. The yellow color indicates a negative result.

Sure the 24 hour window has past but they are still negative why not write down yesterday’s date and move on.

This practice is:A. An improper lab practiceB.Lab fraud

Non-conformance data: What??

• Defensible data = Reproducible data

• Quality assurance vs quality control

• QA= program in place to ensure quality

• QC= actual data showing data conformed to QA guidelines

• Run quality control along side samples

• 10% of samples

• 5 or more=another QC set

• Begin and end with QC

Non-conformance data: What??

• Show example benchsheet (ICPMS export)

Ethics in the Laboratory

• What to do if you witness fraud in the lab?• Employees are encouraged to

communicate to the Laboratory Director or the QA manager, any conditions that may affect data integrity. This can include workload, equipment operation, and training.

• Consequences• Am I going to get in trouble?

Quiz (Grade 1)!

1. You are training for a new test, YAY! You notice that the clock on the instrument is set 1 hour earlier. Your trainer says it’s so they don’t miss hold time…What do you do?:

a. Tell your supervisor.

b. Trust in your trainer, they have been doing it longer and know what they’re doing.

c. Change your methods to match this new awesome way of meeting hold times.

2. A sample is brought which was collected 33 hours ago, the client demands coliform testing be done. You should:

a. Do what the client wants- log in sample to LIMS.

b. Tell client to recollect.

c. Log sample into LIMS with qualifier.

Quiz (Grade 2)!

3. Your lab blank detected NO3N higher than your ½ your MDL:

a. Report data with qualifier

b. Change result to fit acceptance criteria

c. Rerun the blank the next day to see if it was a fluke.

d. Rerun all samples in that batch

3. Samples were brought into the lab for VOC with air bubbles and temperature was 25°C:

a. Log samples into LIMS

b. Make note on sample condition and log into LIMS

c. Reject sample; have client recollect.

Questions?Please use “Raise Hand” to ask verbally or enter question in Q&A box.

Record MaintenanceKSA 111*Note: tests KSAs are cumulative

If you didn’t write it down… it didn’t happen!

What should you be writing down?

!40CFR, Standard Methods" TNI management section- fully detailed

!Write down everything you use on your benchsheet or maintenance log or SOP (if not changing)*! Thermometer, Lot#s, Incubator #s, Pipet IDs, etc

! Traceability

!*Auditors will gravitate towards traceability in your SOP

!One WORKING version of the SOP!No drawer SOPs, benchsheet, notes, etc

If you didn’t write it down… it didn’t happen!

• Show example traceability log (ICPOES)

My benchsheets are a mess!

Good.• Reproducible data =

Defensible data

• If you got sick (COVID-19), could your backup pick up where you left off?

Proper way to fix a typo:

If you didn’t write it down… it didn’t happen!

• Show example benchsheet (pH)

Expression of results (examples to follow)

• Sig Figs (SM1050B)• How to tell how many figures are significant

• Units• What units should I report in• Converting mg/L " ug/L

• Rounding (SM1050B.2)• Bankers (see Standard Methods)• Round result AFTER making all calculations

Sig Figs and Rounding

Unit conversion

QUESTION:How many liters is 1000 mL?

Unit conversion

PPM=mg/L: 1,000 mg X 1,000 g = 1,000,000 mgg L L

PPB=ug/L: 1 million ug X 1000 g = 1 billion ugg L L

Chain of Custody

COC!Used in field collection

!What information is required?

Let’s see an example:

COC:

Sample Conditions:

Quiz

1. You are recording a temperature, it must be 35°C±0.5°C, the thermometer in in 1.0°C increments:

a. Round temp down and record

b. Round temp up and record

c. Get new thermometer.

2. You accidentally wrote the wrong time on your benchsheet:

a. Scribble into oblivion and write correct time

b. Reprint benchsheet and re-write correct time

c. Line through, initial, date and rewrite correct time.

d. White it out and write correct time.

Quiz

3. The Sample Receiving Log must record:

a. time and date received at the laboratory, sample collector, nature of sample and sample recipient.

b. sample collector, nature of sample, analyses to be performed, preservatives, condition of sample and sample recipient.

c. time and date received at the laboratory, sample collector, nature of sample, analyses to be performed, preservatives.

d. time and date received at the laboratory, sample collector, nature of sample, weather conditions during sampling, analyses to be performed, preservatives, condition of sample and sample recipient.

4. Hood flow should be monitored and documentedat:

a. 100 milligrams per liter.

b. 100 parts per million.

c. 100 linear feet per minute.

d. 100 cubic feet per minute.

Questions?

Please use “Raise Hand” to ask verbally or enter question in Q&A box.

Good Luck!You are making a difference in many people’s lives; you are essential!