1. Users are expected to follow all RSS, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and university policies. The policies below are specific to the BICF.
2. All users are expected to follow good laboratory practices in the handling of chemicals, waste, and instrumentation. Users must follow all policies and directions of BICF staff such as posted notices, emails, verbal instructions, etc.
3. All injuries, accidents, near-misses, fires, safety issues, etc. are to be reported immediately to the facility manager – Dr. Alicia Friedman, friedman.270@osu.edu, 614-247-7814, CBEC 085
4. Be aware of the nearest fire extinguisher/alarm, safety eyewash station, sink, and evacuation routes to exit the building during an emergency.
5. The Hazardous Communication Plan is always available in a binder on the front desk near the door.
6. No food or drinks are to be brought into the facility at any time.
7. PPE Requirements:
- Safety eyewear (i.e. safety glasses) must be worn at all times in the facility
- Dress appropriately – no sandals, no shorts allowed
- Gloves are provided and to be used at your own discretion – do not use gloves when using the mouse/keyboard of a computer!
- Lab coats are only required when working with hazardous materials
8. Waste must be disposed of properly and in accordance with university policy:
- Glass waste bins are clearly labeled – do not include anything not glass (i.e. gloves, Kimwipes, etc.)
- Liquid waste containers are clearly labeled – do not pour incompatible solvents down the drain.
- Sharps bins are provided and clearly labeled – do not recap sharps as to avoid accidental sticks!
9. All compressed gas cylinders must be secured properly during use and must be handled/transported in accordance with university safety policies.
10. Sample Limitations:
- No radioactive materials are permitted in the facility
- No biohazards that require a lab safety of BSL2 or BSL3 are permitted in the facility – these include infectious viruses, toxins, human tissues, viable plasmids, etc.
11. Users should not remove or tamper with any part of an instrument unless instructed to do so by a staff member. If an instrument is not working, please report it to Dr. Friedman immediately!
12. Instruments are to be used only by trained/approved individuals.
- Untrained individuals are welcome to accompany a trained user to observe the experiment but are not to operate any of the software/hardware of the instrument
- Training must take place with a BICF staff member prior to being granted access. The overall number and length of training sessions depends on the individual instrument, planned experiment, and trainee’s previous experience.
13. All instrument time must be reserved and logged using the FOM system (fom.osu.edu). This includes any time using the computer for data retrieval and/or data workup.
- RSS policy states that users who do not accurately self-report instrument usage will be charged from the time the log-on occurred until the next legitimate user log-on – this can get quite pricey if an instrument is not regularly used or occurs over a weekend!
- Repeat infractions will result in loss of access to the facility and instruments
14. Facility computers and data drives are not regularly backed up; data may be removed (with prior notice) if space is needed. Users are expected to transfer all experiments to personal/lab data storage that is secure and regularly archived.
15. These policies are subject to change with notice at any time.