Safety Equipment, PPE, & Hazards

Question 1

What is a biological safety cabinet used for?

Answer 1

Prevent the escape of aerosols into the lab (dust, fumes, and highly infectious materials)

Question 2

Differentiate between the 3 classes of biological safety cabinets. (3)

Answer 2

1, Class I - ventilated, user is protected, and specimen is not protected

2. Class II - Laminar Airflow Biological Safety Cabinet → user and specimen are protected
3. Class III - totally enclosed, highest level of personal and environmental protection, as well as specimen protection

Question 3

What is an eyewash station used for?

Answer 3

Used if chemicals get into the eye to flush large amounts of water across the eyes and wash away the chemicals

Question 4

List 3 major articles of personal protective equipment (PPE). (3)

Answer 4

1. Gloves
2. Goggles
3. Face mask (shield)

Question 5

When should you wear gloves?

Answer 5

Before you touch anything that may be potentially biohazardous - especially when cleaning spills!

Question 6

When should you wear goggles and face masks (shields)?

Answer 6

When using large amounts of acids, bases, toxic chemicals, and if splashing of a biohazardous material is possible

Question 7

List 4 things that pipettes are used for. (4)

Answer 7

1. Ratios
2. Dilutions
3. Mixing
4. Measuring

Question 8

What is used when carrying large bottles of acid, base, or toxic chemicals from one area of the lab to another and why? (2)

Answer 8

1. Rubber buckets
2. Designed so that if they are knocked against an object, the carrier absorbs shock and thus protects the bottle so it doesn’t break

Question 9

Define: aerosols

Answer 9

The vapourization or dispersion of liquid droplets, solid particles, and combustions of these in a fine spray or mist

Question 10

List as many examples of aerosol creation as you can. (9)

Answer 10

1. Grinding
2. Blending
3. Centrifuging
4. Opening a specimen tube
5. Forceful ejection from a pipette or syringe
6. Flaming an inoculated loop
7. Inserting a hot loop into a culture
8. Sonicating (ultrasound energy)
9. Re-suspending packed cells or viruses

Question 11

Differentiate between threshold limit value (TLV) and threshold limit value - short term exposure limited (TLV-STEL). (2)

Answer 11

1. Threshold Limit Value (TLV) → concentrations of a substance a person can be repeatedly exposed to during an 8hr day (40hrs a week) without adverse effect
2. Threshold Limit Value - Short Term Exposure Limited (TLV-STEL) → concentration of a substance that a worker can be exposed to for a maximum of 15min without adverse effects

Question 12

Differentiate between L.D. 50 and L.C. 50. (2)

Answer 12

1. Lethal Dose 50% Kills (L.D. 50) → dose of a substance, when administered orally or via IV, kills ½ of the animals tested
2. Lethal Concentration (L.C. 50) → concentration of toxicant inhaled by test animals for a known period of time and kills ½ of them

Question 13

Define: radiation

Answer 13

Energy that comes from a source and travels through material or space

Question 14

State the 2 classifications of radiation and briefly describe them. (2)

Answer 14

1. Ionizing - has sufficient energy to remove electrons from atoms or molecules → forms ions
2. Non-ionizing - has enough energy to just move or vibrate atoms, but not enough to remove electrons

Question 15

What classification of radiation is usually seen in labs? (1)

Answer 15

Ionizing radiation

Question 16

How are the effects of radiation described?

Answer 16

Insidious → cannot be simply seen

Question 17

What are the 3 factors that determine how long you may stay in radiation for? (3)

Answer 17

1. Distance
2. Time
3. Shielding

Question 18

How should you manage your degree of radiation based on distance, time,and shielding? (3)

Answer 18

1. Maximized distance from the radiation source
2. Minimize the time of exposure
3. Incorporate shielding