Regulations for the lab and safety instructions

General behavior in the lab

The participants of the lab courses should behave in the way, that no one is under some kind of risk and they are advised to  properly use lab equipment and experiments.

Every participant hast to follow the rules and regulations given by the lecturer, lab staff and/or the manuals. Advices regarding the handling of equipment an experiments have to be followed.

Before beginning the experiment, you should pay attention to the briefing of the lab statt. After all measurements are finished, everything has to be cleaned up. Don´t leave a mess behind! Eating, drinking, smoking and the use of mobile phones is strictly forbidden.

Working with electricity

Don´t touch any parts, which are currently under voltage. AC and DC above 50V can cause life-threatening injuries. Short circuits with extremely high voltage and current can cause device-damages and fires.

While working with dangerous voltages, there always should be two people in the room. In emergency situations the supply voltage has to be turned off. To do that, the emergency button should be pressed (red button next to the door).

In general: All experiments, which use some kind of electric circuits should be checked by the lab staff BEFORE turning them on. Every time, an electric circuit is build, changed or dismantled, the voltage has to be turned off.

To have a better overview and to be able to spot mistakes faster, you should always build electric circuits with cables of optimal length and color code. When working with instruments, always pay attention to the right polarity, the settings, the right measuring range and the right inputs (Danger of overheating).

After finishing an experiment, please turn off all the instruments, remove batteries and dismantle all electric circuits, which werde build.

Handling of chemical compounds and liquid nitrogen

While attending the lab course, you will use a lot of different chemicals for cleaning and cooling of containers. These liquids are highly volatile and easily inflammable. Contact with hot objects and open flames should be avoided. Don´t inhale gases, always keep in mind to have proper ventilation.

The transport and decanting of liquid nitrogen for cooling of containers should only be done by lab staff. Always ware safety goggles and gloves! Caution - risk of burns!

In some of the used thermometers and barometers you will find mercury. Should you notice, that there is some kind of leakage: Caution! There is a risk of poisoning through contact with skin and inhalation of the gas! Don´t try to clean anything up yourself, please report to the lab staff immediately!

Handling of sources with ionising radiation and Lasers

The radioactice sources, which are used in the lab, are sources with activities under a certain limit. They are stored in a container, which absorbs radiation and can be locked. You can find it in room MC248. The compounds will be handled and inserted into the equipment by lab staff and after finishing the experiment, taken out and put back.

All compounds mainly radiate strongly ionizing radiation (alpha-radiation) with short reach in air. It can damage skin cells, when inhaled and it also damages organs. How strongly organs or skin are affected depends on the dosis. When handled properly there is no risk of contamination in the lab. It is mandatory to pay attention to the instructions given by the lab stuff. To minimize the dosis, direct contact with the sources should be avoided, you should keep a proper distance (>0,5 m) to unshielded radiators and you should also minimize the time spend close to the sources.

Highly energetic and x-ray radiation penetrates human tissue and can harm it because of the ionizing effects and the absorbed dosis. All devices used during lab courses are full-protected devices, also used in schools with extremely low radiation dosis outside of the housing. When opening the housing the source of radiation is automatically turned off. Every manipulation and every try, to bypass the protection of the housing is strictly forbidden.

During the lab cours a 5 mW He-Ne-Laser will be used. When experimenting with this Laser, there is a risk of damage of the retina, when the beam directly gets into the eye. It is forbidden to look directly into the beam! Diffuse reflecting objects, like jewlery, watches and other stuff shouldn´t be worn while working with Lasers. While adjusting the beam it is mandatory to wear safety goggles and to follow the instructions of the lab stuff!

Behavior during dangerous situations

Keep calm! - Inform people in risk! - When helping others don´t forget about own safety!

1. Accident

When performing first-aid on someone injured, you can find a first aid kid in rooms ME142, ME151, MD148, MD165 and MG187. for further help in case of emergency, call the control center (92211) or the fire department (112)! Please anser following questions:

• Where did the accident happen?
• What and when did it happen?
• How many injured people?
• Who is calling?
• Waiting for furher questions

2. Fire

When hearing an alarm signal, all participants of the lab courses have to stop the experiments and leave the building immediately on the shortest way. You can find an evacuation map next to MG183. Don´t use elevators! Please go immediately to the assembly point on the parking lot behind the school and in front of the mensa.

In case of a fire in the rooms of the lab courses, following steps should be happening parallel:

• Saving of people
• extinguishing fire(s) with the help of extinguishers
• Informing the control center (92211) and fire department (112)
  • Where is the fire? (building/room number)
  • Who is calling (name/building/room number)
  • What is burning?
  • Is there a danger for people or are people in danger?
• Close windows and doors
• Leave the room and the building

Phone numbers in the rooms

• ME 142 (Tel. 93570)
• MD 147 (Tel. 93102)
• MD 163 (Tel. 92090)
• MD 165 (Tel. 93095)