NMR

Safety Protocols

Everyone working in the NMR laboratory in ‘Statler Commissary’ is expected to act professionally and environmentally responsible. Our laboratory is committed to minimize the risk of personal and environmental hazards involved in working with high-field magnets and handling biological fluids. Thus, the protocols herein are established. These protocols are specifically tailored to our laboratory and subject to change if better procedures are identified in minimizing such risks.

Contact information

Dr. Khalid Ahsan

Chemistry Department Safety Officer
ahsan@buffalo.edu
716-645-4115

Dr. Leonard Borzynski

Manager, Biosafety Division
Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S)
lenb@buffalo.edu
716-829-3301; 716-829-2401 (sharps injury reporting)

University Police

716-645-2222

Mr. Erwin Garcia

PhD student
egarcia3@buffalo.edu
716-908-8567

Dr. Dinesh Sukumaran

Director, NMR Center
dks@buffalo.edu
716-725-1107

Dr. Thomas Szyperski

Principal Investigator
szypersk@buffalo.edu
716-472-7075

Szyperski Lab

716-645-4302, 716-645-4303, 716-645-4304, 716-645-4312

University at Buffalo Health Services

716-829-3316

Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital

1540 Maple Road, Williamsville, NY 14221
716- 568-3600

STERICYCLE

http://www.stericycle.com/medical-waste-disposal/customer-pickup-request.html
1-866-783-7422

NMR Safety Rules

Cryogenic liquids

No person is allowed to use cryogenic liquids without training and permissio
Dr. Sukumaran should be notified first before any attempt to use cryogenic liquids
Protective glasses and thermal gloves should be used when working with cryogenic liquids
In the event of a magnet quench, all occupants must exit the NMR lab immediately
Any accident of exposure to cryogenic liquids must be reported to Dr. Sukumaran and Dr. Khalid Ahsan.

Magnetic materials

Persons with metallic implants (e.g. cardiac pacemakers, orthopedic pins, plates, arterial clips, etc.) must keep at least 10 feet distance from the magnets
Metal and magnetic objects (e.g spatulas, carts, keys, ATM cards, wristwatches, laptops, magnetic tapes, disks, etc.) must be left in the wet lab room or on the table outside the NMR room

Physical contact

Don’t lean on the magnet
Use the stairs provided for the spectrometers when loading the sample

Injury reporting

Report any injury to Dr. Sukumaran and Dr. Ashan

Biosafety

Safety training

Schedule for a discussion on the following should be made with Mr. Garcia (et. al.)

Exposure Control Plan
Metabonomics lab set up in Statler
Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) Bloodborne Pathogens
Questions regarding other aspects of biosafety can be directed to Mr. Leonard Borzynski of EH&S.

Training records

Write a paragraph on the WIKI regarding the date, location, resource person and bullet points of biosafety topics discussed

Vaccination

There are three shots that need to be legally administered to people who are front liners (have direct physical contact with blood and blood products):

Undergrad/Graduate students: Call University at Buffalo Health Services to schedule an appointment.
Post-docs: Make sure that you have an active health insurance. Search online for health providers that are affiliated with your current health insurance and schedule an appointment for vaccination. If you have a family doctor, he is also allowed to administer the shots, if he agrees.

Universal safety precautions and lab safety policies

Prepare 10% (v/v) bleach-water solution before handling serum samples. Keep the solution only for a week. Fill out the form that is posted beside the metabonomics hood for bleach solution preparation indicating the date and name of person who prepared it
Wash hands with hand soap and water before and after sample preparation
Wear double purple nitrile gloves whenever you are working with blood and other potentially infectious materials
Wear full body lab coats at the time
Wear safety glasses
Dispose used pipet tips, Eppendorf tubes and gloves that came in contact with serum and serum products in their designated biohazardous waste container. Contact STERICYCLE to schedule for pick up if these containers get filled. Note that the schedules should be made at least 2 days prior to pick up dates.
Disinfect contaminated safety glasses, lab coats and clothing that were contaminated with serum and serum products by soaking them in a freshly prepared 10% (v/v) bleach-water solution
Eating and drinking is strictly prohibited inside the NMR lab
In the event of blood serum spill, cover the spill with freshly prepared bleach solution and let it stand for at least an hour before wiping it off with paper towels. Redisinfect the surface with freshly prepared bleach solution. Throw the used paper towels in the biohardous waste container.
For NMR tube breakage, recover as much sample as possible from the tube, disinfect the broken tube by soaking it in freshly prepared bleach solution and disinfect the surface. Throw the disinfected glass fragments in the broken glass container
In the event that the serum sample was broken inside the probe, immediately inform Dr. Sukumaran. Isopropyl alcohol must be used as a cleaner and disinfectant for the probe. Don’ t use bleach. Probe cleaning should only be performed with Dr. Sukumaran. If the probe/spectrometer needs fixing, inform the person who will fix the problem the potentially hazardous nature of the sample before he starts to work
During data collection, post notes announcing that data acquisition for a potentially hazardous sample is on going
Wipe the NMR tube with Kimwipes before loading the sample to minimize transfer of dirt to the probe
If you generate garbage (e.g. used paper towels, Kimwipes, parafilms, or any clutter in general), throw them in regular waste bin
Clean your working area before leaving the lab

Injury logs and reporting

In case of fire or magnet quench, call the University police, Dr. Sukumaran and Dr. Szyperski.
If you cut or puncture yourself while handling potentially biohazardous biofluids, wash the ezposed area with soap and water and seek medical attention from Milliard Filmore Suburban Hospital or from Health Services as soon as possible.
Report the incident to Dr. Szyperski, Dr. Ashan and Dr. Sukumaran
You should also contact EH&S (sharps injury reporting)
Fill out an accident report form (http://hr.buffalo.edu/files/phatfile/Workers_Comp.pdf) and follow the procedures therein
Record the incident in ‘Sharp Injury Log book’