ORIENTATION ON THE

LABORATORY RULES,
SAFETY, HAZARDS, & WASTE
MANAGEMENT
University of Santo Tomas - Legazpi
Laboratories and Instrumentation Department
General Safety
Laboratory Rules
Rule 1:
Laboratory coats and/or other protective equipment must be worn at all
times when inside the laboratory classroom.

Rule 2:
Personal audio equipment (e.g. MP3/iPod) and radios are forbidden in
all laboratory areas. This is for the safety of all.

Rule 3:
No horse playing inside the laboratory areas.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Rule 4:
Working alone is discouraged. No student may work in
laboratory without the supervision and/or presence of laboratory
faculty.

Rule 5:
Dispose wastes according to specific instructions given and
according to the designated bins/areas.

Rule 6:
Keep work areas and the laboratory room clean and tidy
throughout the class.
LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT
Rule 7:
Any accidents (minor or major) must be reported immediately to the
laboratory faculty and or to the laboratory staff.

Rule 8:
Observe proper dress code inside the laboratory. Wear
recommended/approved lab coats (knee length), safety
glasses/goggles, and gloves in laboratories. Open shoes, such as
sandals, should never be worn in the laboratory.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Rule 9:
Follow all written and verbal instructions. If you do not understand a
direction or part of a procedure, ask your laboratory faculty before
proceeding with the laboratory activity.

Rule 10:
Show respect to everyone at all times.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

General Guidelines
Before, During, and
After Laboratory
Work
BEFORE LABORATORY WORK
For students:
• Wear PPE before the conduct of the laboratory;
• Read the laboratory manual/ workbook before going to class.
• The hazards of the materials in the lab, as well as appropriate safe
handling, storage and emergency protocols.
• The operations of the equipment; If not familiar, request the assistance of
the technician.
• The location, operation of safety and emergency equipment such as fire
extinguishers, eye wash, and shower, first aid kit and emergency exits.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

DURING LABORATORY WORK
During the conduct of a laboratory, the following guidelines must be observed:

• Keep work places clean and free of unwanted chemicals, biological

specimens, radios, and equipment. Avoid leaving any materials, empty or
full, on the floor.
• Walk, do not run, in the laboratory rooms.
• Keep exits and passageways clear at all times.
• Ensure that access to emergency equipment (eyewashes, safety showers
and fi re extinguishers) is not blocked.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

DURING LABORATORY WORK
During the conduct of a laboratory, the following guidelines must be observed:

• Report accidents and dangerous incidents (“near-misses”) promptly to your

laboratory instructor.
• Turn off the power supply of the equipment if it is not running.
• Perform experiment that releases volatile/toxic chemicals and/or flammable
materials in a chemical fume hood or in a space where the windows
and/or exhaust fans are open.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

AFTER LABORATORY WORK
For Students:

• Clean and Return all the equipment used

• Dispose all wastes in the designated container. No waste must be pour
down to the sink.
• Clean the work area before leaving the laboratory room

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Responsibilities of
the Students
RESPOSIBILITIES OF THE STUDENTS
The student shall:
1. Always wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when conducting
laboratory activity.
2. Conduct themselves in a responsible manner at all times in the laboratory
room.
3. Place all bags and other possessions in the designated area;
4. Follow all written and verbal instructions carefully from their instructor. In
case the student does not understand a procedure or a given step, he/she
should clarify it first with his/her instructor before proceeding.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

RESPOSIBILITIES OF THE STUDENTS
The student shall:
5. Familiarize themselves with the location and operating procedures of
all safety equipment including first-aid kits, eye wash, safety shower,
sand box, fire extinguisher and fire alarm.
6. Read all procedures in the laboratory manual/workbook before going to
class.
7. Report immediately any emergency event to his/her laboratory
instructor.
8. Know the hazards of chemicals/equipment before consuming/using
them.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

RESPOSIBILITIES OF THE STUDENTS
The student shall:

9. Clean the work area before leaving the laboratory room

10. Borrow and return the reserved materials on the day of the activity.
11. Switch off the all lights, electric fans, and air-conditioning units after
class.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Personal Protective
Equipment
 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
There are appropriate and approved Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all types of
laboratory activities. Hence, it is recommended to use them during the conduct of laboratory
activities for the safety of all students and laboratory instructors. Personal protective equipment
include but are not limited to the following:
• gloves (disposable gloves, nitrile gloves, leather gloves etc)
• safety goggles
• hair nets /chef hats (for girls/boys)
• mask
• closed shoes/Rubber shoes (anti slipped)
• laboratory coat/gown/apron/chef uniform must be worn at all times while conducting
laboratory activity. However, there are areas where wearing coat/gown are optional or
not needed at all.

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
POLICY ON WEARING LABORATORY GOWN
Strict Laboratory Optional Laboratory Strict No Laboratory Coat
coat/gown/apron Areas coat/gown/apron Areas Areas

Inside the Laboratory Room Student may or may not Areas with most frequent
wear Laboratory public access
coat/gown/apron for • Lecture room
purpose of transit from one • Any canteen areas
laboratory to another. • Toilets
• Laboratory corridor

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Hazards in the
Laboratory:
Recognizing Symbols
and Labels
Globally Harmonized
System (GHS) Label
GHS Label
It is a system of hazard communication for chemical hazards that can be adopted by
countries around the world. GHS was developed by a United Nations (UN) international
team of hazard communication experts. They established the following two major
standardized elements:
• rules for classifying the hazards of chemical products (i.e., substances, materials, or
mixtures)
• hazard communication tools such as:
o format for safety data sheets (SDSs),
o content for label and SDSs with
a. hazard and precautionary statements
b. symbols
c. signal word

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

GHS Label

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Laboratory Wastes:
Management and
Disposal
Laboratory Waste Management
• Manage all chemicals as if they were hazardous to ensure there is no
possibility of contamination. Make sure you are storing all hazardous waste
in the appropriate storage containers.

• LID observes waste disposal based on the Revised Procedural Manual

on Hazardous Waster Management (Revised DAO 04-36)

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

 Laboratory Waste Management
Type of Waste Sample/s Container/Storage
Glass container; properly labeled as
Liquid Chemicals HCl, Acetone, Hexane, etc.
Organic or Inorganic Waste
scalpels and razor blades, Pasteur
Plastic bottle container; properly
Sharps pipettes, slides and cover slips,
labelled as Sharp Wastes
syringes with needles and lancets
cultures and disposables such as
Petri dish, pipette tips, disposable
Biohazards culture flasks, paper towel, band Yellow Bag
aids, cotton balls, cotton bods, and
gloves
Carton Box; properly labelled as
Broken Glass laboratory glassware
glassware breakages
electronic equipment wastes, such as Carton Box; properly labelled as
Other wastes
cartridge, toner, batteries and wires other wastes
Pursuant to Revised Procedural Manual on Hazardous Waster Management (Revised DAO 04-36)

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

Laboratory Aid:
Mitigations and
Response
First Aid
All laboratory classrooms are equipped with medicine kit and emergency
equipment such as emergency shower, eye wash station, sandbox, etc.

Medicine cabinets contains first aid kit that includes the following:
• 70% isopropyl alcohol • Ointment burner
• Adhesive Bandage • Povidone-iodine
• Sterile gauze • Elastic bandage
• Cotton balls • Surgical paper tape
• Aromatic ammonia

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT

THANK YOU!! 

LABORATORIES AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENT