Before starting ANY experimental work in the Spivey Group Labs certain health and safety training is required. Exactly what courses need to be completed depends to some extent on the prior experience of the individual and their College status. This is assessed using a Health & Safety Training Requirements matrix.

All researchers, prior to starting any experiments, must:

1. Complete College 'Day-one Induction'. This involves completing the College Day-one Induction Form & discussing the associated notes with either Alan or a designated post-doc. The process for Day-one Induction and obtaining a swipe card is also shown in this Flowchart.
2. Initiate their Faculty 'Laboratory Local Induction Record'. This involves starting to complete the FoNS Laboratory Local Induction Record Form‌ with either Alan or a designated post-doc.
3. Complete an MSRH - LabBook Training Form. Guidance for completing this can be found here: MSRH - LabBook Training (Guidance Notes).

Additionally, UG project students starting in the lab should check through the following summary to make sure they have completed all appropriate training. 

Once forms 1, 2 and 3 above (i.e. Day one induction, FoNS local induction record and MSRH LabBook Training) have been completed and signed then they must be scanned and uploaded to the College's Sharepoint Safety Training Record: https://imperiallondon.sharepoint.com/sites/serv/SafetyDpt/Training. Guidance for completing this can be found here: MSRH - LabBook Training (Adding Record to Web Notes).

For all experiments carried out in the Spivey Group Labs specific risk assessments are carried out by completing an Imperial College Chemistry COSHH Form.

These are printed onto the reverse side of every page of the physical hard copy lab books provided in the MSRH, but we use an electronic version of this form within our LabArchives electronic lab Notebook (eLN) system.

• An example of a Completed Imperial College Chemistry COSHH form
• How to decide on the Reaction Category (i.e. A-D)

COSHH stands for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, see:

• Imperial College Safety web pages
• Imperial College Department of Chemistry Safety web pages (College members only)
• UK Government Health and Safety Executive (HSE) web pages
• COSHH web pages

The following are a series of risk assessments and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for operations/procedures/equipment used on a routine basis in the Spivey Group Labs. New starters will read the SOPs for common laboratory practices and equipment, and sign the Common SOP Checklist‌ to confirm their agreement to follow them. Group members will read and sign the relevant SOPs for less common protocols the first time they use that protocol, as part of their ongoing lab training. All this is carried out within the group's LabArchives eLN.

DURING COVID-19 TIMES PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

• Strict social distancing at 2m is still being observed. This has not been relaxed in any way.
• We are operating a 5-day onsite (Mon-Fri) and 9 days at home cohort model. Face masks should be worn in communal areas (corridors, toilets, office areas). This is a College-wide stipulation.

IN PARTICULAR, PLEASE REMEMBER TO:

• Thoroughly clean down areas/equipment before and after use at all times.
• Not exceed the stated occupancy of rooms.
• Do not come into work if you are showing COVID-19 symptoms and notify your PI.

Common Laboratory Practice SOPs (covered in the Common SOP Checklist):

1. Balances‌‌
2. Dry Ice‌
3. Dry Solvent Stills‌‌
4. Fire Risk‌‌
5. Flash Column Chromatography‌‌
6. Fumehoods‌
7. Glass Bin‌‌
8. Heat Gun‌‌
9. Hotplates, Heating Blocks and Isomantles‌‌
10. Liquid Nitrogen
11. Melting Point‌‌
12. NMR Sample Preparation‌‌
13. Oil Baths‌‌
14. Oven‌‌
15. ‌Rotary Evaporators‌‌
16. Schlenk Line‌‌
17. ‌Sharps‌‌‌
18. Silica‌‌
19. Spillage‌‌
20. Stores‌‌
21. Ultrasonic Bath‌‌
22. UV Light for TLC‌‌
23. Waste Solvent Containers‌‌

Special Practice SOPs (signed individually): 

24. Acid and Base Baths‌‌‌
25. Argon‌‌‌‌
26. Centrifuge‌‌‌
27. Cyanides‌‌‌
28. Gas Cylinders and Regulators‌‌‌
29. GC‌‌‌
30. GCMS‌‌‌
31. Helium‌‌‌
32. HPLC‌
33. Hydrogen‌‌‌
34. Kugelrohr‌‌‌
35. Na and K Disposal‌‌‌
36. Nochromix Bath‌‌‌
37. Oxygen‌‌‌
38. Ozone‌‌‌
39. Piranha Solution‌‌‌
40. Polarimeter‌‌‌
41. Pyrophorics (Handling)‌‌‌
42. Pyrophorics (Quenching)‌‌‌
43. Sealed Tubes‌‌‌

Additional Safety Documentation:

• Pyrophorics Code of Practice
• Department of Chemistry Approved SOP Depository

• Lift Protocol
• Lift Protocol - Safety guidelines for using the C1 goods lift
• List of First Aiders in the Chemistry Department - First Aiders May 2013