TRANSPORTATION OF LAB
MATERIALS
IN
SECONDARY CONTAINMENT

Researchers are reminded to use secondary containment when transporting radioactive, biological or chemical materials from one location to another. This is especially important in the LGRT elevators. It is for your protection and others in the area.

A slip or a fall can result in broken glass; a chemical spill and possible injury to personnel.

Secondary containment can be as simple as an empty Styrofoam box or a typical plastic lab ice bucket with cover taped down. It only takes a few moments to get secondary containment assembled to properly transport chemicals or other laboratory materials. Of course, if your primary container(s) are made of unbreakable plastic and capable of being tightly capped, secondary containment is not necessary.

An additional form of secondary containment is use of lab carts with high sides. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has used such carts to a considerable extent in recent times. These prevent bottles from tipping and rolling out/off of the cart.

Proper secondary containment does several things: (1) it provides an added cushion to absorb sudden jolts and falls and (2) it contains substances in the event of a break in the primary container.

This will prevent loss of your valuable research material , the need for costly clean ups, and prevent anxiety of personnel passing the area of the incident.

Chemistry Department Safety Coordinator

PML/dh