Unit 2 – P5, M5, D4
Safe Working Practices in the Scientific Workplace
PPE – lab coat, goggles, and gloves
The personal protective equipment used is what protects us from any health
and safety risks throughout the carry out of the experiment. Lab coats protect
our clothes from any chemicals that can damage them or from any chemicals
that may erode the material. As well as protecting our arms and legs if we
have short cut clothes on. Eye protection protect our eyes from any chemicals
splashing into our eyes that could cause irritation. Gloves protect our hands
from any chemicals that could cause burns or be irritable to the skin.
Equipment placement – eye level
In the titration experiment the volumetric burettes used were very high up
once placed on the tables. When pouring in the liquid, the burettes had to
be brought down to eye level by being placed on a chair so that if any liquid
spilled over, it wouldn’t splash onto our faces due to being eye level instead
of looking upwards
Clear work area - bags placed in the corner
For the experiments, all coats needed to be hung up and bags placed in
the corner. This allowed everyone’s personal belongings to be out of
the ay of experiments, so if any spillages did occur, they would be out
of harm’s way.
The Need for Current Regulations and Legislation
Legislation in the workplace are laws that are put in place for the legal responsibility of that
organisation. Regulation is how that organisations workplaces brings about the law to meet the
minimum legislative requirement.
COSHH is one regulation that is very important in most workplaces. The control of substances
hazardous to health regulation prevents workers from becoming ill from working with such
substances and materials that can cause the ill health. By these regulations not being abided by
either employer or employee, it is a crime, and has an unlimited fine. The substances in the
workplace aren’t just ones that are being used, for example; cleaning products, chemicals,
equipment etc, but the substances can be part of the process, for example; dust, waste product,
fumes etc.
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, Within the NHS and its workplaces, there are many COSHH legislations put into place in order to
protect not only the workers within the areas, but also the patients and visitors. A benefit of COSHH
is that ill health is at a minimum. This means there is a decrease in the amount of staff taking time
off work to become better. This means that they are in work and reducing the workload of the other
staff members who must not only do their jobs but also balance the work of other staff members
that are off sick. In return, this improves the efficiency of the workplace and allows more work to be
carried out at a smoother rate. Another benefit is that there is a decrease in court claims from
workers and patients that have been affected by ineffective COSHH carry out within the workplace.
This is a good thing as some of these court claims are recognised by the media and are then written
about. This puts a bad image on the workplace and less people are going to be trusting of it, so by
COSHH being followed and the court claims decrease, the public will then have more trust for the
NHS and its staff.
The only way for ill health to be at a minimum is by all workers applying their knowledge to what
they know about COSHH and making sure they are always carrying out the correct procedures. This
could be done by wearing the correct safety equipment, for example; if there are harsh fumes
around that can severely irritate respiratory organs, then a ventilated mask should always be worn,
and the procedure should be carried out in a well-ventilated room. Another way for ill health to be
kept at a minimum is with the carry out of assessments and workers always being on the lookout for
things that have a possibility of causing ill health.
Below is an example of when COSHH regulations were ignored and how it affects those in contact.
Example: https://southwest.unison.org.uk/news/press-release/2017/03/torbay-nhs-pays-
cleaning-fluid-leaves-workers-sick/
A hospital in the town of Torquay in Devon have not been abiding by the regulations of COSHH
and because of this, 22 cleaners who worked there were awarded a compensation of £70,000
due to them falling ill.
The hospital they worked at provided them with a chemical disinfectant called Actichlor. Upon
being given this chemical and using it for seven years, they did not receive any training on how to
effectively use it and “experienced runny eyes, nose sores and wheezing coughs” [Unknown. March
2017]. The PPE they were provided by the hospital was not effective as the masks didn’t filter out
any harsh fumes and the goggles didn’t fit people’s eyes if they wore glasses. The cleaners told
their managers about this, but they were ignored, and so the cleaners decided to go to the trust
they worked for. The trust asked solicitors to investigate the matters and the case went to court
and went into the favour of the cleaners. Due to them not receiving any training, the disinfectant
was being mixed with hot water and in small rooms whereas in fact if training was applied then
the cleaners would know that it should be mixed with cold water and in large ventilated rooms.
The hospital failed to apply to the regulations of COSHH.
The health and safety at work act and health and safety inspectors are other regulations put into
place. The HASAWA implies to employers and has rules they must follow in order for them to protect
all employees at work. Health and safety inspectors are the people who visit and assess the
workplace and give advice with the best ways to be complying with the law and ways to reduce
injuries and ill health at work.
