Basic NMR Training – Part 2

(II) NMR Facility Policies and Lab Safety

Access to the NMR laboratory (room 1411) is restricted to only those individuals who have either (1) successfully completed an NMR training course by Facility staff, which includes discussing and completing a safety checklist, or (2) have otherwise received training, from Facility staff, regarding the potential dangers inherent in a magnetic resonance facility. Taking or allowing guests into the laboratory is not permitted without prior approval by Facility staff. Sharing of computer accounts and/or key access is explicitly prohibited. Requests for access authorization must be made through the NMR Facility Director. These restrictions apply to all personnel: NMR users, custodians, maintenance workers, etc.

The potential dangers inherent in a magnetic resonance facility involve the presence of strong magnetic and radio-frequency fields and cryogenic fluids (liquid nitrogen and helium), plus the general hazards of handling chemicals and glassware (primarily NMR tubes). Because only Facility personnel handle cryogens in the NMR lab, related precautions are not discussed further in this document; common hazards regarding other topics are described below. Note, however, that the following examples are in no way all-inclusive; it is always the responsibility of each individual to ensure that safe practices are followed. When in doubt, consult with the NMR Facility Director before proceeding.

Preliminary Considerations

• Authorized Access Only – The NMR Facility (room 1411) is a restricted-access laboratory. Only those directly authorized are allowed into the lab, and the doors are to be shut and locked at all times except during entry and exit.
• Food and Drink – Neither food nor drink is allowed in the NMR laboratory. Period!
• Proper Attire – Loose-fitting or high-heeled shoes should not be worn in the NMR Laboratory. Such footwear greatly increases the risk of losing balance or falling when using the step platforms to insert or remove sample tubes from the magnets. Open-toed shoes of any kind are prohibited in laboratories by campus policy. You are responsible: Be safe, not sorry.
• Reporting an Incident – If you experience an incident during normal working days and hours, please contact directly either the NMR Facility Director or the Project Assistant (PA). For non-emergency incidents outside normal working hours, please report it using the “AIC Incident Report Form” on the Pharmacy AIC website. Do not assume that a particular incident you experience has already been reported by someone else; this is a corollary to the preceding point. For emergency, call the number on the emergency contact sheet.

Hazards Related to Super-Conducting Magnets

• WARNING: Persons with implanted or attached medical devices such as pacemakers or prostheses are not allowed to enter the NMR Facility (room 1411) without authorization from a physician.
• WARNING: High-field super-conducting magnets produce very strong, fringe magnetic fields that extend in all directions beyond the magnet canister, presenting invisible yet very real dangers related to the forceful attraction of ferromagnetic objects. These magnets are always on and cannot simply be turned off. The UI-500 magnet has its radial 5-Gauss perimeter marked out on the floor with red tape, and the AV-400 magnet’s 5-Gauss perimeter falls within an imaginary circle circum- scribing the magnet legs. Ferromagnetic objects must be kept outside these 5-Gauss perimeters at all times.
• WARNING: Although fairly common during the initial energization of super-conducting magnets, the violent quench of a stable magnet does occasionally occur. Violent quenches can cause the liquid helium (e.g., 120 L in the UI-500’s Oxford AS500 magnet when full) to boil off in a matter of seconds, venting spectacularly through safety check valves at the top of the magnet canister. If this happens, evacuate the lab immediately — after recovering from the initial scare. The very real danger associated with a violent quench lies in the risk of asphyxiation due to the displacement of oxygen in the room. Normal building ventilation will flush the helium gas out of the room after some time (about 15 minutes); there is no other danger and no real need to evacuate the building (although it would be okay to do so). Inform the NMR Facility Director of the news.
• CAUTION: Magnetically encoded media (e.g., ATM cards), mechanical watches and some electronic devices may be damaged or destroyed if subjected to strong magnetic fields; keep such items outside the 5-Gauss perimeters.
• Fire Extinguisher: A non-ferromagnetic, CO2 fire extinguisher is located at the right-hand end of the laboratory bench in room 1411.

Chemical and Glassware Hazards

• Chemical Hazards – NMR Facility users are responsible for knowing the chemical hazards of their compounds, and for taking proper steps to ensure their own and others’ safety at all times, e.g., in the event of sample tube breakage and subsequent spill. It is the user’s responsibility to completely clean up any spill, broken glass, etc., to the extent possible.
• Radio-Nuclides – Samples containing enriched quantities of radio-nuclides are not permitted in the NMR Facility.
• Sample Preparation – Whenever possible, NMR samples should be prepared in advance in the user’s laboratory. If sample preparation must be done in the NMR Facility (as is typically the case for kinetics studies, for example), it is to be done only on the laboratory bench in room 1411; the computer desks or spectrometer consoles are never to be used for such purposes.
• Toxic or Unpleasant Substances – Such substances shall be addressed responsibly according to their nature. For example, flame sealing a sample within an NMR tube may be required to contain toxic vapors or an offensive smell.
• Sample Disposal – Facility users must promptly remove their samples and related materials from the laboratory when their experiments are completed. Arrangements can be made for those with special needs to store samples/tubes in the lab to facilitate their work; however, unlabeled or un- claimed NMR sample tubes or related goods persisting in the laboratory will be discarded.
• Gloves – If needed for extra protection, gloves (e.g., latex, nitrile) may be worn only while preparing or handling NMR samples. Gloves are never to be worn while operating computers or handling other community property.
• Glassware Hazards – Routine precautions should be observed when handling glassware, especially when inserting and withdrawing NMR tubes into and from the spinner turbine. Some spinner turbines use rubber O-rings to grip the NMR tubes, and the fit can be quite snug, depending upon the condition of the O-ring and the specific NMR tube used. Grip the tube firmly near the spinner and use a twisting motion while inserting or withdrawing the tube. Carelessness has resulted in puncture wounds.

Miscellaneous Considerations

• Be Careful! Users must carefully insert and remove their NMR samples into/from the magnets, positioning themselves to maneuver the glass tube straight up or down — not at an angle — out of, or into, the upper barrel. Glass does not bend well at room temperature, and we have had far too many users snap a sample tube by catching it at an angle at the top of the upper barrel. These events are distracting and time-consuming to deal with, are potentially damaging and costly to the equipment, and are easily and completely preventable. If you think you’re in a hurry in the NMR lab, go away and come back after you’ve adjusted your attitude; this is no place for reckless or irresponsible behavior!
• Hands Off! Please keep your hands off the magnet canisters. If you feel compelled to support yourself while inserting or removing samples from the magnets, then you are probably doing something else wrong.
• Common Sense It is apparently necessary to remind some users to wash their hands and wipe their feet. Come on folks, this is a research laboratory, not kindergarten! Winter in Wisconsin involves snow and ice and sand and salt; these all belong outside, not in the NMR lab, so please do not track this crap into the lab. Let’s keep our laboratory space and community property — keyboards, mice, work desks, floor, etc. — clean.
• Temperature Control Variable-temperature (VT) work may be performed only after an individual has completed specific, on-site training by NMR Facility staff. Users are responsible for knowing and observing the temperature limitations of both their NMR samples and the Facility instrumentation, and must work safely within these limitations. Facility personnel are available for consultation and other assistance in these matters.
• AV-400 Autosampler Policy It is the responsibility of individual users to remove their finished NMR samples from the 400 MHz robot and delete the experiments from the IconNMR menu in a timely manner. If necessary, individual users may remove others’ completed samples to make holders available for incoming samples. Users are also responsible to label their NMR tubes correctly. If left in the NMR lab, all flasks or other containers for transporting NMR samples must be clearly and legibly labeled with the user’s full name (not initials, etc.) so that ownership can be determined. Any such item that is not clearly identified will be discarded. Users may, if desired, temporarily leave their clearly labeled container on the NMR lab bench if they have one or more samples in the sample changer. There is a designated area for this purpose. It is occasionally necessary for Facility staff to remove all the NMR samples from the robot for system maintenance or repair. Users must therefore be able to identify their own samples from a collection of several. The worktable with the spinner and the depth gauge on provides a temporary place for users to add/remove multiple samples from the robot. No container should be left on the workplace after adding/removing samples — no exceptions.
• Eye Protection! Users must provide and use their own eye protection as needed.
• Consequences Unsafe, irresponsible or otherwise inappropriate use of the NMR Facility may result in sanctions up to and including loss of access privileges.