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HSE at IMA

Information about Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) for employees and students at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Key contacts

TitleName
Head of Department Ida Westermann
Leader for technical staffEli Beate Jacobsen Larsen
HSE coordinatorAnita Britt Olsen
Purchasing representativeSolveig Louise Sørli Jonassen
Gas coordinator, AGvDmitry Slizovskiy
Gas coordinator, K2Pei Na Kui
Gas coordinator, AkrinnMartin Oppegård
Hazardous waste contact, AGvJohannes Havmo
Hazardous waste contact, K2Elin Harboe Albertsen
Hazardous waste contact, AkrinnHilde Iren Indstad
Local radiation protection coordinator, AGvMorten Peder Raanes
Local radiation protection coordinator, K2Elvia Anabela Panduro
Safety representive (verneombud), AGvSebastian Stixrud
Deputy safety representive (vara verneombud), AGvPål Christian Skaret
Safety representive (verneombud), K2Elin Harboe Albertsen
Deputy safety representive (vara verneombud), K2Johannes Ofstad
Safety representive (verneombud), Akrinn Andrey Kosinskiy
Deputy safety representive (vara verneombud), AkrinnMarit Elinda Olaisen Odden
Workplace Safety contact, K2Eli Beate Jacobsen Larsen
Workplace Safety contact, AkrinnLiv Anita Nonstad

Where do I find information about HSE?

You'll find information about HSE at NTNU and NV here:

HSE at NTNU

HSE at NV (in Norwegian)

HSE guidelines - summary page

Laboratory and workshop handbook

Before you start working in IMA's laboratories

Before you start working in IMA's laboratories, you must

  1. Attend local HSE course
  2. Get laboratory training from the room responsible
  3. Get instrument training from the instrument responsible
  4. Read the safety data sheets for all chemicals and samples you will use
  5. Write a risk assessment of your experimental work, also include chemicals you will use
  6. Get approved by your supervisor, and send the risk assessment to the HSE coordinator with the supervisor on cc
  7. When all of this is done, you may start your experiments
  8. Update risk assessment when you start a new activity

HSE training, room access, and instruments

All students, employees, and guests who are going to work in IMA’s labs must attend the local HSE course given by the HSE coordinator. Room access will not be given without the course. The HSE course is held at regular intervals throughout the semester.

People who have attended the HSE course are registered in the list at T:\nv\ima\HMS\HMS-kurs\Deltakere.

HSE courses

HSE course at IMA is held every 3. weeks. Contact the HSE coordinator to participate.

You must also attend the NV faculty HSE course. New first-year students need to take the course: HMS0001 Sikkerhetskurs for førsteårs-studenter. New master students must take the course: HMS0003 Course in Health, Safety & Environment. Employees must attend a general HSE course arranged by the faculty during the first autumn of their employment and refresh this course every fourth year. More information about HSE courses for employees.

Room access

Contact the room responsible, and bring the room requisition form (XLSX). Lab training will be given by the room responsible and access granted for the period you need to work in the lab. Before you start working in the lab, put your name in the laboratory booking system.

Instrument training and booking

You may not use any instruments or equipment without training. Contact the instrument responsible to get such training. Instrument training may only be given by the instrument responsible. After you have completed the training, you may book the instrument. If available, remember to sign the logbook.

Available scientific instruments are described in the laboratory equipment wiki.

HSE work and routines at IMA

Reporting incidents and HSE violations

HSE shall ensure and improve the working environment for both employees and students.

To contribute to this, it is important that you report if you are exposed to or witness to:

  • Near misses (even when no harm was done) and accidents.
  • Dangerous situations.
  • Damage to people or environment.

If you are considering reporting a situation, but you feel that it is not important enough, we at least urge you to discuss it with someone you trust or an HSE responsible.

Both of the available channels can be used for reporting:

  • Incidents (avvik) - Report anything related to HSE directly to IMA.
  • Speak Up! - Page compiling all reporting, such as deficiencies, incidents, or detrimental study/work conditions at NTNU.

When you report deviations, the incident will be followed up, and routines and workflow can be improved to prevent similar happenings in the future.

Chemicals

IMA's routines regarding purchasing, storing, and handling chemicals are summarized below.

Rules for receival and storage of chemicals (PDF)

Chemical storage room form (DOCX) For storage of chemicals in the K3 chemical storage for a longer period of time.

Chemical registration form for EcoOnline and purchase orders (PDF)

General information about the handling and storage of chemicals is found in the laboratory and workshop handbook, page 83.

Every user must study the safety data sheet of every chemical they are working with and add this information to the risk assessment of their projects. You find these data sheets at EcoOnline.

What to do if you spill chemicals

Routines for sending industry samples to IMA:

  • When sending industry samples to IMA, the supplier must fill out and deliver a safety declaration form to the receiver before the sample is sent
  • The form also applies to analysis assignments
  • This must be done for ALL samples
  • If the sample has its own safety data sheet and/or risk assessment, it must be included as an attachment
  • If there is a risk of phosphine formation or other dangerous compounds, the risk must be assessed together by the receiver, supervisor, room responsible/instrument responsible, and the HSE coordinator.
  • Storage and handling of samples must be fully planned and approved by the room responsible/instrument responsible before the sample is received.

Sikkerhetserklæringsskjema for innsending av industriprøver til IMA.pdf

Safety declaration for sample delivery to IMA.pdf

Exposure index

NTNU is required to keep an index of employees who are exposed to certain hazardous physical, chemical or biological strains (factors) in their work. This is called the exposure index. The factors we commonly find at IMA are lead or lead compounds as well as carcinogenic or mutagenic chemicals (chemicals with hazard statements H340, H350, or H350i). If you are planning to work with any of these, contact the HSE coordinator.

Routines for specific chemicals

Peroxide forming chemicals at IMA (DOCX) (Norwegian only), NTNU regulations (Norwegian only)

Perchloric acid (DOCX)

Carcinogenic chemicals (DOCX)

Nanomaterials (DOCX)

Washing glassware, piranha solution (PDF)

Potentially phosphine (PH3) generating samples (DOCX) - på norsk

Chemical purchase and NTNU agreements

It is important that the vendor delivering chemicals follows the set regulations for hazardous labeling/safety classifications when importing a chemical. Unlabeled boxes can lead Norwegian customs to open packages to check their contents, which can be hazardous to both people and the environment (see Norwegian Customs - Chemicals).

NTNU framework agreements

NTNU has framework agreements with several vendors that comply with specific routines for labeling and for providing safety data sheets in Norwegian/English. The agreements are binding, and these vendors should be used when placing orders for chemicals in NTNU purchasing system. These are the following suppliers/vendors that NTNU has agreements with:

For more information, follow the link: Framework agreements (Norwegian).

Any order from these companies can be placed through the NTNU purchase request form and will automatically be sent to the purchasing representative (IMA fagbestiller).

If a wanted product is not available through these vendors, then NTNU has often forwarded the request to Chiron to contact their own trusted suppliers.

What if my chemical is not provided?

Chiron can be contacted for placement of orders on specific chemicals where they make sure to meet the EU standards and CLP classification, as well as providing safety data sheets. Alternatively, Chiron can assist in finding a chemical amongst their own approved suppliers. This can then be ordered through the NTNU purchase request form.

If Chiron cannot provide you with the right product from their suppliers, and you go by a vendor outside of the EU, then you have to make sure that the company you order the chemical from follows CLP regulations and that the chemical is accompanied by a safety data sheet in Norwegian/English.

EU chemical regulations (REACH) and the CLP-classification

The REACH database can be used for looking up chemicals to find the correct way to label packaging to comply with the CLP classification. Information from the database can be sent to the vendor to show how a package should be marked in order to meet EU standards. CLP, referring to Classification, Labelling, and Packaging, is in place to protect people and the environment from shipment to delivery.

Safety data sheet (SDS)

Ask the vendor (or purchasing representative) to provide a safety data sheet when placing the order since this is not necessarily standard procedure within the EU.

All vendors that deliver chemical substances and mixtures must provide a safety data sheet to all professional customers. Exceptions hold if labels or other explanations on the outer packaging provide sufficient information to protect health and the environment.

Standards for labeling packages

It is important to ensure that the package you receive is labeled in accordance with EU regulations. See the following document:

Example - Packaging Labelling (DOCX). This can also be placed as an attachment with your order when sent to the purchasing representative if the company you order from is outside the EU.

CLP standards are normally required and every layer (inner/outer package) must be labeled accordingly if it consists of several layers of packaging. The CLP labeling can be omitted on the outermost package layer if the transport labeling contains the same information as the CLP labels.

Gas

IMA follows the guidelines for use of gas given in the laboratory handbook page 86.

Changing gas bottles, moving gas bottles or connecting gas may only be performed by trained personnel who has attended a practical course given by AGA.

We have: permanent gas detectors, portable gas detectors, and Dräger tubes for testing gas

Risk assessments

Projects and activities in the lab

A risk assessment shall be performed before starting an activity that can cause harm to humans and material goods.

Each student who is going to work on a project or master's thesis shall conduct a risk assessment of the project. This also includes every Ph.D. student, post-doc, and others who shall perform activities at the department's labs.

Instruments

A risk assessment shall also be performed on any instrument which poses a risk. The apparatus responsible shall perform this, with help from the HSE coordinator.

How to make a risk assessment

Every risk assessment is to be performed and documented in the risk assessment form (XLSX) according to the following:

  1. Retrieve safety documentation of every chemical and sample you are working with.
  2. Gather information about the apparatus you are using, and get training from the apparatus responsible
  3. The title of your risk assessment shall follow the syntax: "Student type (Ph.D., Master student, etc)", "Year", "Your name", and "Project title".
  4. Under the tab "organization", you are the manager of the risk assessment. Participants shall be your supervisor, the HSE coordinator, and the room responsible for each lab you are working in.
  5. List up the existing measures that you know are available.
  6. List each hazard and identify the unwanted occurrences related to the hazards.
  7. Remember to write information about the risks in the description of each hazard and unwanted occurrences.
  8. For each chemical, list the risk factors in the description of the hazard.
  9. Choose the probability and consequence for each unwanted occurrence.
  10. An activity is not permitted if it comes in the red field (meaning that the probability and/or consequence has a high chosen value).
  11. A planned action (next tab) needs to be made if an activity is on the red field, with a following re-evaluation of the risk after the action has been implemented.

Your risk assessment must be approved by your supervisor. Meet up with your supervisor and go through the risk assessment together. In the final page in the box "Final conclusions", your supervisor must fill in a comment with his/her approval. Send an e-mail to the HSE coordinator with your supervisor on cc. The HSE coordinator will then have a final check on the risk assessment. After this, you are ready to do your activity.

It is important, when new activities are done, that the risk assessment is updated.

Working with high temperature

When working with high temperatures it is especially important to complete a detailed risk assessment.

You need to know the following:

  • The chemical composition of the sample and safety data sheet.
  • Make sure you have the correct safety equipment (goggles, face shield, lab coat, heat-resistant gloves, etc.)
  • Assessment of what will happen at high temperatures.
  • Will it lead to a reaction between gases in the furnace and the sample?
  • Is the sample holder reliable?
  • Is the evolution of hazardous gases possible? P, S, N….
  • Is it safe to work alone? Can you leave the furnace unattended?
  • Does the workplace have sufficient ventilation?
  • Assess the safety of how the sample is mounted in a holder or crucible so it does not fall during loading/unloading.

Ask your supervisor and the engineers for help.

Get approval from the responsible engineer before you start.

HSE in the labs

oom card

The room card shall hang on or next to all of the doors, including back doors, to rooms containing hazards. The room card describes hazards and is important to the fire department and other emergency responders in an emergency situation. More information about room cards.

Apparatus card

A yellow apparatus card shall be placed by every instrument which poses a hazard while operating it. The card shall be filled out by the apparatus responsible and must be updated yearly.

The instructions for the use of the apparatus card

Safety data sheets

The safety data sheet of each chemical is to be printed out and available in the lab. It shall be updated in accordance with EcoOnline.

Routines for waste disposal

Chemicals or other dangerous waste are not to be thrown in the sink or waste bin. Each lab shall have a routine for waste disposal, hereby different bins/collecting bottles for each type of waste. Every lab user is obliged to follow these routines.

Routine for disposing of chemicals

Marking of chemicals and samples

Example: How to properly mark samples (PDF)

Label non-original containers properly with:

  • Chemical content
  • Date
  • Your name