Standard operating procedure with chloroform in the Monolayer Lab and the X-Ray Lab (B36-B37, B39)

Chloroform will be mainly used to prepare solutions of organic materials (lipids, fatty-acids, polymers, proteins etc.). The solutions will be prepared and manipulated under a ventilated hood. The solutions will be labeled and kept in a refrigerator, and waste materials will be collected in waste bottles that will be appropriately labeled and disposed of according to the regulations at the Ames Laboratory.

Small amounts (generally 50 - 100 micro-liters) of solution will be spread from a syringe on liquid surfaces (water solutions) at the sample position of the diffractometer in the beamline. A film of the organic material will be formed after the evaporation of the chloroform. To minimize the evaporation of chloroform into air, the sample holder will be sealed immediately after spreading the film. The frequency of spreading films during a run is about 1-2 a day.

The experimenter will use 6 or 8 mil thick Nitrile gloves (NOT latex and NOT polyethylene) for splash protection, provided that as soon as exposure of the glove to any liquid chloroform occurs, work is immediately stopped and the contaminated glove removed and replaced with a clean fresh glove. Contaminated gloves, papers, and other items will be collected and dried in the hood.

Heavy Viton gloves will be required if you wish to clean the trough (in the hood only) with chloroform. No cleaning of the Langmuir trough or any item be performed outside the ventilated hood.

Waste chloroform will be collected in a labeled and dated waste bottle (according to AL rules) and will be cleared from the lab by ESH 30 days after initial date of the bottle.

In case of a small spill (below 30 ml) use absorbing paper to collect and the clean the area immediately, place the papers in the ventilated hood and mark the area on the floor. Then clean the floor with water and soap. In case of a spill of over 30 ml mark call ESH representative and mark the area to prevent anybody from getting close to the contaminated area.