Medical Laboratory Safety Protection System
water supply is the development direction [for large laboratory buildings].
Section 6 Medical Laboratory Safety Protection System
The laboratory safety protection system is the prerequisite for laboratory safety; its purpose is to minimize potential occupational hazards in the laboratory and to create a healthy and safe working environment. The objects protected include the safety of personnel, samples, instruments, systems, and the environment. The laboratory safety protection system includes both laboratory hardware construction and software management.
I. Safety Checklist for Safety Protection System Design
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Safety of laboratory staff.
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Safety of external personnel.
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Safety of laboratory instruments and equipment.
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Safety of laboratory samples.
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Safety of flammable and explosive materials.
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Safety of air-conditioning and ventilation systems.
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Safety against airflow cross-contamination.
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Laboratory biosafety assurance.
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Emergency personal protective facilities.
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Handling of contaminating and radioactive substances.
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Safety of the laboratory lighting system.
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Safety of the fire protection system.
II. General Provisions for Safety Protection
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The doors at laboratory entrances and the specimen reception windows should have anti-theft security measures.
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Radioactive material storage areas shall be equipped with anti-theft doors, anti-theft windows, alarm devices, and other facilities.
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For laboratory areas with restricted access, warning devices or signs shall be placed in prominent positions or on doors; for radiation source storage rooms, in addition to warning devices or signs, fire prevention, anti-theft, and alarm devices shall also be provided.
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The partition walls of laboratories containing valuable instruments and equipment shall be non-combustible with a fire resistance rating of not less than 1 h.
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A general laboratory composed of more than one standard unit should have no fewer than two emergency exits.
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The doors of laboratories prone to fire, explosion, chemical injury, and similar accidents should open in the direction of evacuation.
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Laboratories that frequently use strong acids or strong alkalis, or where there is a risk of chemical burns, should have emergency drench showers and emergency eyewashes near the exit; the water supply pipes of emergency showers and eyewashes must be fitted with a filtration system to ensure clean water quality.
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Laboratories that must store small quantities of routinely used hazardous chemicals shall be provided with dedicated chemical storage cabinets or fume hoods with 24-hour continuous ventilation.
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The treatment and disposal of waste gas, waste liquid, and solid waste from radioisotope laboratories shall comply with relevant national regulations.
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All ELV (low-voltage) plant rooms and ELV shafts shall be connected nearby to the power grounding system as local equipotential bonding, with a grounding resistance not greater than 1 Ω.
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Equipment that generates high-decibel noise, such as air-conditioning equipment and water supply and drainage equipment, must be stored centrally in a controllable public area, with additional sound insulation where appropriate.
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Biosafety cabinets must not share a ventilation system with fume hoods.
III. Safety Protection Facilities
1. Laboratory Surveillance System
A medical laboratory requires an advanced, scientific, practical, reliable, and stable security surveillance system to achieve modern laboratory management and create a safe, comfortable, and efficient working environment. A surveillance system can not only monitor the site continuously in real time, but also clearly record events through various storage media for later verification.
1.1 Surveillance Points Installed in the Laboratory
Laboratory entrances/exits: surveillance cameras must be installed at laboratory entrances and exits to facilitate management of personnel entering and leaving the laboratory.
Waiting hall: surveillance cameras are installed in the waiting hall mainly to strengthen security management there.
Blood draw windows: surveillance cameras at blood draw windows mainly record the actual handover of test samples between medical staff and patients.
Specimen reception windows: same function as the blood draw windows.
Biochemistry room: to facilitate management of the internal work order of the laboratory.
Clinical testing room: same function as the biochemistry room.
1.2 Necessity of Installing Surveillance in the Laboratory
1.2.1 Providing evidence and clues: when medical disputes or accidents occur, surveillance footage can identify the responsible persons and provide relevant evidence. For example, in the past patients sometimes claimed—because they had misread through the specimen reception window—that medical technicians had mixed up their blood samples, causing incorrect test results. With surveillance cameras installed at the blood draw and specimen reception windows, the footage can be retrieved as evidence to resolve such misunderstandings while protecting patient privacy.
1.2.2 Assistance to personnel-based security: in most cases it is difficult to guarantee safety by personnel alone; many situations require the assistance of electronic security equipment (such as monitors and alarms) to make the work of relevant managers more effective. For example, surveillance installed at laboratory entrances can help ensure laboratory security, and unauthorized persons unrelated to the
laboratory attempting to enter the laboratory area can be quickly identified.
1.2.3 24-hour security: to achieve uninterrupted 24-hour security, electronic surveillance equipment must be considered. For example, with cameras installed in the waiting hall, managers can clearly see the daily situation throughout the hall. In the laboratory waiting halls of some large hospitals the flow of people is very large, and theft is likely to occur; installing surveillance can greatly protect patients' property, effectively preventing theft of patients' belongings—thieves are much less likely to steal when they see that surveillance is installed.
1.2.4 Concealment: with electronic security equipment, people generally do not feel constantly watched, giving it good concealment. For example, in large spaces such as the clinical testing room and biochemistry room of a laboratory, where many people and much equipment are concentrated, installed surveillance allows managers to see the working conditions in these areas clearly at any time, facilitating direction and management, while the medical technicians working there do not feel strongly surveilled.
1.2.5 Image storage: the development of digital recording technology allows images to be stored on computer digital storage devices, with longer retention times and clearer images.
1.2.6 Remote monitoring: with the development of computer and network technology, remote viewing of images from other locations has become possible, enabling managers to effectively direct their medical teams remotely and manage the laboratory effectively.
2. Laboratory Access Control System
An access control system, also called an entry/exit management control system, is a digital management system for managing personnel entry and exit. Common access control systems include password access control systems, contactless IC card (proximity IC card) access control systems, and biometric access control systems using fingerprints, iris, or palm geometry.
Continuous modernization makes old management methods increasingly unable to meet the requirements of modern clinical laboratories; the original "people managing people" approach has hindered the improvement of laboratory management efficiency. With the progress of high technology, intelligent management, as a direction of modern management, has entered people's social lives. To meet the needs of the information age, clinical laboratories must functionally satisfy current and future development requirements, which requires that a modern laboratory, in addition to introducing advanced testing equipment, must also be advanced and forward-looking in laboratory management. Therefore, innovative and efficient management methods must be introduced to manage modern laboratories in accordance with modern laboratory management practices—from "people managing people" to "things managing people" to high-technology management. As part of intelligent management, the access control system can help the laboratory achieve new management goals.
In a medical laboratory, to achieve the rational division of "three flows and three zones" and to meet biosafety requirements and manage the entry and exit of laboratory personnel, access control systems usually need to be installed at multiple points: first, at the laboratory entrance; second, at the door of every BSL-2 laboratory room. The concept of "three flows and three zones" is detailed in Section 1 of Chapter 4, Space Design of Intelligent Medical Laboratories.
2.1 Installation Locations of the Laboratory Access Control System
2.1.1 Access Control System Required at Laboratory Entrances/Exits
2.1.1.1 Only authorized or qualified personnel may enter and leave the laboratory; external personnel may not enter the laboratory area without permission.
2.1.1.2 Medical technicians must be required to enter the laboratory area by carding in at the access control, strictly implementing the laboratory's "three flows and three zones" flow division, so that medical technicians must enter the laboratory via the medical staff route, thereby reducing the possibility of cross-contamination among the "three flows."
2.1.1.3 Entry operations (card swipes) at specific laboratory doors and details of authorized persons (card number, time) are tracked in real time, with statistics and queries provided.
2.1.1.4 Installing an access control system in the laboratory is also a non-negligible part of improving laboratory biosafety and laboratory management. The main entrance is the first window of contact between the laboratory and the outside world; when every visitor senses an orderly atmosphere in the laboratory, it enhances the laboratory's external image.
2.1.2 Access Control System Required at the Entrance of BSL-2 Laboratories
2.1.2.1 The standard for BSL-2 (Biosafety Level 2) laboratories requires access control to be installed.
2.1.2.2 Medical technicians engaged in experimental activities in BSL-2 laboratories must undergo professional biosafety training and hold certificates for their posts.
2.1.2.3 When work related to infectious agents is carried out, the laboratory director shall prohibit or restrict personnel from entering the BSL-2 laboratory. Only persons who have been informed of the potential risks and meet the special entry requirements may enter the BSL-2 laboratory.
2.1.2.4 Only approved medical technicians may enter the BSL-2 laboratory; the installation of the access control system effectively enforces this exclusivity.
2.2 Identification Methods of Access Control Systems
2.2.1 Password Identification
Entry/exit authorization is identified by verifying whether the entered password is correct.
2.2.2 Password Keypad
These products fall into two categories: the ordinary type and the scrambled-keypad type (the numbers on the keypad are not fixed and change automatically at irregular intervals).
2.2.2.1 Ordinary Type
Advantages: convenient operation, no card to carry; low cost.
Disadvantages: only three sets of passwords can be accommodated at one time; passwords are easily disclosed, and security is very poor; no entry/exit records; only one-way control.
2.2.2.2 Scrambled-Keypad Type (numbers on the keypad are not fixed and change automatically at irregular intervals)
Advantages: convenient operation, no card to carry, somewhat higher security.
Disadvantages: passwords are easily disclosed, and security is still not high; no entry/exit records; only one-way control; high cost.
2.2.3 Card Identification
Card identification identifies entry/exit authorization by card reading or card reading plus password; by card type it is divided into magnetic cards and radio-frequency (RF) cards.
2.2.3.1 Magnetic Card
Advantages: relatively low cost; one person, one card (+ password); moderate security; can be connected to a computer, with door-opening records.
Disadvantages: cards and equipment wear out and have a short service life; cards are easily duplicated; two-way control is difficult. Card information is easily lost due to external magnetic fields, rendering the card invalid.
2.2.3.2 Radio-Frequency Card
Advantages: no contact between card and device, convenient door opening; long service life—theoretical data retention of at least ten years; high security, can be connected to a computer, with door-opening records; two-way control possible; cards are very difficult to duplicate.
Disadvantages: relatively high cost. See Fig. 6-50.
[Figure: Access control system diagram — a card issuer is connected to the management computer via an RS485 communication card, and the management computer is connected to a printer; the management computer connects via a 485 bus to access controller 1, access controller 2, access controller 3, access controller 4 ... access controller N (N ≤ 255), and each access controller is connected down to the corresponding door lock 1–N]
Fig. 6-50 Access Control System Diagram
2.2.4 Biometric Identification
Biometric identification identifies entry/exit by examining personnel biometric characteristics, etc. Types include fingerprint, palm geometry, iris, facial recognition, and finger vein recognition.
Advantages: excellent security from an identification standpoint; no card to carry.
Disadvantages: very high cost. The recognition rate is not high; there are high requirements for the environment and for users (e.g., fingerprints must not be scratched, eyes must not be red, swollen, or bleeding, the face must have no injuries, and beard length matters); inconvenient to use (e.g., for iris and facial recognition types, the installation height is fixed, but users' heights vary).
3. Anti-Theft Window System
At the laboratory specimen reception window, because the window is open to the outside, an anti-theft roller shutter or an electric glass lift window must be installed at the reception window for security.
3.1 Anti-Theft Roller Shutter Windows
Anti-theft roller shutters come in two types: surface-mounted and concealed. The surface-mounted roller shutter window is a classic product for existing buildings: it is added onto the existing building, featuring a compact structure, attractive appearance, no cold/heat bridging, and convenient installation and maintenance. The concealed roller shutter window is a product for new buildings: it requires corresponding planning at the building design stage; because the roller mechanism is hidden within the building wall, its structure is very compact and its appearance attractive, and it also offers better anti-theft performance and economy.
3.1.1 Installation Points for Anti-Theft Roller Shutter Doors and Windows
3.1.1.1 The installation of anti-theft roller shutter doors and windows shall adopt a method suited to the type of anti-theft door used.
3.1.1.2 The frame of an anti-theft roller shutter door/window may be fixed to the wall with expansion bolts; alternatively, iron embeds may be pre-placed at the opening when the wall is built, and welded firmly to the frame during installation.
3.1.1.3 Regardless of the connection method between frame and wall, there shall be no fewer than 3 connection points on each side, firmly connected.
3.1.1.4 Before installing an anti-theft roller shutter door/window, measure the opening dimensions to check whether they match the outer frame dimensions of the shutter; if the opening is found to be smaller than the door specification, it shall be chiseled to the required size.
3.1.1.5 When installing an anti-theft roller shutter door/window, first straighten and plumb it; once the dimensions are correct, temporarily fix it with wooden wedges and adjust and correct it. Adjustment shall use the outer surface of the door leaf as the reference plane; check whether the iron frame is parallel to the door leaf after installation; if not, adjust the wedges until the frame is parallel to the leaf; only after confirmation may the anchoring connections be made.
3.1.1.6 The frames of some anti-theft roller shutter doors/windows need to be filled with cement inside the frame to improve pry resistance. Before filling with cement, the door should first be closed, the leaf raised, and the anti-leak holes between the frame and leaf plugged with plastic caps before cement is filled in. Cement filling must not be excessive, otherwise the frame will deform and affect the door's
operation; 4 hours after filling, gently open the door leaf and use a screwdriver to clean the cement inside the frame at the lock hole positions. See Figures 6-51 and 6-52.
[Figure: Photograph of a silver-gray anti-theft roller shutter window and sectional construction detail of the installation node (including the roller box, slats, guide rails, and wall construction)]
Fig. 6-51 Anti-Theft Roller Shutter Window
[Figure: Photograph of a blue anti-theft roller shutter window and sectional construction detail of the installation node (including the roller box, slats, guide rails, and wall construction)]
Fig. 6-52 Anti-Theft Roller Shutter Window
3.2 Electric Glass Lift Windows
Electric glass lift windows are opened and closed mainly by an electric glass regulator; the key components of the electric glass regulator are the motor and the reducer, which are assembled as one unit. The motor is a reversible permanent-magnet DC motor with two sets of field coils wound in different directions inside; controlled by a switch, it can rotate forward or reverse—that is, it can control the rise or fall of the window glass. The motor is controlled by a two-gang switch button with three working states—up, down, and off—and automatically stops in the "off" position when the switch is not operated. The control circuit has a master switch (central control) and individual switches, wired in parallel, controlling the opening and closing of all window glass—very convenient to operate. See Figures 6-53 and 6-54.
[Figure: Close-up of an electric glass lift window at a hospital registration/payment window, with a red number "2" and the words "Registration/Payment" above the window]
Fig. 6-53 Electric Glass Lift Window
[Figure: Photograph of multiple electric glass lift window service counters in a hospital outpatient hall, with staff inside the windows and a person in a red coat outside]
Fig. 6-54 Electric Glass Lift Window
IV. Fire Protection System
The danger of fire in laboratories is universal, because flammable and explosive items, high-temperature and high-pressure vessels (autoclaves), and vacuum systems (vacuum drying, distillation, etc.) are frequently used in laboratories. Improper handling, operational failure, combined with high temperature, open flame, impact, vessel rupture, or failure to observe safety requirements often leads to fire and explosion accidents—causing, at the least, personal injury and damage to instruments and equipment, and at worst multiple casualties and building destruction.
1. Fire Protection Water Supply
The laboratory building shall have a backup water source to avoid accidents when the public water supply is insufficient (or interrupted). Once the water supply stops, the backup source must be able to immediately guarantee the needs of instrument cooling water, eyewash water, distillation flask condenser water, and so on.
The laboratory water supply system shall guarantee the necessary pressure, water quality, and water quantity. In addition to laboratory and domestic use, water for fire hydrants and fire protection equipment shall also be provided.
A laboratory can usually have only one service pipe, but if the laboratory equipment requires a secure water supply, or if a high-rise laboratory building has many fire hydrants (e.g., more than 10), two service pipes shall be provided. A single service pipe should generally enter the laboratory building from the middle of the building so that the water pressure is more balanced. Two service pipes should preferably enter from the two ends (or different sides) of the laboratory building; if they can only enter from the same side, a large spacing (usually not less than 10 m) shall be maintained, and a valve shall be installed on the supply network at the junction of the two service pipes, so that safe water supply is maintained even when a local pipe fault occurs. Service pipes should be introduced as close as possible to locations requiring secure water supply or with the largest water consumption.
The pipe entry of a radioactive laboratory's water supply system should usually be located in the clean zone, using a top-down (upfeed) supply network to avoid spreading contamination. Domestic water supply pipes should usually also be located in the clean zone. Where pipes run from the clean zone to potentially contaminated locations in the contaminated zone—such as fume hoods, glove boxes, and showers in personnel airlocks—they shall be fed via a break tank or a local break tank. The break tank shall have an appropriate height and capacity, and a booster device shall be provided if necessary. Alternatively, isolation valves can be used at the junction of different radiation levels: an isolation valve at each end of the pipe with a branch connected between them; when the pipe is not in operation, the isolation valves are closed and the drain valve opened to empty the residual water. For small radiochemical laboratories, a check valve may simply be installed on the pipe before it enters the contaminated zone to prevent contamination.
The contaminated zone of a radiochemical laboratory shall be provided with hosing taps for decontaminating contaminated surfaces. Typically, the flow of each hosing tap may be 0.7 L/s, with a 25 mm pipe diameter and a free head of 10 m of water; the spacing of hosing taps is 20–25 m, and a 10–15 m rubber hose can be connected during use. In personnel airlocks of high-radiation-level areas, soda-water piping may be provided using 1–2% soda solution; the pipe diameter should be large and the water temperature not too low (35–40°C) to prevent blockage.
The laboratory fire safety system shall combine a water supply system with a dry-ice (CO₂) system. The indoor fire protection water system includes the ordinary fire protection system, the automatic sprinkler water supply system, and the water curtain water supply system. Laboratory
buildings, warehouses, and other buildings shall have an outdoor fire protection water supply system when necessary, consisting of outdoor fire water pipes, outdoor hydrants, fire pumps, etc.; the fire pump nearest to the hydrant and fire pool shall undergo pressure testing. Instrument rooms must not be extinguished with water spray, to avoid damaging the instruments; dry-ice (CO₂) extinguishing shall be used instead. Fire extinguishers are placed in corridors; the protected coverage radius of each fire hydrant is 15 m. Where ventilation ducts pass through fire compartments—whether walls or structural floors—fire dampers must be fitted, and fire dampers must be resettable after activation. Air-conditioning units with an air volume below 7 m³/s, air-conditioning units within a single fire compartment, and buildings with full sprinkler coverage need not have duct smoke detection. Duct smoke detection is of the photoelectric type, interlocked with the building fire alarm system to simultaneously shut down the air-conditioning unit.
Each laboratory module has a heat or smoke fire detector connected to the central fire alarm system, with audible and visual alarms, and preferably networked with the local fire service; firefighters can promptly locate the fire from the audible/visual alarm signal and respond immediately to ensure safety.
Indoor fire water pipes in laboratories, pilot plant buildings, etc. shall guarantee the indoor fire water demand; the flow of two jets shall be no less than 2.5 L/s each, and the pressure at the indoor hydrant outlet shall enable a solid (effective) water jet to reach the highest and farthest parts of the building, and shall be no less than 6 m.
Where the water pressure in the indoor fire water pipes is frequently (or periodically) insufficient to achieve the above jet height at hydrants located at higher elevations, fixed booster pumps and a water storage tank shall be provided; the fixed booster pumps shall have remote starting devices that can be started from the higher-located hydrants.
Where the number of hydrants on the indoor fire water pipes reaches or exceeds 10, and the outdoor water supply pipe is looped, at least two service pipes shall connect to the outdoor pipe, and the indoor fire water pipes shall be looped, or the service pipes shall be looped with the outdoor water supply pipe.
Where indoor fire water shares supply pipes with domestic, production, or scientific research water, the following requirement must be met: when the domestic, production, or research water consumption reaches its (short-term) maximum, the pipes supplying fire water can still meet the fire water demand without affecting fire safety.
Indoor fire water pipes with many hydrants shall be provided with valves to divide them into sections. When a local pipe section fails and needs repair, valves can isolate it while hydrants on other sections remain in standby condition. The number of hydrants taken out of service on one floor shall not exceed 5. Valves shall normally be kept open and provided with clear open/closed markings. In buildings without heating where freezing is possible, valves shall be located in heated or freeze-free places.
Indoor Fire Hydrants and Hoses
The distribution of hydrants in a laboratory building shall be rational, with hydrants on every floor, such that the solid water jets of adjacent hydrants meet at the highest and farthest points of the building within their operating radius, and at least one solid water jet can reach any point in every room.
Indoor hydrants shall be located in places with heavy foot traffic, conspicuous, and easy to access—such as entrance halls,
staircase landings, corridors, and passageways—and shall be surface-mounted. The hydrant outlet shall be 1.2 m above the floor, and nozzles and hoses of corresponding calibers shall be provided according to the needs of the laboratory building.
The spacing of hydrants shall normally not exceed 50 m; hose lengths should generally be 10, 15, 20, or 25 m and should not be too long, otherwise the pressure loss at the nozzle is too great.
Within the same laboratory building, hydrants, hoses, and nozzles shall be of the same specification and model for interchangeability. When the jet flow is below 4 L/s, 50 mm hydrants and hoses shall be used; above 4 L/s, 65 mm shall be used. When installing indoor hydrants, attention shall be paid to ease of connecting the hose. In case of fire, connect the coupling at one end of the hose to the hydrant outlet and turn the hydrant handwheel in the opening direction to discharge water for firefighting. It is best to connect the nozzle, hose, and hydrant in advance to facilitate firefighting.
2. Fire Protection Facilities
Respirators (breathing apparatus), ABC fire extinguishers, carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, manual call points, sprinklers, smoke detectors, heat detectors, and heptafluoropropane (FM-200) gas fire suppression equipment. See Figures 6-55, 6-56, 6-57, 6-58, 6-59, and 6-60.
[Figure: Fig. 6-55 Fire hydrant — a red-and-white fire hydrant cabinet containing a hydrant valve, nozzle, and three red fire extinguishers]
Fig. 6-55 Fire Hydrant
[Figure: Fig. 6-56 Fire hoses — two photographs of fire hose reels; on the left a beige hose with a brass coupling, on the right a red reel with a white hose]
Fig. 6-56 Fire Hose
[Figure: Fig. 6-57 Breathing apparatus — two sets of positive-pressure air breathing apparatus (mask, cylinder, back frame) hung on a tiled wall]
Fig. 6-57 Breathing Apparatus
[Figure: Fig. 6-58 Fire extinguishers — two red portable fire extinguishers with instruction labels on the cylinders]
Fig. 6-58 Fire Extinguisher
[Figure: Smoke detector — photograph of a silver-gray metal dome-shaped smoke fire detector]
Fig. 6-59 Smoke Detector
[Figure: Sprinkler — photograph of two metal automatic sprinkler heads with red glass bulbs]
Fig. 6-60 Sprinkler
3. Fire Prevention Requirements
Laboratories contain many electrical devices, instruments and meters, hazardous chemicals, and ancillary equipment such as air conditioners, electric furnaces, gas lamps, and liquefied petroleum gas. Careless use of fire or electricity and improper use of hazardous chemicals can easily cause fires. The fire prevention requirements are:
3.1 Electric furnaces used in the laboratory must be placed in safe locations and used at fixed points under dedicated management; no combustible materials may be stacked around them; the power cords of electric furnaces must be rubber-sheathed cables.
3.2 Ventilation ducts in the laboratory shall be of non-combustible materials, and their insulation materials shall be non-combustible or flame-retardant materials.
3.3 Flammable and explosive hazardous chemicals used in the laboratory shall be drawn as needed and not stored at the experimental site; small quantities of backup hazardous chemicals shall be the responsibility of a designated person and stored in explosion-proof cabinets.
3.4 Equipment with transformers and inductive coils must be placed on non-combustible bases; their heat dissipation openings shall not be covered, and no flammable or combustible items may be placed around them.
3.5 The electricity consumption in the laboratory must not exceed the rated load.
4. Preventive Measures Against Fire and Explosion
According to the causes of laboratory fires and explosions, the following targeted preventive measures can be taken:
4.1 Prevent fires caused by heating.
4.2 Prevent fires and explosions caused by heat of chemical reaction.
4.3 Prevent explosions caused by pressure differentials inside and outside vessels.
5. Laboratory Firefighting
If a fire breaks out in the laboratory, first call the 119 fire emergency number, then fight the fire in a targeted manner according to its cause. A small fire can be extinguished by covering it with a wet cloth or sand; a large fire may be fought with a foam extinguisher, but fires caused by electrical equipment must not be fought with water or CO₂ extinguishers—only dry powder extinguishers—to avoid electric shock. When organic solvents such as gasoline or ether catch fire, extinguish them with sand; never use water, which would only spread the burning surface. If clothing catches fire, do not panic or run; quickly remove the clothing, or lie down and roll on the spot, or beat out the flames with wet clothing.
The three conditions for a substance to catch fire are the flammability of the substance itself, the supply of oxygen, and the ignition temperature; any combustible material below its ignition point will not burn even if oxygen is supplied, so controlling the temperature of combustibles is the key to preventing fires.
Remove or cut off the fuel source, isolate air (oxygen), and lower the temperature; adopt different firefighting methods for fires caused by different substances.
To prevent the fire from spreading: first cut off the power, extinguish all heating equipment, quickly remove nearby combustibles, shut down ventilation devices, and reduce air circulation. Extinguish the flames immediately, try to cut off the air, and lower the temperature below the ignition point of the combustible material. When the fire is relatively large, use fire extinguishers.
6. Precautions for Firefighting
6.1 Precautions for using water: substances that react violently with water must not be fought with water when burning; flammable and combustible liquids that are lighter than water and insoluble in water, or flammable and combustible liquids that are soluble or slightly soluble in water, must not be fought with water; flammable and combustible liquids that are insoluble in water with a specific gravity greater than water may be fought with water.
6.2 When electrical equipment or wiring catches fire, first extinguish with a dry powder extinguisher; water may be used only after the power has been cut off.
6.3 During reflux heating, if flammable vapor ignites at the top of the condenser due to poor condensation, first cut off the heating source and then fight the fire.
6.4 When fighting fires that produce toxic vapors, pay special attention to protection against poisoning.
7. Fire Safety Measures
7.1 Provide fire safety education to personnel newly entering the laboratory, introducing precautions for fire and explosion prevention, the allocation of firefighting equipment, and how to use it.
7.2 Implement fire safety measures; regularly inspect firefighting equipment, the safe use of instruments, and the storage of hazardous chemicals; eliminate hidden hazards promptly.
7.3 Personnel who violate safe operating procedures may be criticized; those who refuse to listen may be ordered to leave the experimental site.
7.4 In the event of an accident, immediately organize personnel to fight the fire, rescue themselves, and rescue each other.
7.5 Inspect the status of laboratory fire protection facilities, equipment, and alarm systems.
7.6 Handle flammable gases or liquids in applicable exhaust hoods or fume hoods.
7.7 Place flammable gases or liquids away from heat or ignition sources, avoiding direct sunlight.
7.8 Pipes conveying flammable gases or liquids shall be fitted with emergency shut-off valves.
7.9 Equip toolkits for controlling small leaks of combustible materials. If a significant leak occurs, immediately seek [help from fire services]