Other Equipment
III. Atomic Absorption Hood
The atomic absorption hood is a ventilation device that conveys the gases emitted by instruments such as atomic absorption spectrometers and atomic fluorescence spectrometers to the outdoors during use. The main body is of stainless-steel construction, equipped with a motorized regulation system to control air volume; it has stable exhaust performance and strong corrosion resistance, and is commonly used for laboratory ventilation. See Fig. 7-47.
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Structure introduction: the complete set of equipment includes a telescopic stainless-steel extraction hood, a stainless-steel duct with manual damper, etc.
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Stainless-steel duct: made of 1.0 mm stainless steel, with a duct diameter of DN200 mm. A manual regulating damper is fitted on the duct, with an opening adjustable from 0 to 180 degrees, allowing the air volume to be adjusted at will.
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Stainless-steel extraction hood: made of 1.0 mm 316 stainless-steel plate; according to experimental needs, the hood can extend up and down by 150 mm to facilitate experimental operation.
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The atomic absorption hood is what is commonly called an exhaust hood, with relatively high power.
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Because the atomic absorption hood has relatively high power, stainless-steel material is usually required.
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Large exhaust volume and high-temperature resistance.
[Figure: Fig. 7-47 Atomic absorption hood (photograph of the laboratory exhaust hood in situ and a drawing of the standalone device)]
Section 6 Other Equipment
I. Faucet Series
1. Bench-Mounted Elbow-Operated Triple Faucet
Suitable for microbiology laboratories and biosafety laboratories.
2. Bench-Mounted Elbow-Operated Single Faucet
Suitable for microbiology laboratories and biosafety laboratories.
3. Bench-Mounted Triple Faucet
Suitable for ordinary physical/chemistry laboratories. See Fig. 7-48.
4. Bench-Mounted Single Faucet
Suitable for fume hoods or laboratory benches. See Fig. 7-49.
5. Bench-Mounted Single Hot-and-Cold Faucet
Suitable for laboratory benches using hot and cold water. See Fig. 7-50.
6. Bench-Mounted Triple Hot-and-Cold Faucet
Suitable for laboratory benches using hot and cold water. See Fig. 7-51.
7. Bench-Mounted Double T-Type Faucet
Used with the small cup sink in the laboratory bench for condensation and similar experiments.
8. Bench-Mounted Double and Quadruple Faucets
Suitable for laboratory benches that do not need to wash large vessels such as burettes. See Figs. 7-52 and 7-53.
9. Bench-Mounted Purified Water Faucet
Suitable for the laboratory's purified water supply. See Fig. 7-54.
10. Suction-Filtration Faucet
Used with the small cup sink in the laboratory bench; suitable for vacuum filtration experiments.
[Figure: Fig. 7-48 Bench-mounted triple faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-49 Bench-mounted single faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-50 Bench-mounted single hot-and-cold faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-51 Bench-mounted triple hot-and-cold faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-52 Bench-mounted double faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-53 Bench-mounted quadruple faucet]
[Figure: Fig. 7-54 Bench-mounted purified water faucet]
II. Sink Series
Sinks are divided into PP sinks, stainless-steel sinks, ceramic sinks, and epoxy resin sinks.
PP sinks have good acid resistance, but slightly poorer heat resistance and organic solvent resistance.
Stainless-steel sinks are used together with stainless-steel worktops; their acid resistance is slightly poorer, but they are easy to clean.
Ceramic sinks have strong corrosion and heat resistance, but are heavy and can easily chip glassware.
Epoxy resin sinks are corrosion-resistant and can be seamlessly joined to the worktop, with an attractive appearance and the best overall performance. See Fig. 7-55.
[Figure: Fig. 7-55 Epoxy resin sink]
III. Eyewash
A bench-mounted eyewash can be installed directly on the bench at the laboratory work site; this type of eyewash is mainly used in hospital laboratories. The rescue coverage radius of a bench-mounted eyewash is 5 meters; it has only an eye-washing system and can only rinse the face, eyes, neck, arms, and similar parts. An eyewash is an emergency rescue facility used in toxic and hazardous work environments. When on-site workers' eyes or bodies come into contact with toxic, hazardous, or otherwise corrosive chemical substances, the eyewash can perform emergency rinsing or drenching of the eyes and body, mainly to prevent further harm from chemicals to the human body; however, these devices only provide initial treatment of the eyes and body—further treatment must follow a doctor's guidance. See Fig. 7-56.
[Figure: Fig. 7-56 Eyewashes (left: bench-mounted single-nozzle eyewash; right: double-nozzle eyewash)]
Applications of eyewashes in medical laboratories:
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Stainless-steel eyewashes are made of 304 stainless steel and can resist corrosion by chemicals such as acids, alkalis, salts, and oils; however, they cannot resist corrosion by chlorides, fluorides, sulfuric acid, and oxalic acid at concentrations above 50%, and are unsuitable for work sites where these four categories of chemicals are present.
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In medical laboratories, eyewashes mainly need to be installed on the bench surfaces of the clinical biochemistry room, PCR specimen preparation room, HIV laboratory, and microbiology laboratory—but this is only the general case; some hospitals also require that every laboratory bench have an eyewash. The eyewash should be installed next to the laboratory bench sink.
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It has only an eye-washing system (except for combination eyewash/shower units) and no shower system, so it can only rinse the face, eyes, neck, or arms affected by chemical splashes.
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Installed directly at the work site, the work site needs a fixed water source; the eyewash flow rate is 12–18 L/min.
IV. Emergency Drench Shower
The emergency drench shower is used in accident rescue to rapidly wash toxic and hazardous substances off the human body; by spraying and rinsing quickly with a large volume of water, emergency treatment is achieved, thereby reducing the degree of injury—it is also the most economical and feasible decontamination method. The emergency drench shower is one of the most important emergency rescue devices: when a worker's body is harmed, it can minimize the injury. Showers must be installed in work environments where hazardous media are present; equipping the laboratory with such a device is necessary. The emergency drench shower, like the fire extinguisher, is an indispensable emergency device.
1. Installation Location of the Emergency Drench Shower
The emergency drench shower should be installed immediately adjacent to the BSL-2 laboratory area, at a distance of no more than 30 meters from the BSL-2 laboratory. If the above conditions cannot be met, the emergency shower device may be installed in the biochemistry room, but it must be located where personnel movement is convenient and there are no obstructions around. See Fig. 7-57.
2. Use Environment of the Emergency Drench Shower
2.1 Places where hazardous substances may splash, such as chemicals, hazardous liquids, solids, gases, etc.
2.2 Contaminated environments.
2.3 Places where combustion may occur.
2.4 When used in cold northern regions, pay attention to freeze protection of the pipelines.
[Figure: Fig. 7-57 Emergency drench showers (left: combination unit with eyewash basin; right: shower unit with handheld hose)]
3. Installation Conditions for the Emergency Drench Shower
3.1 There must be working positions from at least three directions with no obstructions around, for rapid use.
3.2 Install near the hazardous area.
3.3 Provided with clearly visible signage.
3.4 The water source for the emergency drench shower shall be clean or filtered with appropriate filter media; test regularly and keep records to ensure it is ready for use at any time.
3.5 Pipe diameters and connections shall follow the product specifications to ensure correct operation of the device.
4. Technical Parameters of the Emergency Drench Shower
4.1 Emergency shower water flow is 80–180 L/min, usable continuously for more than 15 minutes;
4.2 The emergency shower's adjustable water flow is 9–16 L/min, usable continuously for more than 15 minutes;
4.2 The main material is non-toxic 304 stainless steel—non-toxic, harmless, acid- and alkali-resistant, and not prone to rusting.
5. Installation Requirements for the Emergency Drench Shower
A reserved water inlet pipe should be laid at the installation location of the emergency drench shower, with the inlet connection at a height of 30 cm above the floor. Installation shall follow the "Emergency Drench Shower Installation Schematic"; sealing tape (PTFE thread tape is included in the packaging box) shall be wrapped at pipe connections; a floor drain shall be provided in advance where the emergency drench shower is installed.
V. Others
1. Drying Racks (Pegboards)
Drying racks come in 27-peg, 52-peg, 104-peg, and other specifications. By usage they can be divided into single-sided and double-sided drying racks. By material they can be divided into PP drying racks and compact laminate drying racks, as shown in Fig. 7-58; stainless-steel drying racks have a drain hole in the center of the bottom; detachable pegs are convenient to use; wall-mounted or bench-top installation.
[Figure: Fig. 7-58 Drying racks; two vertical drying racks, light gray on the left and black on the right, with detachable pegs evenly distributed on the panel and a drip tray at the bottom]
2. Reagent Racks
Reagent racks: generally installed on the worktops of laboratory benches, laboratory cabinets, and central benches; they are racks mainly for holding glassware, test tubes, reagents, etc., to facilitate experimental operations. Steel-and-glass reagent racks are currently the most used. See Fig. 7-59.
Steel-and-glass reagent rack:
2.1 Main body: the main columns are formed from 1.0 mm aluminum-alloy profiles after cutting and positioned drilling, then acid-pickled and phosphated, sprayed with epoxy resin powder, and cured by high-temperature baking; the surface must have high adhesion, hardness, and extremely strong corrosion resistance, with an attractive appearance.
2.2 Bracket plates: made from 1.0–1.2 mm cold-rolled steel plate, formed after cutting, positioned drilling, and bending, then acid-pickled and phosphated, sprayed with epoxy resin powder, and cured by high-temperature baking. The surface has high adhesion, hardness, and extremely strong corrosion resistance, with an attractive appearance.
2.3 Shelves: made from 1.0–1.2 mm cold-rolled steel plate, formed by CNC machining, cutting, positioned drilling, bending, and welding, then acid-pickled and phosphated, sprayed with epoxy resin powder, and cured by high-temperature baking. Shelf heights can be adjusted freely.
2.4 Divider panels: 8 mm float frosted glass, with rounded and chamfered edges on all four sides.
[Figure: Line drawing of the reagent rack bracket plate/shelf structure, an elongated rack body with vertical supports and three small labels below]
[Figure: Photograph of a laboratory reagent rack, with a metal frame, transparent glass shelves, and dark blue baffles, holding glass measuring cylinders and reagent bottles, against a laboratory background]
Fig. 7-59 Reagent Rack
3. Cup Sinks
Cup sinks are made of PP material with excellent corrosion resistance; epoxy resin cup sinks can be seamlessly joined to the worktop and have the best performance.
4. Water Pipes
Water pipes are made of PP material with excellent corrosion resistance; the standard color is white. For laboratories using large amounts of organic solvents, the bulk organic solvents should be collected for unified treatment, and pouring them down the drain—causing pollution and pipe corrosion—should be avoided.