COSHH will be familiar to many of you in your everyday work but in summary:

1.   Any chemical in use at ISIS should be labelled and the MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) for that chemical should be available. In the case of chemicals supplied in the ISIS preparation laboratories cupboards this information is available in a large ring binder, which can be found in the labs where chemicals are kept.

2.   Any work involving chemicals at ISIS needs to be declared as part of the ERA or for non beamline experiments they should have a separate risk assessment and method statements.  

3.   The ERA  for each sample covers running that sample on the beamline, handling or preparation or chemistry of that sample before and after irradiation and its return or disposal. 

4.   No sample may be run on an ISIS beamline without an ERA.

5.   The information given in the ERA is intended to help you in your work and is the Labs assessment of the hazardous nature of the sample that you are using. You are required to follow and abide by its instructions.

Transport and Storage of Chemicals​

If your samples have been classified as Dangerous Goods for transport on the approved ERA (they have been assigned a UN Number, Hazard Class and Packing Group) you must speak to your local contact to arrange for the samples to be transported safely and legally. ISIS Sample safety team are trained to advise on this.  

If you have finished your experiment and wish to take your sample away please contact Health Physics who will come and monitor the sample and – if it is not active – sign off on the ERA and follow the dispatch/disposal instructions on the ERA

Disposal of Samples and Associated Chemicals

The ERA includes an “After the experiment” section which details disposal/dispatch actions.

•         If a sample is appropriately labelled then the Lab will be happy to dispose of it.

•         This also applies to any waste generated by sample preparation processes.

•         If you would like the preparation laboratory staff to dispose of anything then please leave it – labelled and sealed in an appropriate container – in one of the Preparation laboratory fume hoods.

It is extremely expensive and difficult to dispose of unknown chemicals so please label all chemicals. Unattended and unlabelled samples in the laboratories will be destroyed. 

If your samples have been classified as Dangerous Goods for transport (they have been assigned a UN Number, Hazard Class and Packing Group) you must speak to your local contact to arrange for the samples to be shipped back to you safely and legally via STFC Logistics.

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