Home lab safety adaptation Electrodialysis tests Tobias Opschoor
By Tobias Opschoor
Because of the situation regarding COVID 19, the Waterlab at the faculty of Civil Engineering from TU Delft is closed. I have received the authorization to remove my setup from the Waterlab and place it at a different location to continue with the experiments required for the fulfillment of my MSc. I would like to clarify the added safety measures I have taken in order to require TU Delft safety standards and governmental safety measures regarding social distancing to minimize COVID 19 spread.
Location
The lab setup is currently placed at my parents house. They live in Willemstad, which is a 35 minute drive from where I live in Rotterdam. My mother has a pedicure practice which has been shut down due to the virus, so I’m able to use the entire space for my experiments. There is nobody else accessing the place besides me for the duration of the experiments. The space has a separate entry from outside, so there is a minimal risk of getting into contact with my parents (social distancing). It has its own sink, so disposal of chemicals can be done safely. Chemicals are safely stored. I have strictly forbidden my parents to enter the practice as they have no reason to be there for the duration of the experiment. Besides them, nobody else lives at the house.
Me after setting up the all the equipment
General safety
I am forcing myself to wear a lab coat, gloves and safety glasses when inside the ‘lab’. Chemicals can be safely disposed in the sink, which will be only used for chemical disposure and washing hands (not drinking, preparing food or anything else of course). Just as with the regular lab, food and drinks are prohibited and I take off the lab coat when leaving the space. Disposables are bagged and disposed separately and not mixed with household trash. Nothing leaves the lab without it either being a stored sample or a bag of disposables going directly to the outdoor containers. All of my disposables are allowed to be disposed in regular containers as they do not contain dangerous pollutants. There is a fire extinguisher present and I’ve printed out a safety report for working with ammonia.
Lab setup safety
The exact lab setup as used in the Waterlab in Delft is rebuilt. Extra electrical insolation and anti-slipping material is added to the surface of the desk. The setup stands very firmly so there is a minimal risk of something falling off the desks. Everything seems to work just as good as it would in the Waterlab.
Here are some pictures of what my ‘lab’ looks like.
The overall setup. Concentrate, diluate and electrode rinse are pumped through the electrodialysis. Electrical current is regulated with a laptop
Chemicals are weighted and stored
My demi-water stash
Adding insolation material