Hi all,
We do not allow food, drinks or food /drink support items (coffee pots, cups, plates, microwaves, etc... ) in our labs.
They must be segregated from a laboratory by a wall (ceiling to floor) and a door.
Refrigerators and Microwaves are either labeled "research use only - no food / drink" or " Food use only - no research materials"
Sincerely,
Jennifer Herriges,
(she/her/hers)
Laboratory Safety Coordinator
University Safety and Assurances
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
** I may be working remotely when possible. You may reach me via phone
Cell: 414-430-7508
Teams phone number: (414) 251-8977
h
errigej**At_Symbol_Here**uwm.edu
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Jessica Martin <jessica.a.martin**At_Symbol_Here**UCONN.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2023 7:31 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Kitchen microwaves in experiments?
Hello all,
I had a question come up from someone and wanted to get a perspective on this issue from the group here.
When I worked in 3 different molecular biology labs, we had a kitchen microwave available in the lab that we used in our work (it was labeled as “lab use only” so no one’s food was ever inside of it). From what I recall, we primarily used this to quickly
heat up agarose for PCR gels - so I can’t think of any other uses off the top of my head.
From what I can recall, I have NEVER seen a kitchen microwave inside of a chemistry lab. Also, as a chemist, I personally wouldn’t even know what I would use a kitchen microwave for in a chemistry lab since the work I did required quite a bit of rather
exacting control over temperature. Also, I worked with flammable liquids, so this just sounds dangerous (and pointless) to me to be putting that in a microwave. However, the person asking is thinking about it more in the context of educational demonstrations.
Does anyone here have some sort of policy in place at their institutions on the use of kitchen microwaves, either in educational demonstrations or in actual research labs?
Thanks!
Best,
Jessica A. Martin, Ph.D.
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2018-2021)
Joint Safety Team, Founding Member (2018-2021)
Pinkhassik Group, Department of Chemistry (2016-2021)
University of Connecticut
323-327-3974
jessica.a.martin**At_Symbol_Here**uconn.edu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaannemartin/
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