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Safety Precautions

To assure one’s safety during the experiment, personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn in the laboratory at all times. Recommended PPE includes: hardhat, safety glasses with side shields, long pants, and closed toe shoes. Ensure that all electrical equipment is well grounded and plugged into a GFCI protected power strip. During this experiment it is important to keep water away from the nearby electric outlets and plugs. It is also important to prevent water spills throughout the calibration and experimental procedures. If water is spilled it should be mopped and dried immediately in order to prevent slipping as well as any electrocution hazards. It is also pertinent that feed and dialysate tank levels are monitored. If a tank is emptied and pump 1 or 2 is in use, the low flow can cause pump cavitation. This is a hazard because the pump can be damaged and in extreme cases pump cavitation can result in minor or moderate injury. Also, if the tanks are allowed to overfill, a loss of containment can occur. This will enable deviant opportunities of tripping and electrocution. To prevent pressure or flow surges within the membrane it is also of importance to initially introduce the membrane with higher flowrates. If this hemodialyzer were to be used for human dialysis, it would be important to check the membrane for polymers made with BPA or DEHP. Both polymers are proven to disrupt the endocrine system functionality which may adversely affect the neurological, reproductive development and immune systems in humans.

Safety Precautions

Closed toe shoes, long sleeve shirts, long pants, hard hat and eye glasses are required in the laboratory at all times. It is also required that the person dealing with ethyl acetate is wearing a lab coat and gloves. This is because ethyl acetate is considered hazardous and may cause serious eye irritation and drowsiness or dizziness. The three chemicals that will be used in this experiment are ethyl acetate, ethanol, and water. Water has little to no hazards. Water received a zero in health, fire and reactivity hazards. Ethanol received a two for health hazard, three for fire hazard and zero for reactivity hazard. This means that ethanol is a mild skin irritant and also is flammable. Ethyl acetate received a two for health and fire hazard, and a zero for reactivity. This means that ethyl acetate is mild skin irritant and flammable. Ensure that there is no flame source around when collecting the product. Before starting this study, ensure that this system is routed to a safe place outside of the building or to a fume hood so that vapors produced can be dispersed safely. This system should be engineered to keep the airborne concentration of ethanol below its threshold limit of one thousand parts per million. Check the heater source of water periodically to ensure that water is above half. This will prevent any pump cavitation from occurring. There are spill kits located near room 1075A. These spill kits should be used in case of a spillage of any chemical. At the end of the experiment ensure that the product samples are pH adjusted and are disposed of properly. Think first of safety in any action taken. If not certain, ask the TA or a faculty member before any action.

Environmental Implications

The environmental impact from this experiment is minimal. A sodium chloride solution will be prepared as feed to the dialyzer. This sodium chloride presents little to no environmental impacts and can be disposed of directly after exiting the membrane. Water is also used for this experiment. Water also presents little to no environmental impacts and will also be disposed of directly after exiting the membrane. Special steps will not need to be taken following the completion of this lab to dispose of hazardous chemicals. In this experimental situation the dialyzer will be used many times before being replaced. In real life situations it would also be ideal to reuse the dialyzer. This prevents unneeded chemical waste and enables a decrease in demand of dialyzers.