Lab accidents - (Aug/07/2009 )
An old topic from the old forum, but still interesting (or exiting?), remember the reports about the ultra-centrifuge accidents or the drop of sodium azide on the sandwich, fred 33 reported about? And of course I want to continue, because I like this issue or have I perhaps an infantile character? 
Anyway I want to continue again with it:
Tell about bad, cruel, bloody or just funny stories about lab accidents or just stories you have heard about (e.g. by your supervisor who wanted to warn you).
One of my teachers (years ago) in my technician education told us how to handle a type of simple HPLC columns. As bad example he told us the story of one guy who untwisted a clogged column still under pressure, scratched with a small spatula in the column and finally the column was free again - and the spattle in his eye. 
A former ultracentrifuge rotor:
wow...interesting story and interesting rotor picture...
anyway, I just had an accident of divinyl sulfone being spilled on my hands, although it is a few drops but it does really burn my skin...anyone experienced it before? any adverse effect on body?
Its time to read the medical safety data sheets on that one- I hope you washed your hands thoroughly in water.
I had a very expensive glass bell jar shatter in my hands as I was taking off the carbon coating vacum machine (If you do EM you might know this thingy). This was the first time to do this on my own and I had just been told how much it was and how precious it was. It was late and I was there on my own so I nearly died of shock (fortunately no other injuries). It turned out the glass bell jar that was used to create the vacum was nearly 40 years old.....
it took nearly 2 months to get a replacement one.
There is a story that goes around here about one of our now very senior, very well respected PIs. Apparently while she was a PhD student she managed to knock a bottle of coomassie stain of a high shelf over herself and had half a blue face for about 6 months 
Penguin on Aug 10 2009, 05:22 PM said:
I once unscrewed the tap off in lab and water shot out all over my face and onto floor for a couple of minutes until someone turned the water off
It just happened 2 months ago on a weekend. I was alone in the lab. I switched on a pump for a freeze-dryer. The pump is very new but I don't know why there is always heavy smoke everytime I switch it on. However, it never caused any paoblem before. After 20 mins, I heard the fire warning ringing, heave somke came out from the room and activated the fire sensor. I was so scared...The fire men came....
I was so stupid: I didn't realized that it was on weekend: all the doors of other rooms were closed, the safety door at the end of the corridor was closed too. The somke cound not go out, so, it happened.
The results of this "inccident" is that I was suggested not to work on weekend! 
That is what the safety office told my boss and my boss told me. My boss also told me not to touch the pump in the future!
haiyan on Sep 2 2009, 03:39 PM said:
That is what the safety office told my boss and my boss told me. My boss also told me not to touch the pump in the future!Wow! So all we have to do to get out of weekend working is to cause a Health and Safety incident!
P
haiyan on Sep 3 2009, 12:39 AM said:
I was so stupid: I didn't realized that it was on weekend: all the doors of other rooms were closed, the safety door at the end of the corridor was closed too. The somke cound not go out, so, it happened.
The results of this "inccident" is that I was suggested not to work on weekend!
That is what the safety office told my boss and my boss told me. My boss also told me not to touch the pump in the future!Has someone sorted out the problem with the pump? Sounds like you may have saved the lab from a real fire.