Australia's Science Forum

A warm welcome back to you all, I know QLD has been back a week now. I hope you all have a great term 1

Welcome back everyone.
Hope you had a restful break and now ready to tackle the adventure. Enjoy

Welcome back to you all too. Invite all your labbie friends to get back onto chemtalk, I miss the daily discussions. It's a lonely job when you're the only school lab tech for miles.

It has been quiet here this year. I'm also a bit in the same boat in terms of isolation.

mtg wrote: ↑12 Feb 2024, 15:08 Welcome back to you all too. Invite all your labbie friends to get back onto chemtalk, I miss the daily discussions. It's a lonely job when you're the only school lab tech for miles.

I was thinking this yesterday as well! Very quiet. Perhaps everyone has hit the ground running this year?

Maybe they just hit the ground and kept running, away...

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑13 Feb 2024, 08:06 Maybe they just hit the ground and kept running, away...

Welcome back!! that's exactly how I felt. Sadly still here.

Arrived first day back and Fridge/freezer full of Dissection had gone off!! OMG this is the second time in 29years. Hopfully I never see it again. Our maintenance men removed from the building by 3 pm that day. I took the rest of the week to get the smell out of the prep. room and my nose. New fridge arrived last week, now to try and replace the dissections. As for pracs they were putting them through Risk Assess during the holidays for the first 2 weeks.

macca wrote: ↑14 Feb 2024, 09:42

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑13 Feb 2024, 08:06 Maybe they just hit the ground and kept running, away...

Welcome back!! that's exactly how I felt. Sadly still here.

Arrived first day back and Fridge/freezer full of Dissection had gone off!! OMG this is the second time in 29years. Hopfully I never see it again. Our maintenance men removed from the building by 3 pm that day. I took the rest of the week to get the smell out of the prep. room and my nose. New fridge arrived last week, now to try and replace the dissections. As for pracs they were putting them through Risk Assess during the holidays for the first 2 weeks.

Oh yuk. That all sounds like grounds to keep running!
I've heard so many stories of fridges/freezers failing over the Christmas break, I now try to reduce what is in there to a bare minimum. However, I still had some chicken wings but fortunately all was good.

I had, for the first time, a prac for Year 9 on their first day back using chemicals. Brave teacher! No breakages/spillages/injuries that I was aware of. It was just a shock to the system for me.

It is quiet here I think that means we are all organised and haven't forgotten how we do our roles after such a long break

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑13 Feb 2024, 08:06 Maybe they just hit the ground and kept running, away...

ooohhh.... that sounds like a plan!!

RosalieL wrote: ↑16 Feb 2024, 13:22

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑13 Feb 2024, 08:06 Maybe they just hit the ground and kept running, away...

ooohhh.... that sounds like a plan!!

I wish. After last year I definitely have a few destinations in mind when I think of running away!

And as a delayed welcome back, I thought we had a waste bottle with kerosene in it has leaked a little. When I went to move the other bottles off the shelf to sort it out and clean it up, I discovered that the organic waste bottle was completely shattered at the base. It must have happened over the holidays or very late last term as all the liquid had evaporated.
Any ideas, anyone?
I'm wondering if someone dumped it on the shelf hard, causing it to break. It is a 2.5L glass winchester.

That's 2 winchesters I have heard this happening to in the last 3 months... never in my life as a lab tech has that happened before. I would suggest everyone check their old bottles. Maybe they are not as good as they used to be.

Anna Z wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 07:47 That's 2 winchesters I have heard this happening to in the last 3 months... never in my life as a lab tech has that happened before. I would suggest everyone check their old bottles. Maybe they are not as good as they used to be.

I'm also going to be checking each new bottle before it gets put into use. I'm curious Anna, do you know if the other one was from Adelab? This is the only supplier of Winchesters I've been able to source.

I can find out... please stand by

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 09:05

Anna Z wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 07:47 That's 2 winchesters I have heard this happening to in the last 3 months... never in my life as a lab tech has that happened before. I would suggest everyone check their old bottles. Maybe they are not as good as they used to be.

I'm also going to be checking each new bottle before it gets put into use. I'm curious Anna, do you know if the other one was from Adelab? This is the only supplier of Winchesters I've been able to source.

Okay no brand... but apparently they were bottles from Sigma-Aldrich

My ones from Adelab have a finger hole piece next to the opening. Think Jug Band style. (And for a laugh, or maybe make you cry - I'm never sure which- Look for the Christmas Jug Band singing "Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas". It is appalling and I am always, always confused about how I should react. But I digress)

From now on, I will be checking them thoroughly for any imperfections after that fun experience. I will put together a SOP for this. I will also investigate some better bunding for my waste shelves. What I have failed.

Ahh yes I know exactly the ones... the other one I know that broke was just your standard old Winchester. I think it stored acetonitrile before can't comment on age though. Personally I think someone was cleaning in the fumehood a little to hard and knocked the bottle against something, then a little pressure built up and pop. That's all I can think of. It's very strange.

My Coordinator and I had a similar theory. That someone has raced back in to put it away and thumped it a bit too hard, causing a slight crack. Then with a bit of pressure - ka-pop. We restrict who can access the chem store but I did have a heap of time off last year.
It hasn't happened before, thankfully, just thankful it wasn't that old bottle of lead waste - yukko - the organics was bad enough!