Article ID: 16H0901
We investigated the effect of inappropriate handling and management, such as the inappropriate use of chemicals, on laboratory environment and analysis values in two scenarios. One scenario was contamination of the laboratory environment because of inappropriate handling, and the other was inappropriate handling in a contaminated laboratory environment. For simulating the contamination of the laboratory environment by inappropriate handling, we recreated several inappropriate situations while handling chloroform; then, we investigated their effect on chloroform concentration in air. It was observed that when paper used for wiping 5 mL of spilled chloroform was disposed of in the open-system container,chloroform concentration in the air around the container increased to approximately 10 ppm. Considering that the occupational exposure limit of chloroform in the workplace was 3 ppm in Japan, it was verified that disposing of the contaminated paper in the open-system container had an immense effect on the evaluation of the laboratory environment. To simulate inappropriate handling in a contaminated laboratory, we considered abandoning the equipment and samples in a laboratory where dust easily enters and accumulates. Moreover, actual dust in the laboratory was investigated to be a pollution-causing factor in the determination of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, As, and Se) in tap water. Contamination may have been possible with 0.15-0.55 mg/L of Fe in the sample solution when 2 mg dust was mixed with 10 % HNO3 solution while heating during the pre-treatment process. In Japan, the maximum limit of Fe in tap water is 0.3 mg/L by law. Therefore, it was revealed that dust from outside had a significant effect on the analysis of tap water.
