Yesterday... I found a open bottle of old and empty but with residue liquid 60% perchloric acid in the laminar flow bench....

@GetzlerChem @titania @SRLevine well it's curious. While in the USA every university seems to have very strict rules and requirements for perchloric acid, not in Germany though. Or at least I couldn't find any actual solid handling manual besides the standard SDS. But the SDS basically leave the handling open for interpretation.

@Birk_lab @titania @SRLevine you have my sincere sympathy trying to sort this out. I assume there is not a particularly capable environmental health and safety office that can help out?

@GetzlerChem @titania @SRLevine well... It all flared up in January when I basically got blamed for everything going wrong there. I'm just a technical lab assistant there since September last year. I was asked by QM to point out things that go wrong in the lab coz they want to get accredited. Even contacted the workers council to get it recorded that I'm not to blame for any of it. Left me not caring after January but the find of the salty crusty opened bottle is kind of next level shit. Before I joined them they didn't even use the hood or any protection while working with it and they vortexed open vials while pipetting 10% perchloric into it. Sure, safer but still blew my mind.

I think coz with an acid like concentrated sulfuric acid, you'd instantly see the effect and the danger of it while I understand perchloric is more dangerous, you don't instantly see it's effects directly.

So to get them to use the hood I really had to annoy the prof. And QM while instead of being thankful I pointed that stuff out they are annoyed by it. I don't get where my error in my thinking is... Humans are stupid can't be always the answer.

I could even anonymously blow the whistle even though of course it would be obvious it was me. But what should happen other than I piss off the prof?

Same with the LCMS results, we so often are cheating with the QCs so they are below 20% deviation...I can't assess if it's medically problematic but technically my mind screams.

@GetzlerChem @titania @SRLevine like when we have to use a system calibration from 3 weeks ago coz the other 6 done since then don't fit with the latest analysis.

@Birk_lab I don't think it's just the US, friends in Canada were also subject to similar rules re: perchloric (well, more like "guidelines", but since they're guidelines to prevent fire...yeah). having washdown capability is a pretty good idea if you're working with any significant amount. 🫠 doesn't sound as though your lab *was*, at least until they left it open to evaporate...? which, uh, yikes. @GetzlerChem @SRLevine

@GetzlerChem @titania @SRLevine well... It all flared up in January when I basically got blamed for everything going wrong there. I'm just a technical lab assistant there since September last year. I was asked by QM to point out things that go wrong in the lab coz they want to get accredited. Even contacted the workers council to get it recorded that I'm not to blame for any of it. Left me not caring after January but the find of the salty crusty opened bottle is kind of next level shit. Before I joined them they didn't even use the hood or any protection while working with it and they vortexed open vials while pipetting 10% perchloric into it. Sure, safer but still blew my mind.

I think coz with an acid like concentrated sulfuric acid, you'd instantly see the effect and the danger of it while I understand perchloric is more dangerous, you don't instantly see it's effects directly.

So to get them to use the hood I really had to annoy the prof. And QM while instead of being thankful I pointed that stuff out they are annoyed by it. I don't get where my error in my thinking is... Humans are stupid can't be always the answer.

I could even anonymously blow the whistle even though of course it would be obvious it was me. But what should happen other than I piss off the prof?

Same with the LCMS results, we so often are cheating with the QCs so they are below 20% deviation...I can't assess if it's medically problematic but technically my mind screams.

@Birk_lab yeah I saw the line re: pipetting incorrectly. I worked with someone like that once. If they want to keep paying for someone to come out and check the machine, you can't stop them. If you were a postdoc or in a supervisory position I'd tell you to talk to the prof, but it sounds like it's not worth it. @GetzlerChem @SRLevine

@Birk_lab also just like, H2SO4 is also an oxo acid...?

God, I hope these people never work with nitric, having flashbacks to my best friend telling me about one of the physics students accidentally making nitroglycerine...

@titania @GetzlerChem @SRLevine well I told QM long ago with increasing ridiculous things like having to witness that the group lead didn't change pipette tips to pipette QC 1-3.
QM always just said this needs to be dealt with inside the group and she didn't even forward it to the prof.

But yes, I need to not care anymore again. We got two new and fresh lab assistants in the group and it made me want to teach them right.

@Birk_lab @titania @SRLevine I assume you’re looking for other positions? Not that it’s easy to find one, and I don’t know your other circumstances, but sounds like your value is not being appreciated