POSTED 08/11/2017

Hello CNF Users:

A couple of reminders on lab protocol: 

1: Lab Dress Code: As the weather has gotten warm we have been seeing users enter the lab with typical summer attire. While this is fine in non-lab area spaces (CAD room, offices, etc), researchers need to follow the CNF Lab Dress Code in the cleanroom and second floor lab spaces. Closed covered shoes with socks (toes, heel and top of foot area need to be covered) - no sandals or open weave shoes. Pants need to extend to the ankles and shirts need to run from the top of the arms to the pants. A full dress code description can be found in the CNF Lab User Manual found on our web site (http://www.cnf.cornell.edu/cnf5_publication.html or http://www.cnf.cornell.edu/cnf_dresscode.html).

Cleanroom suits are for cleanliness and do not offer significant protection from chemical exposure, your attire acts as a second barrier to any potential exposure. We have had a couple of incidents in recent history where a chemical spill on the leg/foot area thankfully did not reach the researchers skin due to the proper lab attire. Their pants and shoes in these cases prevented the chemicals from coming in contact with their skin. If you have any questions on what may be appropriate or not, do not hesitate to ask a CNF staff member.

2: Hood Usage: The CNF has limited hood space and we get a lot of research activity in the summer months - the hoods get crowded very quickly. We have noticed that in many cases, users leaving chemical containers in the hoods overnight or for extended days. The CNF hood policy does allow for chemicals to sit for 24hrs when cooling down or are in use. If you are done using them - dispose of them immediately. We would rather you pour up new chemicals the following day than to occupy valuable hood space for other researchers to use. Repeated occurrences of unused chemicals left in hoods may result in lab suspensions. If everyone is diligent in disposing and cleaning up their beakers/chemicals after each use, everyone benefits.

Thank you for your attention to these issues.

Phil Infante
Cornell Nanoscale Facility
Cornell University
250 Duffield Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-254-4926