September 2024 - Celticelement - Cardiff University Mailman

by Edward Inglis

Hi all, There is a lab meeting tomorrow at 11am in 1.58 main building. Please please please make every effort to attend this one as its the first of the new academic year. Cheers, Edward — Dr. Edward Inglis Office 2.26A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Office: +44 (0)29 2087 79469 Lab: +44 (0)29 2087 74326 Email: inglise(a)cardiff.ac.uk [page1image2912240.png]

8 months, 4 weeks

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Nitric stills clean

by Sofiya Valkova

Hi everyone, Hope everyone had a nice weekend and managed to enjoy the little bit of sun we got. Just wanted to let everyone know I will be doing a clean of the nitric acid stills and doing a cycle with MQ, so that will take 3-4 days. Both labs have a full stock of nitric acid, but I won't be able to refill the stills to make more distilled nitric acid until the end of this week or early next week. Please factor that in with any chemistry you have coming up. Apologies for the trouble, it's to ensure the system is working well and staying clean 🙂 On that topic, if anyone has to use any nitric acid (both labs have full bottles) I would recommend testing their molarity. I'm afraid I'm not sure how that's done so I can't give instructions/do it myself but if you're not sure how it's done either, drop me an email and I will tell you who to speak to 🙂 Many thanks, Sofiya Sofiya Valkova (hi/ei) Technegydd Ymchwil Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad, Plas-y-Parc Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Ebost: valkovas(a)caerdydd.ac.uk Mae'r brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. Sofiya Valkova (she/her) Research Technician School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Email: valkovas(a)cardiff.ac.uk The university welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

9 months

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Ignore the last email - lab still closed

by Sophie Slater-Lewis

Hi all, Apologies, I was wrong about work being completed. There's an internal followup that has to happen now! So no cleaning or hotplates today. Cheers, Sophie Sophie Slater Arbenigwr Technegol Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a'r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 4000 Ebost: SlaterS3(a)caerdydd.ac.uk<mailto:SlaterS3@caerdydd.ac.uk> Sophie Slater Technical Specialist Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 4000 Email: SlaterS3(a)cardiff.ac.uk<mailto:SlaterS3@cardiff.ac.uk>

9 months

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Flow hoods operational

by Sophie Slater-Lewis

Hi all, Works have been completed on the flow hoods. There is new signage up for the working sash heights although as before please lower when possible and when finished. As the work is done, the usual Friday cleaning can be completed, and if anyone needs hotplates over the weekend, you can access them. Due to the company inspecting filters etc, things will need to be cleaned well before use. Have a lovely weekend, Sophie Sophie Slater Arbenigwr Technegol Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a'r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 4000 Ebost: SlaterS3(a)caerdydd.ac.uk<mailto:SlaterS3@caerdydd.ac.uk> Sophie Slater Technical Specialist Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 4000 Email: SlaterS3(a)cardiff.ac.uk<mailto:SlaterS3@cardiff.ac.uk>

9 months

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Lab close 26-27th

by Sofiya Valkova

Hi everyone, Just a reminder - lab is closed tomorrow (26th Thursday) and the day after (27th Friday). Many thanks, Sofiya Sofiya Valkova (hi/ei) Technegydd Ymchwil Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad, Plas-y-Parc Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Ebost: valkovas(a)caerdydd.ac.uk Mae'r brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. Sofiya Valkova (she/her) Research Technician School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Email: valkovas(a)cardiff.ac.uk The university welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

9 months

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Preparation for safety audit

by Sofiya Valkova

Hi everyone, We are approaching the date for the safety audit, and as of tomorrow we only have 3 weeks. A couple of important points - labelling in the clean labs. This is what I brought up in the Celtic meeting after the HF awareness course but some people weren't present and it's also good to have it in writing. Everything must be labelled properly - this includes initials or name, the chemical in the container or the process associating with the chemicals, and the date it was aliquoted. This last part is very important. I understand for many samples, they are very briefly in the beakers and it's very uncomfortable writing in 24 or more small beakers so many details, so the compromise is - if a sample is going to be in the container for longer than 1 week it needs a date. Anything that bigger that will be in storage such as a chemical aliquot absolutely needs a date. I will begin chasing people for this, if a large container does not have a date, I will dispose of it, especially if it has nitric acid in it. We've all the old bottles from who knows when, and we want to avoid that happening in the future. If you are currently away or unavailable, please drop me an email and we can wait until you return. If one week before the safety audit, there are still unmarked chemicals or samples, they are going in the bin, no ifs or buts. A second important point is labelling in the instrument rooms. This is a big aspect we struggle in. Absolutely no sample tubes are labelled, they only have a vague identification code that only their user knows, but who is the user? No initials, so we have no clue. How long have they been there? Nobody can ask since there's no initials. A couple of months back, I emptied racks upon racks of samples in the prep room, and they were so old that nobody even noticed they were gone, besides the space opening up. That shouldn't happen. If you are going to be running your samples on the machine, unless you are going to be disposing of you sample tubes within 2 days then they need a date, the chemical in them, and your name/ initials. Absolutely no post-it notes. If you are going to label the rack or container they are in, it must be in sharpie (you can just use ethanol to wipe it off) and they need to return to said container within a day. I will once again start binning things if I find something unlabelled. If it has your initials, then I can at least contact you about it and we can discuss when it should be binned and where it should be stored if you need it longer than 1 week. If it doesn't have your initials, I will not be chasing people and it's going straight in the bin. Once again - if one week before the safety audit, I find anything unmarked lying around, immediately in the bin, no emails, no notice, straight to be bin. Going back to chemicals - any reagents from the prep room fridge and the instrument room fridge (contents currently upstairs in the 3.01 cold room). Many are old, some are spilled, some are unlabelled without a date or name, only a vague initial. I will not be chasing people, asking who it belongs to, what RA it could be linked to. When you can, please start going through anything that could be yours, cleaning the container and getting a new bag if anything has spilled, labelling it properly (date, initial, process/chemical) and providing me with info on what's inside. If something says "standard 1" that tells us nothing. If there isn't one already then we need a SDS and a RA associating with the chemical, as well as a purchase date. Everything will need a justification to keep, and if it's staying, we will need all those details. I will once again give everyone a week or two to do this, please feel free to contact me and we can go through it together, but a week before the safety audit, anything and everything that is unlabelled is going in the bin. Don't forget - if any new chemicals come into the lab, there needs to be a RA and SDS provided before it touches Celtic territory. When a new bottle is opened, it also needs to be dated with when it was opened. Most chemical bottles include a little section where you can write these details down. If not, then just on the side of the bottle is good. This is standard lab practise, nothing extraordinary. Some minor points - the training log will be changed. It was very well brought up in the HF awareness course that the safety auditor will want to see two dates, one for the risk assessment and one for the day training was approved. That means you were observed after training and both you and the person training you thought were competent and comfortable enough to do the process on your own. Don't worry, I will change the log for this at the moment, it's just something for the future - when you're being trained in a new process, there will just be 2 dates that need to be filled in - one date will be signed by you (the person being trained) to say you've read the risk assessment, and a second date will be filled in by the person training you. You just need to date it once to say you've read the RA, and then your trainer will date when they trained you. PPE is an important one - I will do a wash of any dirty lab coats, and I will put clean ones in the visitor slots. Please make sure you wear your PPE, especially in the instrument rooms. That's a simple one we could get a comment on if we forget about. I know many people have been asking for their own individual lab coat (if they don't have one already) but if you're not in the lab every single day month in and month out, we don't have the capacity to give you your own. This is why we have visitor lab coats, if you're only coming in once every 2-3 months then it's not possible to have your own at the moment. When more arrive, I will contact the people asking immediately and give you your own. I'm sorry to bring this up but people often ask and I feel bad that it's always the same answer but it's just how the situation is. This is just to remind people since people contact me often and the answer will be the same until more arrive. When that happens, I will let everyone know. I know this is a big list but it's actually not that complicated or difficult, it's literally minor changes that we have to make but very crucial changes that can make a massive difference in our assessment. Thanks so much for your attention and understanding. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or any of the other technical staff members (Ed, Sophie, Lindsey). We're here to help and make sure everything goes smoothly on the 16th 🙂 Thanks everyone! Sofiya Sofiya Valkova (hi/ei) Technegydd Ymchwil Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad, Plas-y-Parc Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Ebost: valkovas(a)caerdydd.ac.uk Mae'r brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. Sofiya Valkova (she/her) Research Technician School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Email: valkovas(a)cardiff.ac.uk The university welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

9 months

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Celtic door

by Sofiya Valkova

Hi everyone, Just to let you know the main door to the Celtic labs is playing up and isn't always closing properly. Please check when you're going in or out of the labs that the door has closed 🙂 Thanks! Sofiya Sofiya Valkova (hi/ei) Technegydd Ymchwil Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad, Plas-y-Parc Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Ebost: valkovas(a)caerdydd.ac.uk Mae'r brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. Sofiya Valkova (she/her) Research Technician School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Email: valkovas(a)cardiff.ac.uk The university welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

9 months

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Electrical shutdown Friday

by Edward Inglis

Hi all, As I am sure you are aware there will be an electrical shutdown to main building this Friday. In short this means the labs will be closed until the building is connected back to the national grid at roughly midday. Please don't plan to use the lab until ~1pm but wait for an email from me to confirm things are back online. Note that the instruments will be powered down (the Elements and iCAPs already are) and we will need to wait for the vacuums to come back down over the weekend. Mass spec will be back on the menu from monday :) Cheers, Edward — Dr. Edward Inglis Office 2.26A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Office: +44 (0)29 2087 79469 Lab: +44 (0)29 2087 74326 Email: inglise(a)cardiff.ac.uk [page1image2912240.png]

9 months, 1 week

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Lab closure 26th-27th Sept

by Sofiya Valkova

Hi everyone, Just a reminder that on the 26th and 27th of September, Thursday and Friday, the lab will be closed for the annual LEV testing and servicing. Please make sure the hotplates are turned off during this time and there are no uncapped beakers, everything must be closed for the contractors to work safely. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much! Sofiya Sofiya Valkova (hi/ei) Technegydd Ymchwil Ysgol Gwyddorau'r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd Prifysgol Caerdydd Prif Adeilad, Plas-y-Parc Caerdydd CF10 3AT Ffôn : +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Ebost: valkovas(a)caerdydd.ac.uk Mae'r brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi. Sofiya Valkova (she/her) Research Technician School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Phone: +44 (0)29 2087 76647 Email: valkovas(a)cardiff.ac.uk The university welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

9 months, 3 weeks

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Fortnightly lab meetings to resume 1st October

by Edward Inglis

Hi all, Just to let you know that fortnightly CELTIC lab meetings will resume on the 1st October at 11am in 1.58 main building. As soon as the room booking is confirmed I will send out a calendar invite to all. The CELTIC lunch is also scheduled to take place in late October but I am waiting approval for this to go ahead. Cheers, Edward — Dr. Edward Inglis Office 2.26A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Main Building, Park Place Cardiff CF10 3AT Office: +44 (0)29 2087 79469 Lab: +44 (0)29 2087 74326 Email: inglise(a)cardiff.ac.uk [page1image2912240.png]

9 months, 3 weeks

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2025

2024

2023

Celticelement September 2024