Preface for TheeHive Bees: I promised this safety plan quite some time ago. It has turned into quite the arduous, yet rewarding and insightful, task. The following document is best suited for
BabyBees, and I will post it there as soon as possible after posting here; however, I hope that it will contain valuable information for most, if not all, bees. I, myself, am by no means an expert bee (although I possess a good deal of chemical knowledge in the ordinary sense, especially in regard to safety, at this point, and have a lot of experience in professional labs, mostly quantitative). As a result, I would like this to be a working document, and as such, I will consider any and all edits that other bees recommend. Please comment or DM any input or questions you may have. I am greatly indebted to all of you who have all ready provided assistance, and apologize if I missed any of your previous recommendations.
*I especially need some assistance with waste disposal (last section) information. I only know about professional waste disposal, which we obviously want to avoid when possible.
Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations B. PPE C. Lab Setup D. Behavior and Technique IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS B. Chemical Labeling C. Chemical Storage D. Bonding and Grounding E. Peroxide Forming Molecules and Shelf Lives V. Labware Safety A. Glassware B. Support C. Tubing D. Heat E. Electricity VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods B. Additional Tips VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations B. Fire Extinguishers C. Fire Blankets D. Spills E. First Aid VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene B. Facility Hygiene C. Waste Disposal ____________________________________________________________________________ II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules: - Never work alone, and alert others on the premises that you are about to conduct lab work. If you are blinded, set on fire, burnt, frightened, accidentally intoxicated, experience a health emergency, or are otherwise put in danger, you may be unable to remedy the situation alone, which could lead to death, permanent blindness, disfigurement, etc. Be sure that you and/or another has the ability to call 911.
- Wear proper PPE at all times and avoid other hazardous dress (see the section on PPE below).
- Always prepare for the worst!! Wear the PPE and take the precautions that will protect against the worst case scenario given the chemicals and processes you work with.
- Never eat, drink, chew gum, or have any unnecessary items in the lab in case of contamination (of the items, self, or the experiment).
- Keep the lab clean, sanitary, and organized.
- Never allow walkways or exits to become obstructed.
- Thoroughly study the SDS for each chemical you work with.
- Have emergency procedures in place, including fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid, spill kits, emergency showers, and eyewash station.
- Understand peroxide-forming chemicals, and evaluate shelf-lives of materials.
- Bond and ground flammable and combustible fluids.
- Use a fume hood.
- Store and handle reagents properly.
- Add acids and bases to water, never vice-versa.
- Never look into the end of any glassware wherein a reaction is taking place.
III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations: Before we apply PPE, there are some basic precautions that must be taken in terms of dress and personal hygiene.
Do NOT:
- Wear loose fitting clothing that may knock things over, catch fire, or soak up chemicals.
- Wear jewelry for the above reasons. Metals in jewelry may also react with certain chemicals.
- Unnecessarily expose any skin.
- Wear contact lenses, unless full, non-ventilated goggles are also worn.
Do:
- Maintain personal hygiene to avoid contamination.
- Wear all proper PPE, especially gloves and goggles at all times.
- Wash hands and change gloves as frequently as possible.
- Wear closed-toe, thick, shoes.
- Wear tight-fitting clothing that covers as much skin as possible- long sleeves, long pants, closed shirt, and lab coat.
B. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): The most obvious safety practice is the use of personal protective equipment. However, PPE is the
last system of defense against chemical hazards. Practitioners should focus their efforts on the maintenance of a safe work environment, proper training, and the replacement of more with less dangerous chemicals where possible. We will classify PPE into three sections- eye, body, and respiratory protection. (note: larger labs and some rare reactions may also require hearing protection, light-restrictive eye protection, hard hats, and other forms of protection as necessary).
Eye Protection: Chemical splash goggles Eye protection is not just to prevent impact, which is all that general safety goggles, with or without side shields, do. General safety goggles and eyeglasses offer limited protection against sprays, and do NOT prevent splash hazards, which may come from any angle or drip down one’s face into the eyes. Additionally, some chemical fumes are eye irritants.
Bees should wear chemical splash goggles labeled with the code Z87.1, which denotes compliance with safety standards. The goggles must fit snugly against the face and remain on at all times. Suggestion:
Chemical Splash/Impact Goggle.
- Do not touch your eyes while in a lab.
- Never wear contact lenses in a lab- some chemicals may react with them, and liquids may get trapped under them, exacerbating eye damage and reducing effectiveness of emergency eye washes.
- Face shields that cover the entire face may be necessary for chemicals that are particularly corrosive, flammable, or explosive.
Body Protection: Long clothes that cover as much skin as possible is a must. This means closed shoes or boots, pants, long sleeves, a lab coat, and gloves. Tie back long hair. Change gloves and wash hands as often as possible, especially before leaving the lab. Recognize that touching things such as your phone with your gloves on may spread toxic chemicals.
- Gloves: Keep a large amount of gloves on hand. This includes boxes of traditional nitrile/latex gloves, and at least one pair each of heat/cold resistant and thick-rubber, arm-length, corrosive-resistant gloves.
- All gloves are permeable- even the proper glove will only protect for a period of time. Many chemicals will eventually work their way through them. It is imperative that gloves are changed and hands washed as often as possible.
- If more than one type of hand protection is necessary, multi-hazard protective gloves are available; otherwise, gloves may be layered.
- All used gloves should be considered hazardous. Throw them away in a safe place, and do not wear or carry them outside of the lab area.
2. Lab Coats: Multi-hazard protection lab coats are best, and should be both fire (FR) and chemical splash (CP) resistant. Most basic lab coats found online or in stores are not FCP. Proper coats are more expensive, but are absolutely worthwhile as they may prevent fire, chemical burns, and even death (research the UCLA tert-butyllithium incident). Here is an example of a proper lab coat:
Lab Coat.
- If you work with corrosive chemicals, a chemical splash apron, arm-length rubber gloves, and face shields may be necessary.
- Keep lab coats in the lab area unless they are washed. They should be assumed to contain hazardous chemicals.
3. Respiratory Protection: Never smell chemicals or inhale their fumes. Use a fume hood when necessary and keep containers closed tightly. In case of a large chemical spill, evacuate immediately. Use a fume hood with any organic solvent, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia. Use respirators when working with fine powders or toxic fumes.
C. Lab setup: Develop a thorough floor plan before equipping your lab.
Priorities:
- Ventilation- Air must flow from other areas of the facility or home to the lab area, and subsequently out of the building. Fume hoods must immediately direct airflow out of building.
- Maximize open work space and visibility, and minimize obstruction throughout the work area.
- Allow ample space between and within workstations.
- Include ample lighting.
- Include ample (excess) storage space that is separate from lab spaces where reactions take place.
- Use OSHA approved acid, corrosive, and flammable storage cabinets.
- Strategically place first aid, wash stations, spill control kits, fire extinguishers and blankets such that all are easily accessible in case of emergency, and such that an emergency itself (e.g. fire) will not obstruct access.
- Doors should, preferably, hinge outward to promote prompt evacuation.
- All wash stations must have a proper drain.
- Large sinks are best, and there should be one per workstation.
- All electrical and gas lines must be easily severable or closable.
- Black epoxy resin surfaces are preferred.
- Install and routinely check smoke detectors.
D. Behavior and Technique: - Keep a proper lab notebook that records all procedures.
- Gather all needed glassware, labware, and chemicals before beginning an experiment.
- Keep all equipment clean and dry when not in use.
- Never add solvent to acids, bases, etc!! This could result in a violent reaction. All ways prepare the solvent first, and slowly add the acid or base to it.
- Eliminate distractions.
- Stay organized and keep the lab uncluttered.
- Bond and ground when pouring flammable or combustible liquids.
- Use the right tool for the job. Do not skimp or substitute glassware.
IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS: The first and most vital step to understand how to safely handle chemicals is thorough, proper, and regular review of Safety Data Sheets. It is recommended that physical copies of SDSs be kept for all chemicals in the laboratory. Safety Data Sheets can be found online as well, and should be reviewed each time a chemical is used, at least until one has extensive experience with that chemical. Safety and storage information should also be reviewed for any compounds synthesized, as well as any side products or impurities.
The format of an SDS is an update to the traditional MSDS, and follows the guidelines prescribed by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) established in March 2012. A traditional MSDS is likely to contain all or most of the necessary information; however, SDS has the benefit of a strict and easy to follow format that includes the following 16 sections:
Section 1—Identification: Chemical/product name, name and contact information of producer.
Section 2—Hazard(s) Identification: All known hazards of the chemical and required label elements. The GHS identifies three hazard classes: health (toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc.), physical (corrosive, flammable, combustible, etc.), and environmental hazards. There are 16 types of physical hazards and 10 types of health hazards. Next to each listed hazard is a rank/category from 1-4, with 1 being the most severe level of hazard. Next are hazard pictograms, a signal word, and hazard (H) statements and precautionary (P) statements. Pictograms allow chemists to quickly understand the basic hazards of a chemical, and must be on the chemical label. What pictograms a chemical requires is quantitatively determined, and users should become familiar with them.
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There are two signal words- Danger!, and Warning!, the former being more serious than the latter.
P and H statements list specifically hazardous situations and precautions that must be taken when handling the chemical.
Section 3—Composition/Information on Ingredients Section 4—First-Aid Measures Section 5—Fire-Fighting Measures Section 6—Accidental Release Measures: What to do in case of accidental spill or release of chemicals, proper containment, and cleanup.
Section 7—Handling and Storage Section 8—Exposure Controls/Personal Protection: Includes exposure limits.
Section 9—Physical and Chemical Properties: appearance, odor, flashpoint, solubility, pH, evaporation rates, etc.
Section 10—Stability and Reactivity: Chemical stability and possible hazardous reactions.
Section 11—Toxicological Information: Routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or absorption contact), symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity.
Sections 12-15 are optional, but include ecological information, disposal considerations, transportation information, and regulatory information.
Section 16-- includes any additional information the producer may want to portray.
B. Chemical Labeling: All chemicals should be labeled at all times to avoid hazard, confusion, and waste.
- Containers that are being used in a procedure (beakers, flasks, wash bottles, etc.) may simply be labeled with a piece of scotch tape and a permanent marker.
- Vessels that will be heated can be labeled with a heat-resistant paint marker.
- Chemicals that will be stored (whether produced or purchased) should be labeled with at minimum the chemical name, date of production/purchase/opening, and safety concerns. Simple labels may be used for containers that are not in the manufacturer’s packaging.
C. Chemical Storage: General Reagents: - Keep storage spaces organized, clean, and uncluttered.
- All chemicals should be stored properly whenever not in use.
- Store bottles away from shelf edges, and/or have lipped shelves to prevent falls from, and contain spills on, shelves.
- Keep seals tight.
- Keep an inventory.
- Always label chemicals properly, including the dates received and opened.
- Bees may opt to cover glass containers in clear packing tape to reduce mess if a bottle is broken.
- Store flammable and combustible liquids in a flammable cabinet. An old fridge is a good method of storage for bees. Never store food or drink in the same refrigerator.
- Do not store liquids above solids.
- Always store corrosive chemicals on spill trays.
- Store odoriferous and toxic chemicals in ventilated cabinets.
- Keep heavy containers on bottom shelves, and don’t store in high places or on the floor unless properly protected.
Common Storage Combinations to Avoid: - Chlorine with- ammonia, acetylene, benzene, butadiene, hydrogen, petroleum gases, sodium carbide, or turpentine.
- Acetone with- bromine, chlorine, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, or hydrogen peroxide (do not use acetone to clean receptacles that have had these chemicals in them!).
- Iodine with- acetylene, ammonia, or hydrogen.
- Water- keep all other chemicals away from water unless in solution. Especially avoid hydration of acetyl chloride, alkaline and alkaline earth metals, barium peroxide, carbides, chromic acid, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorous pentoxide, sulfuric acid, or sulfur trioxide.
- Nitric Acid with- acetone, acetic acid, alcohol, chromic acid, aniline, hydrocyanic acid, hydrogen sulfide, or any flammable substances (keep this in mind when cleaning with nitric acid).
- Hydrogen Peroxide with- copper, chromium, iron, most metals or salts of metals, alcohols, acetone, organic materials, aniline, nitromethane, flammable liquids, ammonia, or oxidizing agents.
- Zinc and sulfur.
- Mercury with- acetylene, fulminic acid, or ammonia.
Compressed Gasses: - Keep cylinders of compressed gasses secured
- Keep appropriate breathing apparati in the vicinity, but not immediately near the compressed gases in case of emergency.
- Keep the valve cap secured unless in use or connected to a line.
- Do not store flammable gases near oxidizers or combustible materials.
- Do not allow a cylinder to empty completely.
- Dispose of cylinders after ten years, or three in the case of corrosive and toxic chemicals.
Note: avoid working with gases when possible. Gas chemistry has many complications, is often unsafe, and produces poor yields and poor quality products.
Bulk Storage Containers: - Carboys: These are great for general purpose, and storage of chemicals no longer in their original container. However, they are not ideal for transport or use with acids, caustics, flammable liquids, or corrosive substances.
- Safety Cans: have spring loaded lids and flame arresters. They are good for fluids in volumes less than five gallons, are safe for transporting most chemicals, and can be had for around $80. Recommended Safety Can.
- Drums: for bulk chemicals. They may weigh in excess of 800 lb (364 kg), and should only be moved with a drum dolly, not rolled or dragged. Drums may be made of steel or high-strength plastics.
D. Bonding and Grounding: “Class I Liquids should not be run or dispensed into a container unless the nozzle and container are electrically interconnected.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii), ATEX directive, and NFPA UFC Div. VIII, Sec. 79.803a). An ungrounded static voltage (including from friction) may cause combustion of some fluids. Metal containers must be connected via a common grounding wire made of solid or braided wire, or welded connections, before fluid is poured between them.
E. Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: A variety of common chemicals spontaneously form peroxide compounds under ordinary storage conditions due to reaction with oxygen. Peroxides are extraordinarily explosive, and can often be ignited by contact with heat, friction (incl. simply turning the cap of the container), and mechanical shock (incl. shaking, bumping, or dropping).
Three classes of peroxide-forming chemicals are of particular interest, and are organized by the precautions that should be taken with unopened and opened containers.
Class A Peroxide Formers: the most hazardous class.
Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first).
Opened: Test for peroxides quarterly.
Common class A peroxide formers include:
Butadiene (liquid monomer)
Isopropyl ether
Sodium amide (sodamide)
Chloroprene (liquid monomer)
Potassium amide
Tetrafluoroethylene (liquid monomer)
Divinyl acetylene
Potassium metal
Vinylidene chloride
Class B Peroxide Formers: Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first).
Opened: test for peroxide formation every 6 months.
*
Always test this class immediately before any distillation.
Common Class B Peroxide Formers include:
Acetal
Cumene
Diacetylene
Methylacetylene
1-Phenylethanol
Acetaldehyde
Cyclohexanol
Diethyl ether
Methylcyclopentane
2-Phenylethanol
Benzyl alcohol
2-Cychlohexen-1-ol
Dioxanes
MIBK
2-Propanol
Benzaldehyde
Cyclohexene
Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (glyme)
2-Pentanol
Tetrahydrofuran
2-Butanol
Decahydronaphthalene
Furan 4-Penten-1-ol
Class C Peroxide Formers: Same precautions as Class B.
Include:
Acrylic acid
Chloroprene
Styrene
Vinyl acetylene
Vinyladiene chloride
Acrylonitirile
Chlorotrifluoroethylene
Tetrafluoroethylene
Vinyl chloride
Butadiene
Methyl methacrylate
Vinyl acetate
Vinyl pyridine
*Without opening, immediately dispose of any peroxide-forming chemical with any crystalline formation. Be careful not to open, shake, heat, or drop.
Testing Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: Peroxide test strips can be bought cheaply online, or various in-lab tests can be performed:
One method is to combine the fluid with an equal volume (1-3mL) of acetic acid (AcOH). To this a few drops of a 5% KI solution are added, and a color change indicates the presence of peroxides.
Another method adds a small amount of the fluid to be tested (~0.5mL) to ~1mL 10% KI solution and ~0.5mL dilute HCL. To this a few drops of starch indicator are added, and the presence of blue/blue-black color within a minute indicates the presence of peroxides.
Fluids with a LOW (<30ppm) concentration of peroxides can often be deperoxidated via filtration through activated alumina, distillation (not for THF!), evaporation, or chromatography.
V. Labware Safety A. Glassware: - Always inspect glassware for cracks, chips, or fractures before use. Discard any glassware that is even slightly damaged.
- Use glassware for its intended purpose! Heat fluids in a round-bottom boiling flask whenever possible.
- Store on a shelf away from the edge. Round-bottomed flasks should be set on cork or tin holders, or padded into a drawer.
- Joint grease reduces stuck joints, and therefore breakage.
- Always carry glassware with two hands. Do not hold beakers by their sides, or flasks by the neck.
- Clean glassware after any procedure, and before as necessary.
B. Support: - Use the fewest amount of clamps such that all structures are firmly held.
- Support all flasks with rings.
- Assemble apparati from bottom up.
- Assemble such that liquid always passes through the male joint. Never allow fluid to pass into the joint. This prevents both leaks and lubricant contamination.
- Do not over tighten clamps. Clamps should be tightened the minimum amount that provides a secure frame.
C. Tubing: - Cut glass tubing by placing a single slit in the desired position, then breaking by pulling the edges toward you and pushing the joint out.
- Bend glass tubing by heating until red, and pulling ends toward self to form desired angle.
- Use lubricant to insert tubing into stoppers, and wear hand protection during assembly.
- DO NOT force glass together or into anything. Use minimal pressure, lubricant, and a gentle twisting motion if necessary.
D. Heating: - Heating mantles and hot plates are preferred over bunsen burners in almost all situations. Never unnecessarily introduce a flame to your lab environment.
- Avoid rapid temperature changes whenever possible. Borosilicate glass is made for more rapid temperature changes. Heat and cool glass slowly. Do not set hot glass on a cold tabletop or under cold water.
- Never look into the mouth of a receptacle that is being heated, or point it towards the self or others.
- Use heat resistant gloves and/or tongs to handle hot receptacles or products.
- Cover oil baths so they don’t splatter, or use a sand bath in its stead.
- Always use boiling chips for reflux and distillation!
E. Electricity: - Be aware of electrical hazards. Check wires periodically, and keep the lab environment dry and clean.
- Use power strips to protect equipment.
VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods: Fume hoods are absolutely essential whenever flammability, toxicity, or accidental intoxication is a concern. That includes all organic solvents, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia, as well as any materials that are both volatile and toxic, corrosive, reactive, or intoxicating. The face velocity of a fume hood should be around 100 ft/min or 0.5 m/s. Keep these guidelines in mind when using a fume hood:
- Regularly check that air flow is not blocked.
- Keep the sash open as little as possible to promote air flow.
- Keep all chemicals and glassware at least 6 inches away from the edge of the workspace.
- Air should flow from the fume hood directly to the outdoors.
Unfortunately, bees often find that fume hoods are the most difficult apparatus to obtain and install in a private laboratory. Nonetheless, it is imperative that each lab includes one. This is especially important for bees, who often work in confined spaces that can quickly and easily fill with toxic, flammable, or intoxicating vapors. A proper fume hood may cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are many online guides and videos that teach how to construct one for as little as a few hundred dollars. The builder must meticulously ensure that air flow is adequate and constant. The outtake must be properly filtered, and there must not be any leaks through which air can flow other than the space under the sash and the outtake.
B. Additional Tips: - Avoid gas chemistry whenever possible. It is often dangerous, difficult, and produces poor quality products and low yields.
- Avoid pressurized systems whenever possible. They also present special risks.
- After working with potentially pyrophoric agents that may not interact well with water or oxygen, flush apparati with pressurized inert gas before cleaning.
- Do not clean bromine contaminated glassware with acetone, which forms bromoacetone, a tear gas.
- Always use deionized water- tap water contains interruptive ions such as Mg2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ca2+, as well as dissolved gasses.
VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations: If any hazardous chemical comes in contact with the body or eyes, the emergency shower or eye-wash station should be utilized immediately, with continued application for at least 15 minutes. The eyes should be held open for this entire process. Quality eye-wash stations can be purchased online for between 50 and several hundred US dollars. Bees who don’t have one installed are advised to purchase one. Some models can be attached directly to a sink faucet. An alternative, less effective, and minimal necessary precaution is bottled, eye-safe saline solution such as EyeSaline and Physician’s Care Eyewash Station, which can be purchased online for around $10 for a single bottle, and $30+ for kits. At least two bottles should be kept on hand in case both eyes are contaminated. Application of bottled solution to both eyes may require a partner, because the eyes must be held open to maximize effectiveness. For this, and other reasons (speed, difficulty/time of opening bottles vs. pushing a button, and water pressure) an actual eyewash station is in all ways preferred. Faucet-mounted eyewash stations such as the following are very affordable (US $59.95). Recommended
Eyewash Station.
Bees may not, however, have the space to install a safety shower. The home shower may be used in its stead; however, precaution must be taken to ensure it is easily accessible. The chemist should alert all others in the home/facility that they are working, and require that the door to the shower, and the path to it, be open at all times in case of emergency.
B. Fire extinguishers: - Avoid working with flames whenever possible, especially when working with flammable solvents. Hot plates or heating mantles are preferable in almost all situations.
- There are four classes of fires:
Class A- ordinary combustibles- wood, cloth, paper- can be extinguished with water, or general fire extinguishers.
Class B- organic solvents, flammable liquids- chemical foam extinguishers (also work for class A and C).
Class C- electrical equipment- chemical foam extinguishers.
Class D- combustible metals such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, lithium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium.
- A dry chemical ABC extinguisher is usually adequate.
- If you plan to work with combustible metals (not recommended unless necessary), make sure to have a class D dry chemical fire extinguisher. Other methods or classes of extinguishers will not put out a combustible metal fire. Note that class D fire extinguishers will not work for class A, B, or C fires.
- Do not use a CO2 extinguisher- if it has to be used on the person it can cause frostbite and inhibit breathing.
C. Fire blankets: Used for small fires, or to put out a person who has caught fire (laying on ground, standing may cause the fire to move up the body to the head due to a chimney effect).
D. Spills: Keep some vinegar or baking soda around to neutralize bases and acids, respectively. After acids and bases are neutralized, the chemical can be mopped up and placed in waste disposal.
VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene: Wash hands, face, and all exposed skin after PPE has been removed to avoid recontamination by touching dirty clothes. Shower and change clothes once possible.
B. Facility Hygiene: Clean all surfaces, glassware, and equipment before leaving the lab. Keep laboratory items in the lab, and personal items out of it. Chemicals may be transferred into the home through those items. Additionally, foreign objects have the potential to contaminate sterile laboratory environments.
C. Waste Disposal: Waste disposal is one of the most important aspects of safety, image management, public relations, avoidance of fines or criminal charges, and environmental preservation.
- Create a waste disposal plan before beginning a procedure or ordering a chemical.
- Consult the SDS for all chemicals, individually or in a mixture.
- Clearly label all containers, including waste.
- Rinse out empty containers with an inert solvent several times before disposal.
- Collect aqueous waste separately from organic solvent waste, and place solid waste in a labeled container for disposal. Flammable and toxic waste should be stored in a closed waste container in the fume hood until proper disposal is possible.
- Non-hazardous waste may be disposed of in a landfill.
The Article “Management of Waste” found
here states, “The best strategy for managing laboratory waste aims to maximize safety and minimize environmental impact, and considers these objectives from the time of purchase.” The article describes four tiers of waste management:
- Pollution prevention and source reduction (green chemistry).
- Reuse and redistribution of unwanted/surplus material (purchasing only what is needed).
- Treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste.
- Disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial. Additionally, use of solvent as fuel, or a fuel blender (the least desirable tier).
I hope this safety plan can save a few bees. I know there is a lot of information, but chemical safety is extremely important and multifaceted. Best of luck with your endeavors. Stay safe out there!
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Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations B. PPE C. Lab Setup D. Behavior and Technique IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS B. Chemical Labeling C. Chemical Storage D. Bonding and Grounding E. Peroxide Forming Molecules and Shelf Lives V. Labware Safety A. Glassware B. Support C. Tubing D. Heat E. Electricity VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods B. Additional Tips VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations B. Fire Extinguishers C. Fire Blankets D. Spills E. First Aid VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene B. Facility Hygiene C. Waste Disposal IX. List of Edits ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction: Chemistry is an extremely exciting endeavor; however, it can also be an exceedingly dangerous one. Professional chemists are disfigured, maimed, burned, and even killed every year. Clandestine chemists face even greater harm when they have a lack of knowledge, inadequate facilities, no established safety protocol, or a capricious attitude. If you want to be a productive bee, you will face untold hours of preparation. It will prove to be a worthwhile endeavor; however, it is not something to rush, and your chances of success are slim-to-none if you damage yourself, others, or your home/facility.
The following document is very long and thorough. We won't pretend that bees are going to follow all of these recommendations, but I urge all baby bees to at least browse this document to become familiarize with the attitude of safety and some of the dangers of laboratory work.
I am open to any and all recommendations, questions, and edits- this will be a working document.
I wish you all luck in your exploration. Remember, however, that safety in the lab rarely comes down to luck- it is all about preparation, execution, and awareness of your surroundings. Safe travels, fellow bees!
II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules: - Never work alone, and alert others on the premises that you are about to conduct lab work. If you are blinded, set on fire, burnt, frightened, accidentally intoxicated, experience a health emergency, or are otherwise put in danger, you may be unable to remedy the situation alone, which could lead to death, permanent blindness, disfigurement, etc. Be sure that you and/or another has the ability to call 911.
- Wear proper PPE at all times and avoid other hazardous dress (see the section on PPE below).
- Always prepare for the worst!! Wear the PPE and take the precautions that will protect against the worst case scenario given the chemicals and processes you work with.
- Never eat, drink, chew gum, or have any unnecessary items in the lab in case of contamination (of the items, self, or the experiment).
- Keep the lab clean, sanitary, and organized.
- Never allow walkways or exits to become obstructed.
- Thoroughly study the SDS for each chemical you work with.
- Have emergency procedures in place, including fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid, spill kits, emergency showers, and eyewash station.
- Understand peroxide-forming chemicals, and evaluate shelf-lives of materials.
- Bond and ground flammable and combustible fluids.
- Use a fume hood.
- Store and handle reagents properly.
- Add acids and bases to water, never vice-versa.
- Never look into the end of any glassware wherein a reaction is taking place.
III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations: Before we apply PPE, there are some basic precautions that must be taken in terms of dress and personal hygiene.
Do NOT:
- Wear loose fitting clothing that may knock things over, catch fire, or soak up chemicals.
- Wear jewelry for the above reasons. Metals in jewelry may also react with certain chemicals.
- Unnecessarily expose any skin.
- Wear contact lenses, unless full, non-ventilated goggles are also worn.
Do:
- Maintain personal hygiene to avoid contamination.
- Wear all proper PPE, especially gloves and goggles at all times.
- Wash hands and change gloves as frequently as possible.
- Wear closed-toe, thick, shoes.
- Wear tight-fitting clothing that covers as much skin as possible- long sleeves, long pants, closed shirt, and lab coat.
B. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): The most obvious safety practice is the use of personal protective equipment. However, PPE is the
last system of defense against chemical hazards. Practitioners should focus their efforts on the maintenance of a safe work environment, proper training, and the replacement of more with less dangerous chemicals where possible. We will classify PPE into three sections- eye, body, and respiratory protection. (note: larger labs and some rare reactions may also require hearing protection, light-restrictive eye protection, hard hats, and other forms of protection as necessary).
Eye Protection: Chemical splash goggles Eye protection is not just to prevent impact, which is all that general safety goggles, with or without side shields, do. General safety goggles and eyeglasses offer limited protection against sprays, and do NOT prevent splash hazards, which may come from any angle or drip down one’s face into the eyes. Additionally, some chemical fumes are eye irritants.
Bees should wear chemical splash goggles labeled with the code Z87.1, which denotes compliance with safety standards. The goggles must fit snugly against the face and remain on at all times. Suggestion:
Chemical Splash/Impact Goggle.
- Do not touch your eyes while in a lab.
- Never wear contact lenses in a lab- some chemicals may react with them, and liquids may get trapped under them, exacerbating eye damage and reducing effectiveness of emergency eye washes.
- Face shields that cover the entire face may be necessary for chemicals that are particularly corrosive, flammable, or explosive.
Body Protection: Long clothes that cover as much skin as possible is a must. This means closed shoes or boots, pants, long sleeves, a lab coat, and gloves. Tie back long hair. Change gloves and wash hands as often as possible, especially before leaving the lab. Recognize that touching things such as your phone with your gloves on may spread toxic chemicals.
- Gloves: Keep a large amount of gloves on hand. This includes boxes of traditional nitrile/latex gloves, and at least one pair each of heat/cold resistant and thick-rubber, arm-length, corrosive-resistant gloves.
- All gloves are permeable- even the proper glove will only protect for a period of time. Many chemicals will eventually work their way through them. It is imperative that gloves are changed and hands washed as often as possible.
- If more than one type of hand protection is necessary, multi-hazard protective gloves are available; otherwise, gloves may be layered.
- All used gloves should be considered hazardous. Throw them away in a safe place, and do not wear or carry them outside of the lab area.
2. Lab Coats: Multi-hazard protection lab coats are best, and should be both fire (FR) and chemical splash (CP) resistant. Most basic lab coats found online or in stores are not FCP. Proper coats are more expensive, but are absolutely worthwhile as they may prevent fire, chemical burns, and even death (research the UCLA tert-butyllithium incident). Here is an example of a proper lab coat:
Lab Coat.
- If you work with corrosive chemicals, a chemical splash apron, arm-length rubber gloves, and face shields may be necessary.
- Keep lab coats in the lab area unless they are washed. They should be assumed to contain hazardous chemicals.
3. Respiratory Protection: Never smell chemicals or inhale their fumes. Use a fume hood when necessary and keep containers closed tightly. In case of a large chemical spill, evacuate immediately. Use a fume hood with any organic solvent, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia. Use respirators when working with fine powders or toxic fumes.
C. Lab setup: Develop a thorough floor plan before equipping your lab.
Priorities:
- Ventilation- Air must flow from other areas of the facility or home to the lab area, and subsequently out of the building. Fume hoods must immediately direct airflow out of building.
- Maximize open work space and visibility, and minimize obstruction throughout the work area.
- Allow ample space between and within workstations.
- Include ample lighting.
- Include ample (excess) storage space that is separate from lab spaces where reactions take place.
- Use OSHA approved acid, corrosive, and flammable storage cabinets.
- Strategically place first aid, wash stations, spill control kits, fire extinguishers and blankets such that all are easily accessible in case of emergency, and such that an emergency itself (e.g. fire) will not obstruct access.
- Doors should, preferably, hinge outward to promote prompt evacuation.
- All wash stations must have a proper drain.
- Large sinks are best, and there should be one per workstation.
- All electrical and gas lines must be easily severable or closable.
- Black epoxy resin surfaces are preferred.
- Install and routinely check smoke detectors.
D. Behavior and Technique: - Keep a proper lab notebook that records all procedures.
- Gather all needed glassware, labware, and chemicals before beginning an experiment.
- Keep all equipment clean and dry when not in use.
- Never add solvent to acids, bases, etc!! This could result in a violent reaction. All ways prepare the solvent first, and slowly add the acid or base to it.
- Eliminate distractions.
- Stay organized and keep the lab uncluttered.
- Bond and ground when pouring flammable or combustible liquids.
- Use the right tool for the job. Do not skimp or substitute glassware.
IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS: The first and most vital step to understand how to safely handle chemicals is thorough, proper, and regular review of Safety Data Sheets. It is recommended that physical copies of SDSs be kept for all chemicals in the laboratory. Safety Data Sheets can be found online as well, and should be reviewed each time a chemical is used, at least until one has extensive experience with that chemical. Safety and storage information should also be reviewed for any compounds synthesized, as well as any side products or impurities.
The format of an SDS is an update to the traditional MSDS, and follows the guidelines prescribed by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) established in March 2012. A traditional MSDS is likely to contain all or most of the necessary information; however, SDS has the benefit of a strict and easy to follow format that includes the following 16 sections:
Section 1—Identification: Chemical/product name, name and contact information of producer.
Section 2—Hazard(s) Identification: All known hazards of the chemical and required label elements. The GHS identifies three hazard classes: health (toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc.), physical (corrosive, flammable, combustible, etc.), and environmental hazards. There are 16 types of physical hazards and 10 types of health hazards. Next to each listed hazard is a rank/category from 1-4, with 1 being the most severe level of hazard. Next are hazard pictograms, a signal word, and hazard (H) statements and precautionary (P) statements. Pictograms allow chemists to quickly understand the basic hazards of a chemical, and must be on the chemical label. What pictograms a chemical requires is quantitatively determined, and users should become familiar with them.
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There are two signal words- Danger!, and Warning!, the former being more serious than the latter.
P and H statements list specifically hazardous situations and precautions that must be taken when handling the chemical.
Section 3—Composition/Information on Ingredients Section 4—First-Aid Measures Section 5—Fire-Fighting Measures Section 6—Accidental Release Measures: What to do in case of accidental spill or release of chemicals, proper containment, and cleanup.
Section 7—Handling and Storage Section 8—Exposure Controls/Personal Protection: Includes exposure limits.
Section 9—Physical and Chemical Properties: appearance, odor, flashpoint, solubility, pH, evaporation rates, etc.
Section 10—Stability and Reactivity: Chemical stability and possible hazardous reactions.
Section 11—Toxicological Information: Routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or absorption contact), symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity.
Sections 12-15 are optional, but include ecological information, disposal considerations, transportation information, and regulatory information.
Section 16-- includes any additional information the producer may want to portray.
B. Chemical Labeling: All chemicals should be labeled at all times to avoid hazard, confusion, and waste.
- Containers that are being used in a procedure (beakers, flasks, wash bottles, etc.) may simply be labeled with a piece of scotch tape and a permanent marker.
- Vessels that will be heated can be labeled with a heat-resistant paint marker.
- Chemicals that will be stored (whether produced or purchased) should be labeled with at minimum the chemical name, date of production/purchase/opening, and safety concerns. Simple labels may be used for containers that are not in the manufacturer’s packaging.
C. Chemical Storage: General Reagents: - Keep storage spaces organized, clean, and uncluttered.
- All chemicals should be stored properly whenever not in use.
- Store bottles away from shelf edges, and/or have lipped shelves to prevent falls from, and contain spills on, shelves.
- Keep seals tight.
- Keep an inventory.
- Always label chemicals properly, including the dates received and opened.
- Bees may opt to cover glass containers in clear packing tape to reduce mess if a bottle is broken.
- Store flammable and combustible liquids in a flammable cabinet. An old fridge is a good method of storage for bees. Never store food or drink in the same refrigerator.
- Do not store liquids above solids.
- Always store corrosive chemicals on spill trays.
- Store odoriferous and toxic chemicals in ventilated cabinets.
- Keep heavy containers on bottom shelves, and don’t store in high places or on the floor unless properly protected.
Common Storage Combinations to Avoid: - Chlorine with- ammonia, acetylene, benzene, butadiene, hydrogen, petroleum gases, sodium carbide, or turpentine.
- Acetone with- bromine, chlorine, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, or hydrogen peroxide (do not use acetone to clean receptacles that have had these chemicals in them!).
- Iodine with- acetylene, ammonia, or hydrogen.
- Water- keep all other chemicals away from water unless in solution. Especially avoid hydration of acetyl chloride, alkaline and alkaline earth metals, barium peroxide, carbides, chromic acid, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorous pentoxide, sulfuric acid, or sulfur trioxide.
- Nitric Acid with- acetone, acetic acid, alcohol, chromic acid, aniline, hydrocyanic acid, hydrogen sulfide, or any flammable substances (keep this in mind when cleaning with nitric acid).
- Hydrogen Peroxide with- copper, chromium, iron, most metals or salts of metals, alcohols, acetone, organic materials, aniline, nitromethane, flammable liquids, ammonia, or oxidizing agents.
- Zinc and sulfur.
- Mercury with- acetylene, fulminic acid, or ammonia.
Compressed Gasses: - Keep cylinders of compressed gasses secured
- Keep appropriate breathing apparati in the vicinity, but not immediately near the compressed gases in case of emergency.
- Keep the valve cap secured unless in use or connected to a line.
- Do not store flammable gases near oxidizers or combustible materials.
- Do not allow a cylinder to empty completely.
- Dispose of cylinders after ten years, or three in the case of corrosive and toxic chemicals.
Note: avoid working with gases when possible. Gas chemistry has many complications, is often unsafe, and produces poor yields and poor quality products.
Bulk Storage Containers: - Carboys: These are great for general purpose, and storage of chemicals no longer in their original container. However, they are not ideal for transport or use with acids, caustics, flammable liquids, or corrosive substances.
- Safety Cans: have spring loaded lids and flame arresters. They are good for fluids in volumes less than five gallons, are safe for transporting most chemicals, and can be had for around $80. Recommended Safety Can.
- Drums: for bulk chemicals. They may weigh in excess of 800 lb (364 kg), and should only be moved with a drum dolly, not rolled or dragged. Drums may be made of steel or high-strength plastics.
D. Bonding and Grounding: “Class I Liquids should not be run or dispensed into a container unless the nozzle and container are electrically interconnected.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii), ATEX directive, and NFPA UFC Div. VIII, Sec. 79.803a). An ungrounded static voltage (including from friction) may cause combustion of some fluids. Metal containers must be connected via a common grounding wire made of solid or braided wire, or welded connections, before fluid is poured between them.
E. Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: A variety of common chemicals spontaneously form peroxide compounds under ordinary storage conditions due to reaction with oxygen. Peroxides are extraordinarily explosive, and can often be ignited by contact with heat, friction (incl. simply turning the cap of the container), and mechanical shock (incl. shaking, bumping, or dropping).
Three classes of peroxide-forming chemicals are of particular interest, and are organized by the precautions that should be taken with unopened and opened containers.
Class A Peroxide Formers: the most hazardous class.
Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first).
Opened: Test for peroxides quarterly.
Common class A peroxide formers include:
Butadiene (liquid monomer)
Isopropyl ether
Sodium amide (sodamide)
Chloroprene (liquid monomer)
Potassium amide
Tetrafluoroethylene (liquid monomer)
Divinyl acetylene
Potassium metal
Vinylidene chloride
Class B Peroxide Formers: Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first).
Opened: test for peroxide formation every 6 months.
*
Always test this class immediately before any distillation.
Common Class B Peroxide Formers include:
Acetal
Cumene
Diacetylene
Methylacetylene
1-Phenylethanol
Acetaldehyde
Cyclohexanol
Diethyl ether
Methylcyclopentane
2-Phenylethanol
Benzyl alcohol
2-Cychlohexen-1-ol
Dioxanes
MIBK
2-Propanol
Benzaldehyde
Cyclohexene
Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (glyme)
2-Pentanol
Tetrahydrofuran
2-Butanol
Decahydronaphthalene
Furan 4-Penten-1-ol
Class C Peroxide Formers: Same precautions as Class B.
Include:
Acrylic acid
Chloroprene
Styrene
Vinyl acetylene
Vinyladiene chloride
Acrylonitirile
Chlorotrifluoroethylene
Tetrafluoroethylene
Vinyl chloride
Butadiene
Methyl methacrylate
Vinyl acetate
Vinyl pyridine
*Without opening, immediately dispose of any peroxide-forming chemical with any crystalline formation. Be careful not to open, shake, heat, or drop.
Testing Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: Peroxide test strips can be bought cheaply online, or various in-lab tests can be performed:
One method is to combine the fluid with an equal volume (1-3mL) of acetic acid (AcOH). To this a few drops of a 5% KI solution are added, and a color change indicates the presence of peroxides.
Another method adds a small amount of the fluid to be tested (~0.5mL) to ~1mL 10% KI solution and ~0.5mL dilute HCL. To this a few drops of starch indicator are added, and the presence of blue/blue-black color within a minute indicates the presence of peroxides.
Fluids with a LOW (<30ppm) concentration of peroxides can often be deperoxidated via filtration through activated alumina, distillation (not for THF!), evaporation, or chromatography.
V. Labware Safety A. Glassware: - Always inspect glassware for cracks, chips, or fractures before use. Discard any glassware that is even slightly damaged.
- Use glassware for its intended purpose! Heat fluids in a round-bottom boiling flask whenever possible.
- Store on a shelf away from the edge. Round-bottomed flasks should be set on cork or tin holders, or padded into a drawer.
- Joint grease reduces stuck joints, and therefore breakage.
- Always carry glassware with two hands. Do not hold beakers by their sides, or flasks by the neck.
- Clean glassware after any procedure, and before as necessary.
B. Support: - Use the fewest amount of clamps such that all structures are firmly held.
- Support all flasks with rings.
- Assemble apparati from bottom up.
- Assemble such that liquid always passes through the male joint. Never allow fluid to pass into the joint. This prevents both leaks and lubricant contamination.
- Do not over tighten clamps. Clamps should be tightened the minimum amount that provides a secure frame.
C. Tubing: - Cut glass tubing by placing a single slit in the desired position, then breaking by pulling the edges toward you and pushing the joint out.
- Bend glass tubing by heating until red, and pulling ends toward self to form desired angle.
- Use lubricant to insert tubing into stoppers, and wear hand protection during assembly.
- DO NOT force glass together or into anything. Use minimal pressure, lubricant, and a gentle twisting motion if necessary.
D. Heating: - Heating mantles and hot plates are preferred over bunsen burners in almost all situations. Never unnecessarily introduce a flame to your lab environment.
- Avoid rapid temperature changes whenever possible. Borosilicate glass is made for more rapid temperature changes. Heat and cool glass slowly. Do not set hot glass on a cold tabletop or under cold water.
- Never look into the mouth of a receptacle that is being heated, or point it towards the self or others.
- Use heat resistant gloves and/or tongs to handle hot receptacles or products.
- Cover oil baths so they don’t splatter, or use a sand bath in its stead.
- Always use boiling chips for reflux and distillation!
E. Electricity: - Be aware of electrical hazards. Check wires periodically, and keep the lab environment dry and clean.
- Use power strips to protect equipment.
VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods: Fume hoods are absolutely essential whenever flammability, toxicity, or accidental intoxication is a concern. That includes all organic solvents, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia, as well as any materials that are both volatile and toxic, corrosive, reactive, or intoxicating. The face velocity of a fume hood should be around 100 ft/min or 0.5 m/s. Keep these guidelines in mind when using a fume hood:
- Regularly check that air flow is not blocked.
- Keep the sash open as little as possible to promote air flow.
- Keep all chemicals and glassware at least 6 inches away from the edge of the workspace.
- Air should flow from the fume hood directly to the outdoors.
Unfortunately, bees often find that fume hoods are the most difficult apparatus to obtain and install in a private laboratory. Nonetheless, it is imperative that each lab includes one. This is especially important for bees, who often work in confined spaces that can quickly and easily fill with toxic, flammable, or intoxicating vapors. A proper fume hood may cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are many online guides and videos that teach how to construct one for as little as a few hundred dollars. The builder must meticulously ensure that air flow is adequate and constant. The outtake must be properly filtered, and there must not be any leaks through which air can flow other than the space under the sash and the outtake.
B. Additional Tips: - Avoid gas chemistry whenever possible. It is often dangerous, difficult, and produces poor quality products and low yields.
- Avoid pressurized systems whenever possible. They also present special risks.
- After working with potentially pyrophoric agents that may not interact well with water or oxygen, flush apparati with pressurized inert gas before cleaning.
- Do not clean bromine contaminated glassware with acetone, which forms bromoacetone, a tear gas.
- Always use deionized water- tap water contains interruptive ions such as Mg2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ca2+, as well as dissolved gasses.
VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations: If any hazardous chemical comes in contact with the body or eyes, the emergency shower or eye-wash station should be utilized immediately, with continued application for at least 15 minutes. The eyes should be held open for this entire process. Quality eye-wash stations can be purchased online for between 50 and several hundred US dollars. Bees who don’t have one installed are advised to purchase one. Some models can be attached directly to a sink faucet. An alternative, less effective, and minimal necessary precaution is bottled, eye-safe saline solution such as EyeSaline and Physician’s Care Eyewash Station, which can be purchased online for around $10 for a single bottle, and $30+ for kits. At least two bottles should be kept on hand in case both eyes are contaminated. Application of bottled solution to both eyes may require a partner, because the eyes must be held open to maximize effectiveness. For this, and other reasons (speed, difficulty/time of opening bottles vs. pushing a button, and water pressure) an actual eyewash station is in all ways preferred. Faucet-mounted eyewash stations such as the following are very affordable (US $59.95). Recommended
Eyewash Station.
Bees may not, however, have the space to install a safety shower. The home shower may be used in its stead; however, precaution must be taken to ensure it is easily accessible. The chemist should alert all others in the home/facility that they are working, and require that the door to the shower, and the path to it, be open at all times in case of emergency.
B. Fire extinguishers: - Avoid working with flames whenever possible, especially when working with flammable solvents. Hot plates or heating mantles are preferable in almost all situations.
- There are four classes of fires:
Class A- ordinary combustibles- wood, cloth, paper- can be extinguished with water, or general fire extinguishers.
Class B- organic solvents, flammable liquids- chemical foam extinguishers (also work for class A and C).
Class C- electrical equipment- chemical foam extinguishers.
Class D- combustible metals such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, lithium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium.
- A dry chemical ABC extinguisher is usually adequate.
- If you plan to work with combustible metals (not recommended unless necessary), make sure to have a class D dry chemical fire extinguisher. Other methods or classes of extinguishers will not put out a combustible metal fire. Note that class D fire extinguishers will not work for class A, B, or C fires.
- Do not use a CO2 extinguisher- if it has to be used on the person it can cause frostbite and inhibit breathing.
C. Fire blankets: Used for small fires, or to put out a person who has caught fire (laying on ground, standing may cause the fire to move up the body to the head due to a chimney effect).
D. Spills: Keep some vinegar or baking soda around to neutralize bases and acids, respectively. After acids and bases are neutralized, the chemical can be mopped up and placed in waste disposal.
VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene: Wash hands, face, and all exposed skin after PPE has been removed to avoid recontamination by touching dirty clothes. Shower and change clothes once possible.
B. Facility Hygiene: Clean all surfaces, glassware, and equipment before leaving the lab. Keep laboratory items in the lab, and personal items out of it. Chemicals may be transferred into the home through those items. Additionally, foreign objects have the potential to contaminate sterile laboratory environments.
C. Waste Disposal: Waste disposal is one of the most important aspects of safety, image management, public relations, avoidance of fines or criminal charges, and environmental preservation.
- Create a waste disposal plan before beginning a procedure or ordering a chemical.
- Consult the SDS for all chemicals, individually or in a mixture.
- Clearly label all containers, including waste.
- Rinse out empty containers with an inert solvent several times before disposal.
- Collect aqueous waste separately from organic solvent waste, and place solid waste in a labeled container for disposal. Flammable and toxic waste should be stored in a closed waste container in the fume hood until proper disposal is possible.
- Non-hazardous waste may be disposed of in a landfill.
The Article “Management of Waste” found
here states, “The best strategy for managing laboratory waste aims to maximize safety and minimize environmental impact, and considers these objectives from the time of purchase.” The article describes four tiers of waste management:
- Pollution prevention and source reduction (green chemistry).
- Reuse and redistribution of unwanted/surplus material (purchasing only what is needed).
- Treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste.
- Disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial. Additionally, use of solvent as fuel, or a fuel blender (the least desirable tier).
I hope this safety plan can save a few bees. I know there is a lot of information, but chemical safety is extremely important and multifaceted. Best of luck with your endeavors. Stay safe out there!
submitted by Welcome to the workshop ~
This post is part of the "Atlas of the Planes" Project. Come and stop by our announcement page here to view the full list of planes, the sign up sheet, and links to other posts of the project. Fictional Editor — qt. unqt. “Corrupted” Mind Flayer, Izu Kafka
Written by — Izu’s thrall,
foen7 Title Page
GoblinFit — tunes playlist -- “Official” playlist.
This post was made using Google Docs. As the post currently exceeds the Reddit character limit (110k / 40k), it is recommended to view this content via the link here.
Table of Contents
Title Page 1
GoblinFit — tunes playlist 1
Table of Contents 2
Discovery: 4
Timeline [Mystery Table of Contents] 5
Travel 8
To the Plane — 8
Within the Plane 9
Survival 11
Locals 12
Canon Sentient Races 12
Fodder from Monster Manual — see document pg. 68 for full table 12
6 Homebrew Suggestions — see pg. 68 again 13
Encouraged Classes, see Locations; PRCF, Mysteries, & Surface Epilogue 13
Order of Ceruleans 13
Guild of Dragonfire Architects, 13
Nine Nations 14
Denisovans — Frost Giant Surface Keepers 15
Locations (1 of 2) — Sub-Surface 17
Table 17
Settlements (5) 17
Industrial, Economic (4 + 8 Remodeled Spas and Sauna, see Mysteries) 21
Excavations (8) 23
Battlezones (6) 26
Curiosities (6) 28
Mysteries (1 of 2) — Sub-Surface 32
Strawman FAQs 32
Class Homebrews 33
Barbarian: Path of the Wanderer (a.k.a. Travels of the Foreigner) 33
Bard: College of the Crystal Willow 36
Warlock: Otherworldly Patron: Coven of the White Witches 37
Key Locations — Timeline Focal Points 39
Remodeled Spas and Saunas 52
Solved Mysteries — 53
— 3 Campaign Pitches 53
Politics / Religion / Culture / Factions 57
Intro: Ojibwe Influences, a Lens 59
Disclaimer 59
Nine Nations 59
Cerulean Religion 66
Nine Nations Religion 66
Expansion — Surface Setup 67
Open World Surface Layer 67
Epilogue 67
Day Cycles (3 Regions) 67
Biomes and Overview, Refresher 67
Homebrew Ecology Table 68
Don’t forget about the Remorhaz!!! 76
Loc. (2 of 2) — Surface 77
Mysteries (2 of 2) — Surface 79
Surface Mysteries Table 79
Environmental Subsystems 83
Arctic Botany Table 83
Iceberg Fishing Table 86
The End 87
Discovery:
Summary Notes and Campaign Starters
“Ice is history.”
“Think of the elementals and their states of matter — solid, liquid, and spirit — across their Astral Realm incarnations. In them, we see that the trinity of primordial elements of fire, earth, and water existing across each of these states of matter. To return to the incarnations of water and Ice — do we not observe that across nearly every plane, water persists? Look to the Feywild, Elysium, and even the bloody abominations of the abyss. That where water isn’t, it’s absence is the defining characteristic. But is not water itself a mischaracterization of a melted element, one that is as concrete as the earth?
The Plane of Ice today remains one of the most well documented Para-Elemental or Quasi-Elemental Planes of Existence. As civilizations have better outfitted their extremities with increasingly efficient arcane mechanizations, from the fur coat to the hearthstone to the ring of fire, what were once arctic horrors of hypothermia and frostbite now appear as inconvenient truths of ill preparations.
Ice, we once thought, is as eternal as the death that often follows it’s unforgiving temperament. But as the Clockwork Gate has been opened, the March of Modrons have escalated in frequent recurrences, and the Prime Material Worldians have begun to reverse engineer perverted arcane technologies, the lowest foundations of our Icecrown Citadels of Knowledge have become increasingly flooded with glacial runoff. This may have been worsened by the many domestic excavations within the subterranean layers of the Underberg, which many factions, including the Order of Ceruleans, have honeycombed the plane into a house of glass pane cards.
This fate has worsened with the dissolvement of Equifrost Trading Company’s assets and shareholdings by a band of heroic adventurers, introducing the new cantrip spell of “Borrowed Ice Cube,” which has given novices across the realms the ability to reach into the plane for an approximately fist-sized snowball or chunk of ice. This has largely antiquated the need for a corporation specializing in ice block shipping for use among domestic and small business culinary arts. A worrying — and to some reassuring — trend of industries, however, is they continue to prove themselves as adaptable as the meatbags that have founded them. Now as a consequence of their former passions, inhabitants of the plane now stand poised to launch their own mechanical conquest across the Astral Sea, should they so wish it. Has the prophecy of the Githyanki re-fulfilled itself once more? In answer, this entry will attempt to explain the locations known, the history prior to, and recent events preceding the beginning of the plane’s fifth age, currently pending certification.
Enough exposition to these peons, thrall. Translate these charts into their archaic hieroglyphics.”
- “Corrupted” Mind Flayer, Izu Kafka
“Pontificate in the prep work, drunkenly slur in misremembered delivery. This is the way my master instructed me.”
“As unfortunate as it may be, nature is not unlike a grand machine. By that, I mean it can be as cold and heartless as steel. Although as many human philosophers have romanticized, nature need not be so cruel.”
- Tsenu Odiwun, Half-Orc Epistemology Scholar
Timeline of the Plane's History -- See Doc
Non-essential, but hopefully helpful.
Travel to the Plane — Table
Name | Type | Ease of Access | Entry Barrier |
Snow Globe’s Call | Ritual | 2 | Transcribed within the lost artifact, “The Tome of Permafrost” |
Appeal to Europa (Zeus > Jupiter > Moon) | Prayer - Invocation | 3 | Motive of intent is ascertained and judged by demigod and / or deity. See Religion in 5e PHB, 298-299. |
The Golden Compass | Divination Artifact | 4 | Artifacts typically require 3 phases of acquisition: informed of by x, discovered by y, and conflict with z. To top it all off, the compass uses cryptic hieroglyphics to compute. |
The Subtle Knife | Artifact, creates interplanar portals across the Astral Sea | 5 | Potential decade-long campaign of Rift Chasing, in which a band of adventurers journey across the planes tracking down rogue portals created by the lost knife spinning across fantasy space. |
The Cerulean Spyglass | Artifact, detects temporary portals within snowstorms | 2 | Mass produced by Equifrost Trading Company approx. 100 ya, marketed as commoner’s binoculars until the invention's byproduct use was quietly discovered, spurring the company to initiate a product recall to secure it’s near monopolistic entry to and from the plane (at time of recall). |
Here Compasses Spin | Location, an unremarkable plain in the far north | 5 | No small expedition. |
Mt. Aurelious | Location, among top 10 tallest in PMW | 1-3 | Compared to others routes, climbing a steep, glacier-covered mountain is relatively easy |
Svalgard | Location, Island in North Sea | 2-3 | Sometimes called “Ice Hag’s Kiss,” Isle is a dormant cryovolcano. |
Obtaining security clearance to, or searching the ruins of, a warehouse of Equifrost Trading Company | Many locations, shipping distribution centers across the continents | 0.5 | Pffft, why would I climb a mountain? |
Meet a Rabbit Folk | Random Event | 1-5 | A native to the Plane of Ice with mastery over natural portal hopping, see Locals. |
Travel Within the Plane
Underberg Infrastructures and Vehicles
- The Chainlift -- a. prime material world Ski-Lifts, patented by GoblinFit (™)
- Ice Sled Rails -- Magnetically charged subways, without actual metallic rails or lumber planks. Blackglass is used in acceleration and deceleration of the vehicles, while maintaining speed en route instead relies on ionized ice, a valuable strategic resource and magical component found rarely along the border between the planes of ice and lightning. Ionized Ice often requires encasement in a temperature controlled copper shell, requiring off-planar trade for the conduit metal.
- City Cranes -- Horizontal and vertical elevators installed along the ceilings adorning the Order of Cerulean cities
- Moulin Plunge -- a) An ancient elevator has been discovered, and it’s technology reverse engineered after the rediscovery of ionized ice. b) Githzerai engineering, using vertically based heavy magnetization. Known elevators, by contrast, work on rope and pulley fulcrums.
- Gi’Thousten — Mythical Gith Airship Shaft (Gith + Houston) -- a) A silo to the surface; a Moulin, see locations (ctr+f the phrase “M-[x]” for definition). b) Has been invaded and abandoned by githyanki. c) Reused by undead following surface purge. d) Rediscovered by Order of Cerulean
- Dracohound Sled Races, and Dracohound Iceways -- See Volvo’s Guide to Monsters for creatures; dragon dog themed sled races and highways.
Survival
Environmental Hazards
Please refer to the document's entry, pg. 11. Locals
Data list here, juicy paragraphic table in
P / C / R / F. Canon Sentient Races
- Kobolds
- Mind Flayers
- Githzerai and Githyanki
- Tabaxi - Cat Race, Volvo’s Guide to Monsters
- Archaeologists and Treasure Hunters
- Mysterious land of origin in canon
- [Frost] Orcs
- Frost Tritons, Ice Mermen, Volvo’s Guide to Monsters / Homebrew
- Frost Giants -- see DENISOVANS detailed entry below.
Fodder from Monster Manual — see document pg. 68 for full table
More Homebrews can be found in
Mysteries - Epilogue, which covers the reclamation of the surface
- Dragons, silver / brass / white / red* / green**
- Dragonkin faction
- * Red = geothermal pools
- ** Green = subglacial forests of mushroom hybrids, eg. pinespore groves
- Remorhaz
- Winter Wolf
- Saber-Toothed Tiger
- Phase Spider
- Polar Bear
- Giant Weasel / Weasel
- Giant Elk / Elk
- Yeti
- [Frost] Sahuagin
- Quaggoth
- Ice Mephit
- Flumph
- Darkmantle
Order of Ceruleans
Primary Classes of Recruitment among Prime Material World imperialists, boasting a high status within their social hierarchy
Nine Nations (Indigenous Homebrew, see disclaimer)
Homebrew key focus in
P / R / C / F The Nine Nations*, and their International Council of Arctic Region Entities of Sentience (Neutral Good)**
- Crane Folk
- Beaver Folk
- Yak Folk
- Deer Folk
- Tabaxi (Volvo’s Guide to Monsters)
- Walrus Folk
- Otter Folk
- Min-yeti
- Rabbit Folk
- * See Politics / Religion / Culture / Factions
- ** alignments reflects a cumulation of the collective goals defined by the council, while individual nations express a variety of alignments)
Expansion Nations:
- Siberian Tiger Folk
- Snow Owl Folk
Denisovans — Frost Giant Surface Keepers
Frost Giants are not the friendly cousins of either the Stone Giants, Fire Giants, or Cloud Giants, as strong as their familial ties may be. Their practical barbarism stretches back across all accounts detailing the passing of ages. Yet, it would be a misnomer to claim the Denisovans (/
Deni/, push of will; /sov/ strength; /an(s)/ people of) are stupid. They possess the conceptual knowledge of bronze, iron, and perhaps even steel forging, though their bio-arcane frameworks prevent them from practicing any form of blacksmithing according to Prime Material World methods of fire and flame.
Yet,
Ja’Kardiem, the rare Frost Giant settlement serving as a city, boasts one of the grandest forges of curious practices in the planar regions of positive energy. Using
Frost Fire [liquid nitrogen,
semi-canon], the Denisovans forge an alloy known as Sub-zero Steel.
Ionized Ice is also said to have been pioneered by the Frost Giants, who stumbled upon the compound along the borders with the Plane of Lightning.
Again, while the Denisovans are not a stupid race, they do remain a self-interested one with little investment in the affairs of other races, perceiving them as little more than toddlers to feast upon. A redeeming quality to them, perhaps, is that they warred along the Order of Ceruleans and Nine Nations against the undead incursion into the Plane of Ice. Ceruleans records of this relationship do indicate a temporary exchange of information and cultures, even extending the benefit of doubt toward Frost Giant values for centuries following the Curse of Cartilage and their mutual loss of contact. The Legend of Tylo Krash, however, exemplifies the true Denisovan zeitgeist.
Frost Giant lands, that is, the surface, are broadly characterized as the regions of a) Steelstone Ridge, which experiences
Winternacht,, or evernight, of the bright and aurora borealis coated variety, b) Burrlucia(n) (Oldwoods), which experiences
Treya, a tri-season calendar of day and night cycles, , and c) the Isea Coasts, which experiences
Summerpole, or the lasting polar noon. Each of these are sub-regioned into the lands.
These lands are explored in greater detail within the
Expansion: Mysteries - Epilogue section, but shall be granted an overview here. Steelstone Ridge is a centralized zone subdivided into 1a) The IronRange, which borders the plane of Earth and suggests a continental sublayer to the Underberg, 2a) Blitzstrum Pass, which borders the Plane of Lightning and leads into IcePine Ridge, and 3a) Run-way Plateau, an arctic mesa, rumored to have
ice-chiseled cliffside cities and flying penguins. Burrlucia encompasses much of the southern hemisphere of the plane, undergoing the seasons of Winter (lasting half a year), the Thaw (lasting a quarter of the year), and Frostfall (lasting the remaining quarter of the year). It’s zones include 1b)
Nahanni Valley, which is known for its taiga forests and orange leaf(ed) birch trees, natural springs, and colossal moose, with the second region being 2b) The Snow Globe in the Sky, a mysterious region of a floating icebergs above the snow dune foothills, the largest iceberg said to be in the shape of a pyramid atop a flipped pyramid, it’s facades inscribed with twisting, interwoven spiral designs. The final region consists of the Isea Coasts, to the north, west, and east edges of the plane. The “north” coast, which begins reversing direction south, as if atop a cone, is the 1c) Bergice Sea, which borders the plane of water and hosts unknown rich quantities of marine bio-arcane species. The region bordering the Plane of Ash is known as 2c) Cindersnow Marsh, a place oddly easy to navigate for newcomers should they follow the primordial cyclopean brick road, which leads to Greywaste in the connected plane. The final region is of sublime note, known among mortals as the Five Great Lakes of Frozen Volcanos, lying dormant for millennia, though their lake beds still bubble with sulphuric vigor, and this region is said to border the Plane of Magma.
Many of these lands were once home to the Nine Nations, and evidence of their settlements and / or city-states might lie awaiting a curious band of adventurers or heritage invested first nations. Structures of unknown origins [gith, old god, insectoid, fey, and undead] also coat the near subsurface, their walls and towers sometimes sinking into the hungry mouths of glaciers and snow dunes.
***
“The Giants say that in the foothills under the snowglobe in the sky is a path of floating icebergs leading up to the Moonlands.”
- Tylo Krash, Human Paladin
***
“Do you know what terrifies me most? No Dragon, no Oni, no Mind Flayer, no government or secret order, no inhospitable world, no God even, for all those things have been killed by the well informed. No, to me that pedastal is reserved for the creature called the Shield Guardian. It may seem basic to the likes of you, but it has sealed a dark promise in my mind, that one day magic and machine will blend together in some combination that I cannot grasp the fundamentals of, let alone comprehend.”
- Skadi, Goddess Queen of the Denisovans
***
Locations: FAT Table, see doc. pgs. 17-31.
Mysteries:
Class Homebrews go here: Barbarian, Bard, and Warlock.
For a
FAT table re: mystery codes, locations, descriptions, and rewards, see doc.
pgs. 39-51. Class Homebrews
Barbarian: Path of the Wanderer (a.k.a. Travels of the Foreigner)
Note: This subclass was made in ignorance of the
Ancestral Guardian subclass described in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, though the seed may have been planted by the Dungeon Dudes tier list ranking of Barbarian subclasses (which was forgotten during various drafting and editing phases). As each subclass stands, the following should be considered a fusion of the Ancestral Guardian and Path of the Totem subclasses, with a de-emphasis on the role of off-tank or secondary tank. Use of Path of the Ancestral Guardian subclass remains encouraged across the Plane of Ice.
Core Description:
The Path of the Wanderer invokes the heritage, blood, and traditions of an individual's many, many ancestors. Followers of these paths may come from an isolated village, or from the outskirts of a diverse trading network full of travelers, adventurers, and strangers. In battle, you channel the strength of one or several of your forebears, honing their strengths with new techniques discovered along your travels.
In this way, you become a vessel of harmony of your people’s collective wrath, wisdom, and wrongdoings. Aiding your affinity to Charisma and Wisdom, you draw upon their collective experience through
Ancestral Stances.
Leveling
Blood Memory: Starting at the 3rd level, you gain access to the following cantrips:
Message,
Guidance, and
Friends. These spells enable contact with your deceased family tree, as well as influence the surrounding fragments of the world you encounter. The personality traits of your ancestors may be divined from the “Backgrounds” tables of the PHB, starting on pg. 125.
Ancestral Stances (3)
At the 3rd level, when you adopt this path, you choose an ancestral archetype as your primary mentor of imitation. You must acquire, inherit, or recreate a relic to bind the memory of this sentient being to your presence on a consistency basis. This relic can be an item of jewelry, a childhood toy, or a trinket of artistic merit, such as a journal, stone painting, or a wicker vase. As an option, your physical attributes may shift in a minor way to more closely mirror your mentoring ancestor, regardless of gender or racial divides. For example, with a measly heritage of 4% or 16% half-elf, an individual's ears may become more angular, or a similar heritage of a distant dragonborn princess may have more dry and scale-like skin.
Your mentoring ancestor might be an archetype related to those listed here, but more appropriate to your culture of origin. For example, you could choose Fem Fatale in place of “Grandma was a Badass.”
“Uncle was a Storyteller” (U.S) While raging, you gain a +5 modifier to all charisma checks possible in combat, usable as free actions, and you become renowned for your battle taunts. While others find that their wrath blinds and stutters them, you find clarity and newfound authority by the anger and judgements of those who came before you. Exceptionally worded taunts have been known to provoke opportunities of advantage and disadvantage, at the DM’s discretion.
“My Great-Aunt was a Medicine Woman” (G.A.M.W.) At the start of your turn, you gain or regain a maximum of 5 temporary hit points. By casting the cantrip
Message as your action, you may instead distribute 15 temporary hit points to a nearby ally across three turns, regaining your choice of action next turn; usable once per encounter.
“Grandma was a Badass” (G.B.) While raging, you gain advantage to wisdom and charisma saving throws. Outside of combat, you gain a bonus of +5 to wisdom based skill checks.
Forebearers’ Fate At the 6th level, you gain a magical benefit based on the teachings of your mentoring ancestor. You can choose the same ancestor you selected at the 3rd level, or a different one.
“U.S.” You gain the attributes of a renowned storyteller. Allies and enemies can no longer detect your usage of the cantrips
Message and
Friends. Additionally, you facilitate a tighter kinship of union among your party with your jokes, tales, and anecdotes.
“G.A.M.W.” You gain the knowledge of local flora and fauna based medicines, as part of your ancestor’s continued research port-mortem. These remedies must be prepared and used outside of combat, curing minor afflictions, curses, and diseases, as well as potentially the amount of hit points equivalent to half of a short rest.
“G.B.” You become a Natural Explorer, similar to the core functions of a ranger’s familiarity with the natural environment.
Divination of the Clan Beginning at the 10th level, you gain access to the perks of
The Third Eye, found in the wizarding School of Divination (see pgs. 116-117 of the PHB).
Gospel of Kinship At the 14th level, you gain a magical benefit based on the teachings of your mentoring ancestor. You can choose the same ancestor you selected previously, or a different one.
“U.S.” While you’re raging, an ally within 15 feet of you has an advantage to attack roles, including spellcasting. An enemy is immune to this effect if it can't see or hear you, or if it has modifiers to specific saving throws.
“G.A.M.W.” You gain two spell slots of the 3rd level, and one spell slot of the 4th leveling. You may choose among the spells
Longstrider,
Barkskin,
Darkvision,
Daylight,
Water Walk, or
Freedom of Movement..
“G.B.” You recover from broken bones with ungodly speed, reflected by your now permanent access to the spell
Stoneskin’s effects, conditional upon your daily prayers to your grandmother every morning at dawn.
***
Bard: College of the Crystal Willow
The Gig: Bards of the College of the Crystal Willow are thoroughly intuitive to deep mental and spiritual pain within themselves and other sentient beings. This intuition can spark from an former trauma in the Bard’s life and experiences, though is nearly as equally persistent in the rare personality traits of empathic individuals who follow their intuition and research accordingly. Followers of this school are both highly sensitive and fiercely protective.
Students of this school maintain a balance of healing through active listening and reserved tokens of advice, not wishing to lecture according to the teachings of their birth culture, but instead enable those around them towards a path of resiliency, redemption, and self-improvement. They themselves echo the pain of others within their creative outlets, as well as offer respite with cherry-picked teachings from the vast collection of their open minds. The members of this college lean more towards a predisposition of natural wonders of the world over the artificial constructs of a so-called “civilized society.”
Leveling
We are not Shamans Beginning at the 3rd level, you gain the feat
Lucky for free, whether or not your campaign invokes the use of feats.
We are Rockstars Beginning at the 6th leveling, you gain +2 to your passive AC, reflecting your thick skin towards criticism and personal faults.
We will Follow You Beginning at the 10th level, your usages of Bardic Inspiration are doubled on or against targets with half or below their maximum hit point potential.
We can Guide You Beginning at the 14th level, you gain a greater understanding in your word choices, grammar, and verb usage in charisma checks, enabling you to essentially take a mulligan on a low scoring charisma based skill check once per day or long rest. The DM will assist and interpret the role-playing aspect of this ability to their own discretion.
***
Warlock: Otherworldly Patron: Coven of the White Witches
The Juice: Your Patron enables your demi-divine ascension along an altruistic path. While you continue to acquire forbidden knowledge of dark and evil entities and locations throughout the known and unknown world, your actions drift towards practicing protection against such malfested manifestations. As such, you have limited knowledge beyond the teachings of the commonly taught wizarding schools of Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation (hereby abbreviated to School A, C, D, I, N, and T).
Leveling
Flunked Out Too Soon Beginning at the 2nd level, you may choose among the perks of
Arcane Ward (School A),
Minor Conjuration,
Portent (School D),
Improved Minor Illusion,
Grim Harvest modified for exclusive use against constructs and undead (School N), and
Minor Alchemy.
Gone Your Own Way Beginning at the 2nd level, you gain access to schools of magic that are normally limited to the Warlock class. At the 6th, 10th, and 14th level, when you gain a spell slot or the choice of a new spell, you may choose from any class, similar to the Bardic College of lore perk
Additional Magical Secrets. You remain restricted to the Warlock class spell list for all other levels.
Slippery Victim Beginning at the 6th level, you may choose among the perks of
Benign Transposition (School C),
Undead Thrall (reflavored to
Undead Spirit, retaining prior classification), or
Transmuter’s Stone. Your choice of perks must come from a different school than previously selected.
Forbidden Adept Beginning at the 10th level, you may choose among the perks of
Improved Abjuration (School A),
Focused Conjuration,
The Third Eye (School D),
Illusory Self,
Inured to Undeath (School N), and
Shapechanger. Your choice of perks must come from a different school than selected at the 6th level, though you may repeat a specialization selected at the 2nd level.
Doctorate of Independent Study Beginning at the 14th level, your affinity toward expert spellcasting allows you to choose a perk from previously restricted schools of expertise, including the schools of Enchantment and Evocation. You may choose among the perks of
Spell Resistance (School A),
Durable Summons,
Alter Memories (School of Enchantment),
Overchannel (School of Evocation),
Illusionary Reality, or
Master Transmuter. Your choice of perk is not restricted by prior selections.
***
PLAYERS, ARE YOU SICK OF BUILDING YOUR OWN CASTLE OR BUSINESS?
WELL NOW, YOU CAN BUILD, REMODEL, AND FUND YOUR OWN SENTO / ONSEN / BATH HOUSE SPA AND SAUNA, RIGHT HERE ON THE PLANE OF ICE. See doc. table on pg. 52.
Politics / Religion / Culture / Factions
(re: what do the inhabitants desire and value?)
Listed below are summations of what is officially available to off-planers under the Order of Cerulean’s Censorship pertaining to other factions surviving beyond the Order’s empire of caverns: Note that much of the Order’s knowledge on these factions is biased in such a way that feeds their propaganda of constant victory in their Ice Cavern Crusade, pitched as nearing its end, but rumored to have stagnated, or worse, even abandoned. It seems the fervor driving planar unity has lost it’s zeal, likely as a consequence of the Order’s continued involvement in inter-planar politics.
- Blackglass Collective (Lawful Evil)
- A secret society spearheaded by a few competing mind flayers and their thralls
- Blackglass is known for its extreme magnetic properties, thus earning it the commonly translated nickname “Compassbane”
- Cult of Frozen Blood (Chaotic Evil)
- A multi-racial society centered on raiding, blood sacrifice, ritualized cannibalism, and the veneration of grotesque biomatter effigies
- Thought to have been a perversion of an ancient fertility pantheon, misnomer-ly labeled as “old gods”
- Their mascot symbol is that of the Corrupted Deer Folk, who develop antlers protruding from their shoulders in place of their crowns
- Githzerai Isolationists (Neutral); Githyanki Raiders (Neutral Evil)
- Astral Sea explorers, whose present and former structures almost certainly predate the arrival of undead to the plane
- The Warlord Hiveminds of SteelStinger Insectoids (Chaotic Neutral)
- Primordial antagonists to Denisovans, as well as two races of Gith
- Gith control never seemed to extend to that of the Order of Ceruleans Empireistic reach, prior to and after the arrival of the undead. SteelStinger Hives, however, once pocketed the plane like holes in a honeycomb
- Hive Colonies can exceed metropolis sized complexes, generally oriented around a central shaft resembling a hurricane’s eye to the surface
- Steelstinger drones, workers, and soldiers resemble other insectoids such as the Thri-kreen, albeit with the addition of blade-like stationary wings. Their abdomen ends in a stinger resembling a drill bit. Their forearm appendages are thricely bulkier to their upper arm counterparts, suggesting an additional evolutionary appendage for excavation, though to what end nature makes itself redundantly incarnated is the subject of precious few debates, leading one perhaps to an outlier theory that is the horror of one competing species such as ourselves: that the Steelstinger Hives may have in fact uncovered some dark art method of bio-engineering, applying their revelations to the very generational fabric of their own species.
- Denisovans — Frost Giants (Chaotic Neutral)
- See dedicated section above in Locals.
The Nine Nations
Please see doc. for more information scattered across many, many tables.
Table’s Contributing Author —
— Walrus Folk, Vince Tularoue the Third, Professional Comedian and Adept Sous Chef.
Crane Folk Primary Value: Good fishermen ambush.
Secondary Value: Bad fishermen hunt
Fault or Crisis -- a) Beaks didn’t evolve to debate, did they? b) Low population struggling with genetic diversity.
Curiosity: Caves aren’t as great when you have wings
Politics -- Amicable with Beaver and Otter Folk, despite sharing overlapping territories. Hostile to Min-Yetis, who eat their avian eggs.
Beaver Folk (River Triad 1/3) Primary Value: Breakfast is best served with coffee and calculus
Secondary Value: Dad always said, “what chew gonna do, sit there all day and watch your teeth grow?”
Fault or Crisis -- Tectonic shifts have damaged many of their oldest civic projects, causing them distress towards the mystery of their origin.
Curiosity: Call it projection or whatever, but something in their beady eyes tells me they could chew through my shin bone in about seven seconds flat, should they wish to.
Politics -- Strongest ties with the Otter and Walrus Nations, long since bannered under the River Triad. Beaver Folk are least impressed by the Rabbit Folk nomads. Oh, and they have a mutual respect with the Ceruleans by virtue of exchange of their shared Hydraulic technology
Yakadians -- Yak Folk Primary Value: Always spouting woke shit like “The spirits of our ancestors will guide our people’s survival.”
Secondary Value: “These animated skeletons be wack, what the hell?” They tend to be more serious than that, however, as they know their way around a grass pipe.
Fault or Crisis -- Yakadians make repeated attempts to unite the nations, seeing the Undead Purge as a cyclical threat that will return. Their passion against the undead is fueled by the contradiction of the incarnation to their belief system of life after death
Curiosity: Yakadians make for eager clerics, paladins, shamans, and monks, often fulfilling the role of communicating with the spirit world on behalf of their community
Politics -- Longest on-again off-again ally status with Order of Ceruleans, who share a common enemy and dogma against undead reanimations, though Yakadians fault the Order for prioritizing Planar Politics over Underberg Unification
Deer Folk (normal) Primary Value: Deer Folk practice and research medicine, drawing on their vast collective knowledge of polar botany.
Secondary Value: Best growers across the Nations, developing dozens of sub crop species of polar maize, winter squash, tunda tobacco, arctic kush, crystal willow, cave birch, and saxo-antler reeds.
Fault or Crisis -- They bury their dead across vast stretches of glacial snowdunescaping mounds, forming them into ornate patterns. These sites are often desecrated by corrupted Deer Folk and their faction of the Cult of Frozen Blood.
Curiosity: They gather and collect their fallen antlers, repurposing them into religious and musical instruments.
Politics -- They posses stronger relations with terrestrial folk, though do not invoke animosity to nations such as the Crane Folk or River Triad.
Deer Folk (corrupted) (not a recognized nation)
See the Cult of Frozen Blood, above. These folk have antlers erupting from their shoulder blades, in contrast to the the well-known crown of antlers found on most deer, elk, and moose.
Tabaxi -- See Volvo's Guide to Monsters, pgs. 113-115. Additional re-canon-izing here. Primary Value: Wealth as a ration, to be stored away for hibernation
Secondary Value: The story behind a rare, mystical artifact.
Fault or Crisis -- Wanders of other planes, and former enslavers of the Rabbit Folk, to whom they continue payment of reparations.
Curiosity: The tabaxi express perhaps the widest variation of alignments, going through each as a phase in their so-called nine lives.
Politics -- Shaky with Crane Folk and Rabbit Folk; neutral with water triad, Staunch Friendship with Deer Folk and the Min-Yeti.
Walrus Folk (River Triad 2/3) Primary Value: Armchair Academy, including armchair philosophy, artistry, comedy, and puppet theater.
Secondary Value: Counter Culture, Tragedy and Comedy
Fault or Crisis -- The artist Loufin Van Stash once thought cutting off his left tusk and gifting it to a pretty walrus would be romantic. It wasn’t.
Curiosity: The nation’s favorite sports include King of the IceBerg, and Otter Polo Spectating
Politics -- Walrus folk complete the River Triad, though hailing from the surface oceans. They openly mock most lacking their stout stature.
Otter Folk (River Triad 3/3) Primary Value: Stay away from my clam!
Secondary Value: I like rivers, do you like rivers? Here, dis be bestest river map eva, you pay me back, yes?
Fault or Crisis -- A surprisingly moody, rude, and brash — but also quite clever and cute — group of sentients.
Curiosity: Their origin story involves a Promethean demigod delivering to them both a clam and a hard rock.
Politics -- Otter Folk tend to be a polarizing force among other nations and clans, altering their friendships and rivalries as frequently as the river adjusts and corrects its flow
Min-Yetis Primary Value: "OHMYGOSH;" "HIIIIIIIIIIIII." Min-yetis are generally content with life the way it is, so long as it’s with company.
Secondary Value: "Hungry! Excited! New Friends!" Min-yeti’s were once renowned astronomers, with some stories saying they fell into a sort of madness after extended confinement in caves, possibly explaining their current difficulty in expressing their more complex observations.
Fault or Crisis -- Min-Yetis are seen as overly trusting in disposition, leading to their manipulation by more nefariously minded “friends.” Other nations may or may not refer to their perceived stupidity.
Curiosity: "Why do I put up with you?" Min-Yeti prefer traveling and trading petty trinkets in lieu of studying or crafting goods. They make decent bodyguards, enforcers, and bouncers, given patiently extensive training programs
Politics -- Min-yeti delight in chasing Crane Folk, shouting “TALL, WEIRD, AROO AROO AROOOOOOOOOO.” They also enjoy eating Crane Folk egg yolks, having formally raided the nation in many brutal skirmishes over the centuries.
Rabbit Folk Primary Value: Down the rabbithole? Wait until you see this hat trick — Rabbit Folk have a natural affinity to finding and creating portals.
Secondary Value: Fiercely anti-Tabaxi, their former enslavers.
Fault or Crisis -- have a predisposition to self-isolation policies.
Curiosity: Rabbit Folk are masters of portal hopping, and display a natural affinity to the arcane.
Politics -- Rabbit Folk often struggle to find a common ground with other nations, save for the Yakadians, whom they hold in fraternal esteem, and the Deer Folk, which they barter agricultural practices with.
***
Fin (/s) — Addtl. 20 pages of Surface Layer Content
Expansion — Surface Setup
Open World Surface Layer
Epilogue Preview:
Homebrew Ecology Table -- see doc. pgs. 68-76, including loot, alchemy components, trade goods, and cultural significance.
Surface Table of Locations -- including half canon, half homebrew, see doc. pgs. 77-78
Surface Table of Mysteries -- see doc. pgs. 79-82.
Arctic Fauna (Botany) Table -- see doc. pgs. 83-85.
Ice Fishing Table -- see end of doc.
Actual Fin
The End
This post is dedicated to the current entities of awareness: Gabrielle White Bear, Allison Childs, Nancy Jane, and Kelsey Yunker, all powerful spirits incarnated as females of varying degrees of indigenous heritage. Given another chance, this user would gladly take the lessons gained in the present to that of yesterday, given another lifelong scenario of “Groundhog Day)” repetition. Thank you so much for reading, and to the mod team for their advice. Happy belated Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly known as Columbus Day) as well as early celebration of the day of giving thanks, here in the USA on 26 Nov. 2020! All the well wishes to those in stress and suffering during our current political, environmental, and pandemic-based global crisis ~
- Editor “Corrupted” Mind Flayer, Izu Kafka, and user Foen7, Izu’s Thrall
submitted by Material contained in this publication is in the public TABLE OF CONTENTS. OVERVIEW hazardous chemicals. Hazard. classification . does not involve an estimation of risk. The difference between the terms hazard and risk is often poorly understood. Group Type of Hazardous Material; Group A: Atmosphere containing acetylene.: Group B: Atmosphere containing a flammable gas, a flammable liquid produced vapor, or a combustible liquid produced vapor mixed with air that may burn or explode, having either a MESG (Maximum Experimental Safe Gap) 1) value less than or equal to 0.45 mm or a MIC (Minimum Igniting Current) 2) ratio less than or equal Hazardous Material Table (HMT) The first five columns of the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) contain the information required for the basic description on the shipping paper document or the hazardous waste manifest. The Table covers the transportation of hazardous materials in all modes: air, water, rail, and highway. It Hazardous materials are broken down into 8 main classes, and the 9th miscellaneous class covering all other materials that don’t fall under the first 8. Class 1 – Explosives. Explosives meet the hazardous materials classification (Class 1) because they have the ability to produce hazardous amounts of heat, sound, smoke, gas or light. (i) A mixture or solution meeting the definition of one or more hazard class that is not identified specifically by name, comprised of a single predominant hazardous material identified in the Table by technical name and one or more hazardous and/or non-hazardous material, must be described using the proper shipping name of the hazardous material and the qualifying word “mixture” or “solution”, as appropriate, unless - Subpart A - General (§§ 172.1 - 172.3) Subpart B - Table of Hazardous Materials and Special Provisions (§§ 172.101 - 172.102) Subpart C - Shipping Papers (§§ 172.200 - 172.205) Hazardous Materials Classification; There are multiple sources for identifying the DOT/IATA defined hazards of a material: Shipping papers; Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Container labels and markings. It is also a good practice to search through the hazardous materials table listed in our references section. This data was compiled from the Hazardous Materials Table from the United States "Code of Federal Regulations" title 49 section 172.101. Disclaimer WARNING: These pages are for general reference and educational purposes only and MUST NOT be relied upon as a sole source to determine regulatory compliance or where matters of life and health are concerned. The Classification Guide is intended to provide practical advice to help determine if waste or recyclable material is subject to the Regulations, and to classify hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material by selecting the codes that describe the waste or recyclable material for the purposes of notification (using the electronic system or administrative form) and movement tracking.
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