Electricity and Electrical Appliances

<>Further information on electrical safety etc can be found on the Health and Safety Services Website under the A-Z of Health and Safety.

• A - Z of Health and Safety

However, some of the basic considerations when working with electrical equipment are:

• Never use equipment if it, or its power lead (including the plug) show signs of damage eg cracked case, splits in leads, burn marks, smell of burning, exposed wires
• Never use equipment that is not designed for the environment it is to be used in ie aquaria / wet areas
• Never use open bar heaters - they are not allowed at the University
• Never over load extension leads or daisy chain them by connecting one into another. In addition, fully unwind coiled extension leads as they can overheat – but do then remember you may be left with trailing leads
• Never position power leads where they could trip someone up
• Never use an unsafe item – remove it from use and tell someone immediately eg Technician
• NEVER TAMPER WITH, OR TRY TO FIX electrical equipment

In addition, the following applies to these specific items of equipment:

Fridges and Freezers	Store food / drink intended for personal use in the correct fridge / freezer ie those in kitchens, coffee rooms, offices Never store samples, chemicals etc in the above fridges / freezers Label all samples, chemicals so others know what they are & who they belong to Lock and label fridges / freezers containing very toxic substances Store flammable solvents in flashproof fridges / freezers
Fume Cupboards	Do not use fume hoods for storage Label all items left in fume hoods so others know what the item is & who it belongs to Before using a fume hood, check it is working – fan noise does not guarantee this Never allow tissues, papers etc to be sucked into the hood Work as cleanly as possible Keep the sash at the correct height
Other Items	Information on the safe use of other electrical equipment can be found on the HSS Website