Safety And Lab Use

This page contains the lab-wide rules for working in the DMSE Breakerspace. Read it before your first independent instrument session and return to it whenever you are unsure about samples, guests, cleanup, or what to do when something goes wrong.

Instrument pages contain additional rules for specific equipment and samples. Follow both this page and the relevant instrument page. If instructions conflict or the safe next step is unclear, stop and ask Breakerspace staff.

Rules At A Glance

• Complete training firstUse an instrument independently only after completing its required Breakerspace training.
• Bring approved samplesBreakerspace work should involve non-hazardous materials that are safe to handle and compatible with the instrument.
• Use PPE at the right timeWear gloves for sample preparation and loading or unloading, then remove them before touching shared computers and controls. Use safety glasses for mechanical testing and tasks that can send material toward the eyes.
• Only trained users operateGuests may observe under supervision, but they may not operate or control instruments.
• Keep food and drink in the loungeFood and drinks are allowed in the lounge but are not permitted in the lab.
• Respect reservationsRemain in the lab during your session, finish within your reserved time, and hand the instrument over when the next reservation begins.
• Stop when something is wrongDo not continue through an unexpected sound, smell, leak, warning, damaged part, unsafe sample, or unfamiliar instrument behavior.

Before You Work

1. Complete the required instrument training and confirm that your access works.
2. Review the instrument page for sample limits, preparation requirements, PPE, the normal operating sequence, and shutdown steps.
3. Confirm that the sample is non-hazardous, safe to handle, and appropriate for the instrument.
4. Ask staff before bringing an unusual or uncertain sample into the lab.
5. Reserve enough instrument time for setup, loading, data collection, saving files, cleanup, and shutdown.
6. Know where your data will be saved before beginning the measurement.

Personal Protective Equipment

Wear nitrile gloves during sample preparation and when loading or unloading samples, holders, tools, or fixtures. Remove and discard gloves before using a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or instrument workstation. Put on clean gloves again before returning to sample handling or cleanup.

Wear safety glasses when operating the Instron or hardness tester. Also wear safety glasses when preparing or handling material in a way that can produce flying particles, chips, fragments, dust, or splashes, including grinding or transferring powders. If a powder is especially fine, floaty, irritating, or otherwise difficult to contain, stop and ask staff before handling it in the lab.

There is no general closed-toe shoe requirement. When handling heavy Instron grips, fixtures, or samples, keep feet clear, use two hands and a stable transfer path, and ask another person for help if the item cannot be controlled comfortably. Do not balance heavy tooling on an instrument edge or carry it while adjusting something else.

Follow the relevant instrument page and staff instructions for any additional task-specific PPE.

Gloves protect both the user and the equipment only when they are used cleanly. Replace gloves if they become dirty, damaged, or contaminated, and do not use contaminated gloves to touch shared surfaces.

Food And Drink

Food and drinks are permitted in the Breakerspace lounge but not in the lab. Keep food, beverages, cups, bottles, and eating utensils on the lounge side of the space, away from instruments, samples, sample-preparation surfaces, and lab waste.

See Use The Breakerspace Lounge for current lounge access, hours, and shared-space information.

Samples And Materials

The Breakerspace is intended for non-hazardous materials. Do not bring hazardous materials or hazardous waste into the lab unless Breakerspace staff have explicitly approved the specific material and procedure in advance.

Ask staff before bringing a sample that is:

• Wet, loose, dusty, reactive, volatile, strongly odorous, staining, or unknown.
• Biological or derived from a biological source.
• Vacuum-sensitive, very magnetic, unusually large or heavy, sharp, or fragile.
• Likely to leak, spill, crumble, outgas, contaminate an instrument, or require a hazardous solvent for cleanup.

When asking, describe the material, its preparation and prior use, what you want to measure, and anything known about its hazards. Do not bring the sample into the lab while its safety or compatibility is unresolved.

Using Instruments

• Use only instruments for which you have completed training.
• Log in with your own account. Do not share credentials or log in so that an untrained person can use an instrument.
• Follow the standard operating sequence and use the intended sample holders, fixtures, tools, and accessories.
• Do not bypass guards, interlocks, enclosures, warnings, or other safety features.
• Remain in the lab throughout a session you reserve and follow any instrument-specific requirements for long or automated runs.
• Stop and ask for help before improvising a procedure that was not covered in training or the instrument guide.

Guests

A trained user may bring guests into the lab and must remain in the lab whenever those guests are present. Guests may observe, but they may not operate or control instruments. The trained host is responsible for ensuring that guests follow lab rules and do not interfere with other users or equipment.

Guests who want hands-on instrument access should follow the Breakerspace training pathway.

Working Alone

Routine use by trained Breakerspace users currently has no additional working-alone restriction. The MIT Working Alone Policy still applies at every hour. Anyone planning to work alone under potentially hazardous conditions that could cause immediate injury or serious harm must discuss the activity with the appropriate supervisor in advance. Undergraduates may not work alone with hazardous materials, equipment, or operations that could cause immediate injury or death without prior written approval from the supervisor.

Breakerspace work is designed around non-hazardous materials and trained use of enclosed or guarded instruments. Do not attempt an unfamiliar setup, modified procedure, unusually heavy tooling change, or other higher-risk activity alone merely because the lab is open. Ask staff to review the work and arrange another person when the risk or your ability to control the equipment is uncertain.

For the Instron, keep hands and feet clear, use the intended guards and controls, and handle grips and fixtures deliberately. Ask for help moving heavy tooling rather than relying on an after-hours exception or trying to manage it alone.

Cleanup And Waste

Before leaving an instrument or work area:

1. Save and export the data you need.
2. Unload all samples and complete the instrument-specific shutdown steps.
3. Remove your samples from the lab or discard them appropriately unless staff approved leaving them for later work.
4. Return sample holders, tools, fixtures, and shared supplies to their designated locations. Remove and put away Instron tooling after use.
5. Clean the instrument and surrounding work area according to its operating guide.
6. Dispose of sharps and glass, including glass slides, in the sharps disposal container near the sample-preparation area.
7. Place ordinary recycling and trash in the appropriate bins.

Breakerspace work should not generate hazardous waste. Stop and contact staff if you have material that cannot go into the normal trash, recycling, or sharps container. Do not leave an unidentified sample, spill, or waste container for someone else to resolve.

Use the spill kit only for a minor, known spill that you have been trained and instructed to handle safely. For an unknown material, a hazardous material, a large release, an exposure, or any spill you cannot control safely, move away, keep others out, and follow the emergency instructions at the top of this page.

Problems, Damage, And Non-Emergency Incidents

If an instrument behaves unexpectedly, a sample spills, something breaks, or an unsafe condition develops:

1. Stop the procedure.
2. If it is safe and you know how, leave the instrument in a stable condition without creating additional risk.
3. Keep other users from continuing until the problem has been assessed.
4. Find a Breakerspace staff member in the lab. If no one is available, ask in #breakerspace-help on Slack or email dmse-breakerspace@mit.edu.
5. Report what happened, including the instrument, sample, settings, warning messages, and any actions already taken.

Report injuries, equipment damage, spills, and near misses even when the immediate problem appears resolved. Prompt reporting is for fixing the condition and preventing a recurrence, not for punishing someone who asked for help.

Reporting An Injury Or Illness

After immediate needs are addressed, notify Breakerspace staff promptly and complete the appropriate MIT report:

• Unpaid students and visitors: complete the MIT Non-Employee Incident Report as soon as possible. This is the usual path for undergraduate students using the lab as part of a class or independent academic work.
• MIT employees and paid students: report the injury or illness to your supervisor immediately. The supervisor should submit the EHS Supervisor’s Report of Occupational Injury/Illness in Atlas within 24 hours.

See MIT EHS occupational injury and illness reporting for the current Institute process. Breakerspace staff can help determine which report applies, but reporting should not delay emergency care.

Related Pages

• Get Trained for the training and access pathway.
• Instrument Pages for equipment-specific safety, sample limits, and operating instructions.
• Reserve Instrument Time for reservation ownership, guests, late arrival, cancellation, and handoff rules.
• Get Help for instrument problems, access and account issues, files and data, project support, and contacting the team.