1. No Bench shall have more than 10 solvent bottles and 10 chemical solids bottles stored on it or above it.

2. ALL Chemicals purchased in the stockroom or by special order MUST BE DATED AND INITIALED by the person who bought them.

3. All ethers (including THF) must be used or disposed of within six months of being opened. Older bottles may contain explosive peroxides (which must be removed prior to disposal by adding CuI). Test paper for peroxides is available in the stockroom.

4. Solvents used infrequently must be stored in the group liquid storage cabinets as labeled. After using such a bottle, return it to the joint storage area!

5. Never return any liquid to the bottle after removing it from the bottle. The preferred means of removing liquids is to pour into a beaker or flask. Only clean unused disposable pipets may be used for small amounts of solvent removal directly from the bottle. When in doubt use a new pipet.

Remember Schaupenauer’s Law of Entropy: if you add a tablespoon of wine to a barrel of sewage, you have a barrel of sewage; if you add a tablespoon of sewage to a barrel of wine, you have a barrel of sewage.

6. Known carcinogens, especially volatile ones, such as benzene and CCl₄, must be used ONLY in the hoods with gloves. These bottles MUST be used and stored only in the hoods! They are never to be opened on desk tops. Extreme care should be made in handling these materials for running spectra, etc. In general, think about using hexane, toluene, acetone, acetonitrile, dichloromethane, or THF instead.

7. Waste Solvent containers cannot be left open. Do not leave the funnel in an open container, even in the hood.

8. ALWAYS, ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when in the laboratories. NO EXCEPTIONS.

9. NO EATING OR DRINKING IN THE LABS (and this includes your desk)! Sorry, no exceptions. USE THE COMMONS ROOM FOR MEALS AND SNACKS.

10. Backup your data and hard-drives regularly. Keep a copy at home. The thesis you save may be your own!