Anyone work in a lab/environment with nasty chemicals?

[VillainV]

That would make me really nervous. Obviously do as much research as you can (medical journals, credible internet sites, obviously you know how to do research). I DO think you need to tell your boss though. He or she can maybe help, or arrange to make it safer for you (wearing a respirator maybe? or having you avoid working with the really nasty stuff). It's your boss' job to ensure your safety at work, and he or she can't do that if they don't know you're pregnant.

I have a hazardous job too (I fly fighters in the AF) and have had to completely change my duties while pregnant. It kind of sucks, and people are going to figure it out pretty quickly. Some women in my job hide their pregnancies and continue to fly (which is against regs), but I just wouldn't feel good about potentially endangering myself and my baby just to keep my pregnancy a secret.

[cb]

Lurker chiming in. I worked in a research lab too when I was pregnant with my first. Some of the experiments in the lab involved radiation. It totally sucked but I had to tell the PI that I was pregnant at 5 weeks so I could arrange to be out of the lab at certain times. I asked her to keep it quiet but she did tell a few people. Maybe you can tell your boss or a trusted co-worker to arrange for someone else to do the toxic stuff. It sucks but its just what you have to do unfortunately.

[VillainV]

Aug 14, 2013 13:39:54 GMT -5 @abbycobb said:

Aug 14, 2013 11:56:56 GMT -5 VillainV said:

(I fly fighters in the AF)

^^Badass

Hard to feel like a badass when I'm sitting at a desk for the next 9 months!   And wearing a camouflage tent for the last part of that...

[timorousbeastie]

I also work in a research lab. I'm 15 weeks, and I've managed to avoid telling anyone yet. Any chemical that I am remotely questionable about, I look online to see if there are any known issues with pregnancy. Our fume hood was recently recertified, so I'm comfortable with the idea that it should prevent anything from coming out at me.

There have been a couple times where I've asked someone else to make up a questionable solution for me, claiming that I needed it done right then and was in the middle of something in another room. If I needed to do that more than a couple times, though, it would probably be a lot easier to just confess why I didn't want to work with the chemical.

I feel like I'm doing everything in my control to avoid exposure to anything nasty. Really, my biggest concern is other people in the building. I'm religious about wearing my gloves when working with absolutely anything in the lab, but I see people working without gloves all the time. There's nothing I can do to prevent other people from getting chemicals all over their hands, then touching door knobs, elevator buttons, light switches, the lab computer... I don't even want to think about what chemicals I could get on my hands when touching things like that. I just wash my hands all the time and hope for the best.

Oh, I also change clothes when I get home, and I never wear my work shoes inside my house, so I can hopefully prevent transferring anything that way.

[salemsaberhagen]

I was a little worried about that as well. Last week,I was working on an instrument that is under a non functioning hood (go figure). My cw was working in the aisle that day and could smell the waste I collect in a flask. It's scary that I dont smell it anymore. I asked the dr about it and she said to wear a mask. I still haven't told work yet (8weeks) and they would totally guess!!! So, der, I covered the flask with parafilm.

[Jalapeñomel]

No, but I wish I did!

[salemsaberhagen]

Aug 15, 2013 8:19:21 GMT -5 @abbycobb said:

Ah, there's the rest of my fellow science nerds!

Our fume hood is checked yearly, so I feel comfortable with that. I've been doing lots of Google-ing and reviewing MSDS sheets - most of what I work with should be a-okay in a functioning fume hood. One chemical has not been studied much, which is the one that makes me a little nervous.

One weird thing I came across - I don't know if any of you use Drierite, but the US MSDS sheet states that it's basically non-toxic, while a European SDS (?) I found specifically states "Pregnant women should strictly avoid inhalation or skin contact". Confusing stuff, but I think I'll err on the side of caution.

salemsaberhagen - If that's an instrument you use often I would get on someone about getting the hood fixed. How does that even pass safety inspections? Also, did the dr. specify what type of mask? Because a normal surgical mask won't do much to stop vapors, I think you'd need some sort of air purifying respirator (which looks SUPER cool, lol)

The safety officer knows it doesn't work. I guess they don't deem that type of work hazardous. There are several instruments on the bench that are not under a hood.

As for my doc, she didn't specify the type of mask I should use. The easiest thing to do is cover the flask in parafilm and ask a CW to dispose of the waste for me. Less questions that way. I work with a bunch of gossips!! LOL

[greencrayon]

I work with radioactivity and hazardous chemicals in a virology lab. I told my boss pretty early so we could have someone else in the lab do the radioactivity stuff (I work with it now after its been diluted to run it on gels, etc.) I mostly use the hood for virus and other chemicals (formaldehyde, temed, 2-ME, acrylamide... ) I use those horrible respiratory masks on occasion, lol. I asked my ob and he just said "work in the hood"