A chemical fume hood is the main piece of laboratory equipment that protects laboratory staff working with hazardous chemicals. When properly used, fume hoods protect staff from inhaling chemical gases, vapors, and aerosols. They serve as a physical barrier between staff and the hazardous materials inside the hood, and provide some splash protection.

This basic-level eLearning course provides an essential understanding of the major components of a...

This online course discusses ethics and personal integrity and illustrates how these traits apply to technical staff in a public health or other laboratory. Examples of general workplace ethics are provided. Many of the ways that data integrity can be affected by technical staff are explained, from recognizing when sample integrity has been compromised to documenting errors, handling calibration and quality control issues, and changing or correcting results. Examples are given to show how...

Public health laboratories must ensure a sufficient flow of funds to attract and keep top-notch staff, as well as to obtain and maintain required facilities and equipment. Furthermore, like shareholders of a corporation, the stakeholders in a laboratory--funding organizations, state government, taxpayers, and so on---demand a demonstration of the value they get for the money they spend. Herein lies the real challenge for the laboratory manager: How can you create and maintain an environment...

Course Summary

This online course introduces the topic of measurement uncertainty and defines the basic terms of measurement. The reason that all measurements contain some level of doubt is explained and illustrated. A distinction is made between random and systematic error and examples are given. The importance of understanding measurement uncertainty in a laboratory setting is stated and examples are provided of situations in which the laboratorian will need this knowledge. The...