Oregon State University
Electron Microscope Facility

USER INFORMATION AND FACILITY POLICIES

Qualified Direct Use 

Direct use of laboratory equipment is permitted to qualified university faculty, staff and graduate students.  Persons not affiliated with the institution who may want direct use of Facility instruments should make their request to the Facility manager. 

All direct use of instruments and equipment is contingent upon the competency and responsibility of the user and is at the discretion of the Facility manager, who has authority to deny or revoke privileges.  Users are asked to adhere to normal standards of courtesy, cleanliness, and safety.  Equipment, books, etc. belonging to the Facility should be left in the lab.  User's materials left in the laboratory should be properly stored and adequately labeled as to owner, contents, and date, and removed when no longer required in the Facility.  Safe procedures should be followed if dangerous materials are used.  Users are responsible for cleaning space and glassware they use or may be charged for the time lab personnel spend cleaning up for them. 

University personnel qualified to do their own specimen preparation or microscopy may be allowed access to the Facility during non‑business hours. For reasons of security, non-University personnel are normally not given access during those times University buildings are closed.  Persons wishing use of the laboratory during evenings or weekends should obtain permission from the laboratory manager.  Keys are issued by the facility for short, specific periods only and are not transferable.  The user will be asked to sign for and to return keys.  During the time a key is in a user's possession, use of the Facility, equipment, and key are the user's responsibility.  Permanent personal keys are not issued to users. 

Direct use of Facility space and equipment is on a priority‑schedule availability basis facilitated by a schedule sheet.  Scheduling may be done up to several weeks in advance. 

No charge is made for cancellations, but frequent missed appointments or cancellations on short notice are detrimental to efficient service.  We prefer users schedule equipment and cancel when necessary rather than expecting availability on demand. 

Operators are asked to accurately record their instrument use in the logbooks found on the instruments. 

By appreciating that people have different skill and experience levels and different levels of need, direct use of facility microscopes follows an informal licensing arrangement for client operators.  Persons requiring advanced operational options will receive training appropriate to those needs and requirements but not all users receive training and authorization to access and utilize every operational mode or feature available on the instruments. Information concerning operator training and licensing may be obtained from the facility manager. 

In the event of malfunction, damage, or dissatisfaction with some aspect of instrument performance, report the condition immediately to the laboratory staff.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SERVICE ANY INSTRUMENT! 

Users are not held responsible for routine difficulties with equipment.  However, repair or replacement of damaged equipment caused by unauthorized attempted service, negligence, or mishandling may be charged at full cost to the users account, and may be grounds for suspension of privileges.  Compensation is not given for scope time used by an operator when an instrument is malfunctioning as it is expected that persons qualified to operate the equipment will be sufficiently knowledgeable and responsible to terminate their use and report the problem to the staff.

USE OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES 

Campus Radiation Safety requires compliance to regulations for use of uranium compounds for positive and negative contrast staining. 

Effective 01 January 1994, clients who use uranium compounds in positive or negative staining protocols or who use other radioactive substances must comply with the following, which apply to all uranium or radioactive compound use within the Facility, even if the use is only one drop per year. 

1.  The Radiation Safety Office (RSO) has issued a Radiation Use Authorization (RUA) for work with uranium/radioactive compounds in the EM Facility, specific to Cordley 1078. 

2.  To use uranium compounds to stain specimens the user must have completed a prescribed four hour RSO class. The class is offered once monthly at the Radiation Center.  

3.  To use uranium compounds in protocols clients also need a Radiation Use Authorization (RUA). Your permit should cover your work with uranium compounds in EMF and other location where you'll store or use uranium or radioactive compounds. Please note: RSO and EMF cooperatively verify compliance in RSO training and RUA requirements. 

4.  EMF maintains facility stocks of uranium compound solutions in refrigerated storage for routine general use in the facility. Our nominal inventory is:     

5.  Clients who prefer to maintain their own solutions need to obtain their own compound inventory in accordance with RSO regulations. EMF cannot sell or otherwise provide (transfer) powder or liquid uranium compounds to you. (Many uranium compounds can be purchased at RSO). A client's inventory of compounds may be kept in Cordley 1078, but may not be mixed with EMF inventories or kept where accessible by other users. Clients have the option to store compound inventories at other authorized locations outside EMF. Clients are responsible for their compound inventory, its storage, use, disposal, and dissemination. 

6.  Clients who use their own solutions need to produce those solutions from their dry compound inventory. Please identify all solutions with your name, % solute compound/solvent, and mix date. A client's solutions may be used in EMF and stored in our refrigerator or other EMF assigned storage location. Clients have the option to keep their solutions at other authorized locations outside EMF. Clients are responsible for their solution inventory, its storage, use, and dissemination. 

7.  Radiation monitor, identification tape, spill mats, tray, and gloves are provided in Cordley 1078 for general use. Clients may provide their own safety and handling materials. 

8.  Radioactive material used in EMF should be disposed of at EMF. Permitted for disposal are dry (powders, gloves, filter paper, pipettes) or liquid (acetone, alcohol, water solutions) waste to be put in our identified containers.  

9.  Individuals using wet or dry uranium or other radioactive compounds in Cordley 1078 are personally responsible for compliance, monitoring, and recording of their radioactive materials use AND DISPOSAL on forms provided by EMF. Nothing recorded on an EMF form relieves one from compliance with documentations required by their RUA. 

10.  Radiation compliance surveys are made and logged by the Facility Manager.  

11.  Accounts of clients using radioactive compounds may be billed a small quarterly fee covering radiation control safety materials, monitoring programs, and waste disposal.