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Previous by Date: Subject: Re: Abbreviations Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:32:30 -0700 Author: Michael Hurwitz |
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That's a good point - I think the same could be said f
or common reagents as well (i.e., people might know "Lugol's" or "Nessler
's" but might not know all the constituents). We require our personnel to u
se both the abbreviation or reagent name and also list out the full name(s)
of the chemical constituents (for both storage labels and hazardous waste
labels). It's a little more time consuming but it covers all the bas
es. The abbrevation and reagent names are helpful for the lab person
nel and when people are looking up MSDS. The list of constituents helps whe
n we're checking for correct segregation in the storage areas and in the SA
As. We make pre-printed storage labels and hazardous waste labels for some
of the common reagents, solutions, and waste streams so it cuts down on
writing time.
As far as just using abbreviations goes - I agree with some of the other po
sters - there is a significant potential for confusion by accidentally "dou
ble using" abbreviations. I had a student write "AA Waste" on a bottle - I
thought "Acetic Acid" - he meant "Atomic Absorption."
- Cat
Many of you are totally against abbre viations. . . How do you handle compounds where the abbrevi ation is more known than the name, such as EDTA? Most people know EDTA by the abbreviation and not the name, Ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid.
&nb sp;
In our lab we use abbreviations for common compounds with periodic table abbre viation such as NaCl, or KBr. For chemicals whose names are too l ong or complex to be practical we use abbreviations and CAS#=92s. M ost people in the lab know the abbreviation, but an outsider can at least recognize the and lookup the CAS#. Since it=92s only a few digits , even the longest named compound has a fairly short name name in compari son. The only issue we have is when we have a chemical which doesn =92t have a CAS# yet, but this is rare.
&nb sp;
-Mi ke
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS
-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Mary Ellen A Scott
Sent: Mon
day, March 29, 2010 1:30 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Su
bject: [DCHAS-L] Abbreviations
To Everyone,
What is your opinion of allowing laboratories to us e abbreviations and short hand as long as a key to those abbreviations is kept in a conspicuous location and is clearly identi fied?
Thoughts? and Thanks
Mary Ellen
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