Safety Practices in a Chemistry Lab

13 Jan Safety Practices in a Chemistry Lab

The safety practices set for a chemistry lab are not for humiliation but protection. They ensure that all people in the lab are safe from danger as they carry out chemistry experiments. Therefore, be cautious with the set practices and obey them.

During your chemistry practical sessions, pay attention to the set guideline. Go through them to protect yourself and the rest. When you follow the safety practices in a chemistry lab, you avoid accidents like burns, fire, and cuts. Also, you ensure that the apparatus is not damaged.

Helpful Chemistry Lab Safety Practices

1. Put On the Right Attire

Dress up correctly when attending your chemistry lab sessions. Put on your lab coat and safety glasses. The goggles prevent you from splashing chemicals into your eyes.  Also, do not go to the chemistry lab in sandals. 

For people with long hair, tie it back for your safety. This is to keep your hair from catching fire. Besides, long pants or skirts are preferred to short ones. It prevents you from spilling chemicals on your skin that might cause burns.

Putting on the right attires is one of the safety practices in a chemistry lab that should be taken seriously. Even if you have a few chemistry lab sessions to attend, you should wear appropriately.

2. Know the Emergency Exit Routes 

Do not be ignorant. Ask your chemistry lab technician where emergency exit routes are. The exit routes allow you to escape in case of an emergency like a fire. As a result, you minimize the risk of death.

In case there is a disabled person in the lab, help them evacuate from the building through the primary or exit door. Once you are outside the building, report the accident as first as possible.   

3. Avoid Skin and Eye Contact with Chemicals

It is a safety practice in a chemistry lab. It prevents you from a burn or loss of eyesight. This is because most of the chemicals you use in the chemistry lab are corrosive and can burn your skin.

Therefore, when scoping chemicals, use a spatula. Also, make sure your face is far from them to avoid eye contact. Some students have ended up blind due to the splashing of chemicals on their eyes. If possible, wear goggles to keep your eyes safe.

Also, in case a chemical comes into contact with your skin or eyes, run to the eyewash station as fast as possible and clean your eyes. Besides, report the incident to the lab technician for further help. It will save you from eye damage.

4. Put on Warning Signs in Case a Hazardous Equipment or Material is Present

Be cautious with this safety practice in your chemistry lab. In case a glass breaks put a warning sign to avoid cuts. The warning sign helps people to keep off from that area and be safe from any harm.

Therefore, there should be warning signs in every chemistry lab. Use them when a hazardous chemical spills on the floor to avoid skin damage or fire explosion.

5. Do Not Eat or Store Food and Beverages in a Chemistry Lab

The chemistry lab is not a place to eat or store anything edible. This is because the food or drink might become contaminated and hence, harmful. Therefore, do not carry food while going for your chemistry lab sessions because you put your life at risk.

6.     Never Sniff or Taste Chemicals

A chemistry experiment is not a cooking experiment. Therefore, do not taste or smell chemicals given for a practical. You might dose yourself with something harmful. As a result, you start having health problems because you didn’t follow a simple safety practice in the chemistry lab.

7. Use Each Equipment for its Specific purpose

Every piece of equipment in a chemistry lab has its use. Learn about each of them and know their specific use in the laboratory. As a result, you will have an easy time when handling the apparatus.

In case you do not know the use of equipment, consult your fellows, lab technician, or chemistry teacher. Also, the proper use of the apparatus makes them last longer. Besides, misuse can cause an accident that might harm you.

8. Do Not Pipette by Mouth

Never pipette any liquid, even water, by your mouth. This is because you don’t know how safe its glassware is. The safety practice in the chemistry lab keeps you off from suckling harmful chemicals.

Use a pipette bulb or an automated pipette to avoid accidents. You can pipette a harmful chemical that can lead to hospitalization or even death. Therefore, be cautious.

9. Dispose Of Waste Properly

Dispose of waste materials from a chemistry lab carefully. This is because you can wash some down the sink, while others require a different disposal method. If a chemical can go in the sink, make sure you wash it away. The safety practice in the chemistry lab helps you to avoid unexpected reaction between the chemicals left behind. The lab technician or chemistry teacher should double-check in case a student does the disposal.

10. Keep the Work Stations Clean and Tidy

Ensure that where you are doing your experiment is well-arranged and clean. Label the chemicals appropriately to avoid the wrong mixture of chemicals. This can lead to an explosion in the lab and harm many.

Also, after the chemistry experiment, clean up your work station. Arrange all the equipment and store the chemicals as required. Some need sealing during storage to avoid an explosion.

11. Always Read Every Chemicals’ Safety Information

It is a safety practice in the chemistry lab to follow all the time. Before you use a chemical in an experiment, read the instructions given. It will help you to know how to use it, store it and also dispose of it.

Remind the students about the safety practices before the start of every chemistry lab session. They should know the consequences of failure to adhere to the safety guidelines. On the other hand, students should obey and follow every safety practice set in the chemistry lab for their safety.