How to Be Safe When Using a Chemistry Lab
When you're doing a chemistry lab, whether in school or in a real laboratory, being safe is your number one priority. Not practicing proper safety procedures could end up with you in the hospital, or worse, dead.
[edit] Steps
- Choose appropriate attire. You'll want to wear something that shows little skin; your favorite shirt is not as important as your skin. Wear closed-toe shoes, and if you're working with fire, tie your hair so it doesn't hang down and possibly catch fire. You will probably be working with lab aprons, but in a school setting, these may not be available.
- Know where safety equipment is. Know the locations of the following items:
- Fire extinguisher
- Chemical shower
- Eye washer
- Phone
- Wear goggles at all times during the lab! Your eyes are very vulnerable, and getting even just a small bit of a chemical in your eye could permanently blind you.
- Follow the procedure carefully. If you are in school, do not deviate from the procedure unless your teacher says you may.
- Add acids to water instead of the other way around. Adding water to an acid will cause heat to build up, and may cause an explosion.
- Contain spills and clean them up as soon as possible. Be prepared to neutralize an acid or base in order to make it easier to clean up.
- Wash yourself immediately with cool water whenever you spill some of a chemical on yourself.
- Call 911 or your local emergency number if you get a chemical burn. They will know how to treat it.
[edit] Tips
- Never eat or drink any substance in the lab. Even if the only product should be something harmless like salt water, there may be residue from other experiments left on the beaker.
- Learning the procedure before you do it can help get rid of any unexpected surprises.
- Label everything that you will keep in the laboratory; some potentially deadly chemicals look the same as non-deadly ones. For example, sulfuric acid and water are both clear. However, there are things you would normally do with water that you wouldn't do with sulfuric acid.
[edit] Warnings
- Chemistry can be very dangerous; not following some of these guidelines can result in a trip to the hospital.
