General Lab Safety Rules and Procedures

MSDS:

• Always know the MSDS data for any chemical substance that you use.

Fire Safety:

• Know where the fire extinguisher is located.
• Know where the exit doors are, and how you would get out of the room should a fire block one of the regular exits.
• Extinguish small fires in a container by covering and cutting off the oxygen with a solid ceramic matte.
• If anyone's hair or clothing catches on fire, immediately try to smother the flames with a wool fireblanket, or cotton clothing.  Do not ever try to smother flames with nylon clothing: it could melt onto the skin.  If the fire cannot be immediately smothered, force the person to the ground and roll them over and over, to smother the flames.
• If the fire is small enough you can try to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher.   Make certain that you use an extinguisher designed for a class ABC fire.   Class D fires involve burning metals such as magnesium.  They must be smothered with sand, not a fire extinguisher.
  
  Direct the extinguisher at the base of the flames, and sweep it back and forth across the front of the flames, at their bottom.  Note: a fire extinquisher has only a few seconds of use.
  
  If the fire is too large to extinguish immediately, evacuate the building, and sound the fire alarm.
  

Cleanliness:

Don’t eat or drink in the lab when you are doing an experiment. Some of the substances you use are highly poisonous, and/or corrosive so don’t intentionally touch them. Make sure to clean up all spilled substances promptly.  Almost all the chemicals you use are water soluble, so most can be cleaned up with lots of water and paper towel.   You must wear rubber gloves while cleaning up anything corrosive.  Organic substances may be insoluble in water, so consult your instructor for the proper cleanup procedure. Wash your hands with soap and water, including under your nails, before you leave the lab.  Wash them again before you eat, or smoke. If your classroom and lab are the same, never bring chemicals to your desk. Keep them isolated to the lab counter area of the room.

Wear Eye Protection:

• Most of the substances used in labs are very irritating to your eyes. Some of them can cause blindness. ALWAYS wear your goggles, even if it seems the substances are harmless.
• You do not know for sure what is in anything. It may have been contaminated, either accidentally or intentionally.

"Suzy was a chemist
A chemist she’s no more
For what she thought was H₂O
Was H₂SO₄"

• If you do accidentally get any substance in your eyes, wash them with cool running water for at least 15 minutes (time this).  It is virtually impossible to wash out your own eyes if you get a chemical in them.  You will instinctively close them, so immediately call for help.  If anyone in the lab gets a chemical in their eyes, assist them to the eyewash station, and hold their eyes open while you direct a very gentle stream of body temperature water at their opened eyes.  If you do not have an eyewash station, fill a sink with water, use a clean beaker of water, or a tap with a hose, or anything else that works, but get the person's eyes washed with water, and lots of it immediately.  Always get medical attention immediately.

Burns: Glass and metal look no different when hot than cold.  Be cautious!   Always touch any item that has been heated very gently, lightly, and with a damp finger.  It takes hot glass a long time – up to 10 minutes or more – to cool to room temperature. If you burn yourself, immediately run the burned area under cold water.  Inform your teacher.  Get medical attention for any burn that raises a blister, or breaks the skin. Tie back your hair if it is mid-neck length, or longer. Never leave the burner unattended. Keep flames away from combustible material.  Do not use organic chemicals in the presence of open flames. When heating materials in a test tube, always point the tube away from everyone, including yourself. Never look into the mouth of a test tube that is being heated.

Using Glassware:

• Broken glassware, except for mercury thermometers, must be immediately cleaned up by you and disposed of in a broken glass container. Use a broom and dustpan, not your fingers!
• Never use glassware that is already chipped or cracked. Give it to your lab instructor or dispose of it as directed in a broken glass disposal container.
• If you cut yourself, immediately inform your lab instructor.
• Mercury spills are serious. A broken thermometer contains enough mercury to kill everyone in your school.
  • Never put a thermometer where it can roll off the counter.
  • Always hold onto or clamp a thermometer standing in a beaker – an unsupported thermometer will tip over a 250 mL beaker full of water!
  • Always inform the teacher if you should break a thermometer. NEVER touch the pretty little droplets, and certainly don’t step in them, or otherwise scatter them about. They will fall into the cracks in between tiles, and continue to give off toxic mercury vapor for years. If you break a mercury thermometer, inform your lab instructor immediately, so that they can dispose of it properly.

General Guidelines:

• Always read through every lab procedure fully, especially including the safety precautions, before you enter the laboratory.
• Always wear closed toe shoes (not sandals) in a laboratory.
• Take only the amount of chemical you need. Never return the excess. It is better to throw out a little bit too much, than to accidentally contaminate the whole container by putting it into the wrong bottle!
• The balances are very delicate (and expensive) instruments. Treat them carefully. If you use proper weighing techniques there is no excuse for spilling on them. But if you do accidentally do so, CLEAN IT UP IMMEDIATELY!
• Be careful with hot substances. Almost all the accidents that happen in the lab are burns caused by careless handling of hot objects.
• If called for, wear a lab apron and gloves, in addition to the goggles that are always worn.
• Never taste anything in the lab.  If you need to smell any chemical, waft a few vapors of it gently towards your nostrils with your hand. Never smell anything unless your lab instructor has specifically told you to do so.
• Never work alone while doing chemistry experiments.
• Never attempt any experiment without clearing its safety with a competent adult.
• Have fun, but don't fool around in the lab.  Science should be fun, not dangerous!