Lab Equipment and Safety

Lab Safety

Most lab safety practices should be common sense though there is some nuance to it. The following things need to be done in the lab (for the full list, see the Safety Contract):

Before entering the lab hair should be tied back, dangling jewelry should be put away, shoes should be close-toed, contact lenses should be traded for glasses, and food, gum, and drinks need to be disposed of (or secured in a safe container so no contaminants can enter).
Prior to beginning the lab you should know where all safety equipment is, read the procedure for the lab fully, and wait for instructions
During the lab you must wear proper safety attire as directed, keep aisles clear, and be careful to not mess around. Glassware should be used carefully and with goggles, fire and hot plates should never be left unattended, and chemicals should generally be used with glasses and lab aprons. There are many other things to do as well, as shown by the Science Safety Contract.
If something goes wrong, let the instructor know (WHEN SAFE) and they will provide you with the proper way to clean up and anything else that needs to be done
When finished with a lab clean up everything as instructed. Usually this means rinsing out glassware that was used, unplugging heat sources, returning any supplied gathered, and disposing of chemicals AS INSTRUCTED.

Lab Equipment and Volume

Volume is the amount of space something occupies (think of math class!). Usually this can be in Liters (L), milliliters (mL), or cubic centimeters (cm^3). Anything that holds liquids can generally be used to measure this, such as beakers, flasks, graduated cylinders, test tubes, pipettes, and more! Some common conversions are 1 liter equaling 1000 milliliters, 1 milliliter equaling 1 cubic centimeter, and 1 gallon equaling 3.785 liters.

All of the materials on the left can be used to measure volume. Other materials used in lab environments are often used to change the temperature of substances, weigh substances, hold substances, or transfer substances.

Chemical Safety

When chemicals are used in a lab, it's important to be able to read the label for them. The label gives most of the relevant information about it for use and storage. This includes the name of the chemical, who bottled it, its chemical formula (if applicable), emergency information on how to clean it up or treat exposure to it, the year the chemical was bottled, dangers to be aware of, how to store it, and how to dispose of the chemical. If more information about a chemical is needed the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS for short) can be looked at. Most of these MSDS sheets are easily looked up online though many industrial locations have them printed out and on hand when necessary.

Different chemicals they can be biological hazards, chemical hazards, radioactive hazards, or flammable hazards. It's always important to keep in mind how what we are working with can be disposed of safely. In the case of a chemical spill, we have three forms of spill control in our lab (though more exist):

Sand is useful for general spills to contain and walk over them if necessary
Absorbents are useful to absorb spills into a solid form, allowing for easy disposal
Sodium Carbonate is useful to neutralize acids that spill, making them less dangerous before they are cleaned up further.

If many chemicals are stored somewhere a Hazard Diamond tends to be used. These diamonds let someone know what they are dealing with at a quick glance and can be found in many stores, hospitals, and businesses. The diamond has 3 ratings, one for health risk, one for how flammable, and one for how unstable the chemical is. 0 is the lowest and means it isn't a concern while 4 means it's incredibly dangerous. The final square in the diamond lets people know any special properties, such as if something is radioactive, an acid, or absorbs oxygen.

Personal Protective Equipment (PSA)

When looking at Health and Safety at a workplace environment, the requirements and regulations that need to be followed fall under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). All sites need to have a Health and Safety Plan (HASP) that addresses all of the following for the site at minimum:

Hazard analysis for each site task
Employee training to handle emergency procedures and responses (no matter what job someone is doing they should at least have some training).
Personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used by employees (based on a hazard analysis of the site)
Medical surveillance (if employees need a respirator, handle hazardous materials, or respond to hazardous material leaks)
Exposure monitoring (airborne particles, radiation exposure, air quality, and more all fall into this category)
Site control measures (such as engineering to keep release to a minimum and a chain of control for emergencies)
Decontamination procedures
Emergency response plan that includes at least the following:
- - Personnel roles, lines of authority, and communication procedures
  - Pre-emergency planning
  - Emergency recognition and prevention
  - Emergency medical and first-aid treatment
  - Methods or procedures for alerting on-site employees
  - Safe distances and places of refuge
  - Site security and control
  - Site layouts
  - Decontamination procedures
  - Critique of response and follow-up
  - Personal protective and emergency equipment
  - Evacuation routes and procedures
  - How to report an emergency to state and other government agencies
Confined space entry procedures
Spill containment

HAZMAT (Hazardous Material) suits are often used in environments where dangerous chemicals spill for chemical cleanup! There are different types of PPE for nuclear releases, airborne toxic chemicals, and flammable materials. These range from level A to level D suits depending on the amount of danger.

Fire Safety (PSA)

Fires can be classified by what type of material is burning, since this determines how it can be put out!

Additional Resources

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