Laboratory Regulations and Safety Procedures

Q: What's the difference between Chemistry and cooking?

A: In Chemistry, you should never lick the spoon.

Strict safety regulations will be enforced in the chemistry laboratory. The rules are listed below, with first-aid procedures for common lab mishaps.

Everyone must:

1. View the safety video found witin the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ5iXjNTR1cAND

2. Then, complete the "Chemistry Safety Quiz" found on Sakai.

Please join the public Sakai site called, "CHEMISTRY SAFETY QUIZ" and after watching the safety video, please take the brief quiz found in the "Tests & Quizzes" section. The last question of the quiz asks you to printout a pdf floor plan of your lab room and write the placement of several safety items on it. Please print this out and bring it to lab. You will fill it out and turn it into your instructor during the in-person component of the safety training on the first day of lab.

Eye protection

• 1. Safety glasses and masks must be worn at all times in the laboratory.

  2. Contact lenses are not recommended. However they are permitted if the student signs a consent form, included as the last page in this manual.

Personal protection

• 1. Wear proper clothing. In a chemistry lab, the goal is to minimized exposed skin, to minimize the impact of spilling hazardous chemicals. Proper clothing includes:

     • Shirts that cover your entire torso. No bare midriffs. An old t-shirt that you don't mind staining or getting holes in is the best thing to wear to lab!

     • Long, sturdy pants that cover your entire leg. No shorts, skirts, dresses, or thin leggings. Jeans and thick sweatpants are the best things to wear to lab!

     • Close-toed shoes that cover your entire foot. No sandals or open-top flats. Sneakers or boots are the best thing to wear to lab!

  2. Tie back any hair longer than shoulder length. This prevents accidentally dipping your hair in chemicals, or knocking over chemicals with your hair.

  3. No eating, drinking, or chewing gum in lab. Any snacks water bottles must be left outside the lab. You can leave lab any time to grab a drink or snack; you just can't consume anything in the lab space.

  4. Never work alone!

  5. No horseplay or unauthorized experiments.

  6. Know the location and operation of all safety equipment: fire extinguishers, showers, eye washes, acid/base neutralizers.

  7. Never smell a chemical by putting your nose into a container. This could cause long-term damage to your sense of smell, or worse, damage your lungs!

Chemical waste

• 1. Dispose of all waste materials as directed.

  2. Use the proper waste containers; never mix wastes.

Using heat

• 1. Never point the open end of a test tube toward anyone.

  2. Never leave a heat source unattended.

  3. Never heat something with a lid on it. It will explode!

Handling chemicals

• 1. Treat anything and everything in the lab as if it is contaminated with the nastiest chemical you are working with that day; it probably is.

  2. Work with any chemicals that produce vapors inside the fume hood! This will protect your nose, eyes, and lungs from long-term damage.

  3. Never pour water into concentrated acid! Pour the acid slowly into the water with constant stirring.

  4. Reagent bottles:

     1. 1. Read the labels carefully.

        2. Do not contaminate reagent bottles.

           1. 1. Transfer what you need into a beaker.

              2. Pour with the label facing up.

              3. Do not insert anything into a reagent bottle, even a transfer pipette!

              4. Never return unused chemicals to reagent bottles! Anything that comes out of a reagent bottle must be used in an experiment, or collected as waste.

        3. Do not take more reagent than is required for an experiment.

Other procedures

• 1. Report all injuries or incidents to the instructor immediately.

  2. After an experiment, clean up the lab bench, balance area, and hood. Make sure everything with an on/off switch is turned OFF.

  3. Performing unauthorized experiments will result in course failure.

  4. Always read the safety section for each experiment.

  5. If you suspect you might be pregnant: Please schedule a private conversation with your instructor ASAP. Certain chemicals are harmless to adults, but may damage unborn fetuses. Your lab instructor will let you know whether or not we are working with those chemicals, and come up with alternate plans if we are.

  6. If you need any accommodations: Please schedule a private conversation with your instructor ASAP to set up these accommodations.

FIRST AID

Call your instructor help immediately if you suffer an injury or a spill!

For any spilled acids or bases, first aid should begin by washing with lots of water. ALWAYS USE WATER FIRST.

• 1. For base burns, follow the water wash by rinsing with a 5% ammonium chloride solution, available on the shelf on the side wall of the lab. Then wash again with water.

  2. For acid burns, follow the water wash by rinsing with a sodium bicarbonate solution, available on the shelf on the side wall of the lab; then wash with water.

DO NOT APPLY OINTMENTS OR SALVES TO A SERIOUS BURN EXCEPT UNDER THE DIRECTION OF A PHYSICIAN. Contact your Instructor for assistance.