Laboratory Rules

SAFETY AND LABORATORY RULES

The scientific laboratory is a place of adventure and discovery. Some of the most important events in scientific history have happened in laboratories. The antibiotic powers of penicillin were discovered in a laboratory. The plastics used today for clothing and other products were first made in a laboratory. The list is endless.
One of the first things any scientist learns is that working in the laboratory can be an exciting experience. However, the laboratory can also be quite dangerous if proper safety rules are not followed at all times. In order to prepare your self for a safe year in the laboratory, read over the following safety rules. Then read them a second time. Make sure you understand each rule. If you do not, ask your teacher to explain any rules you are unsure of. You may even want to suggest further rules in the section labeled "Other Rules". When you are satisfied that you understand all the rules on this list, sign and date the contract in the place provided. Signing this contract tells your teacher that you are aware of the rules of the laboratory.

A. Dress Code
1. Many materials in the laboratory can cause eye injury. To protect yourself from possible injury, always wear safety goggles or glasses whenever you are working with chemicals, burners, or any substance that might get into your eyes.

2. Laboratory aprons or coats should also be worn whenever working with chemicals or heated substances.

3. Tie back long hair in order to keep it away from any chemicals, burners, and candles, or other laboratory equipment.

4. Any article of clothing or jewelry that can hang down and touch chemicals and flames should be removed or tied back before working in the laboratory. Sleeves should be rolled up.

5. Sandals will not protect the feet.

B. General Safety Rules
1. Read all directions for an experiment several times. Follow the directions exactly as they are written. If you are in doubt about any part of the experiment, ask your teacher for assistance.

2. Never perform activities that are not authorized by your teacher. Always obtain permission before "experimenting" on your own.

3. Never handle any equipment unless you have specific permission.

4. Take extreme care not to spill any material in the laboratory. If spills occur, ask your teacher immediately about the proper clean-up procedure. Never simply pour chemicals or other substances into the sink or trash container.

5. Never eat or drink in the laboratory. Wash your hands before and after each experiment.

6. There should be no loud talking or horseplay in the laboratory.

7. When performing a lab, make sure the work area has been cleared of purses, books, jackets, etc.

8. Know the location and use of all safety equipment (goggles, aprons, eyewash, fire blanket, fire extinguishers, etc.)

9. Read your assignment before coming to class and be aware of all safety precautions. Follow directions.

10. Never work alone in the lab.

C. Heating and Fire Safety
1. Again, never use any heat source such as a candle or burner without wearing safety goggles.

2. Never heat any chemical that you are not instructed to heat. A chemical that is harmless when cool can be dangerous when heated.

3. Always maintain a clean work area and keep all materials away from flames. Never leave a flame unattended.

4. Never reach across a flame.

5. Make sure you know how to light a Bunsen burner. (Your teacher will demonstrate the proper procedure for lighting a burner.) If the flame leaps out of a burner towards you, turn the gas off immediately. Do not touch the burner. It may be hot. And never leave a lighted burner unattended!

6. Always point a test tube that is being heated away from you and others. Chemicals can splash or boil out of a heated test tube.

7. Never heat a liquid in a closed container. The expanding gases produced may blow the container apart, injuring you or others.

8. Never pick up any container that has been heated without first holding the back of your hand near it. If you can feel the heat on the back of your hand, the container may be too hot to handle. Always use a clamp or tongs when handling hot containers. Hot glassware looks the same as cool glassware.

D. Using Chemicals Safely
1. Never mix chemicals for the "fun of it." You might produce a dangerous, possibly explosive substance. No unauthorized experiments should be performed.

2. Never touch, taste, or smell any chemical that you do not know for a fact is harmless. Many chemicals are poisonous. If you are instructed to note the fumes in an experiment, always gently wave your hand over the opening of a container and direct the fumes toward your nose. Do not inhale the fumes directly from the container.

3. Use only those chemicals needed in the activity. Keep all lids closed when a chemical is not being used. Notify your teacher when chemicals are spilled.

4. Dispose of all chemicals as instructed by your teacher.

5. Be extra careful when working with acids or bases. Pour such chemicals over the sink, not over your work bench.

6. When diluting an acid, always pour the acid into water. Never pour water into the acid.

7. Rinse any acids off your skin or clothing with water. Immediately notify your teacher of any acid spill.

8. Never pipet by mouth.

9. Be sure you use the correct chemical. Read the label twice.

10. Do not return any excess back to the reagent bottle.

11. Do not contaminate the chemical supply.

12. Keep combustible materials away from open flames (alcohol, carbon disulfide, and acetone are combustible).

13. Do NOT use the same spatula to remove chemicals from two different containers. Each container should have a different spatula.

14. When you remove the stopper from a bottle, do NOT lay it down on the desk, but place the stopper between your two fingers and hold the bottle so the label is in the palm of your hand so drips won't ruin the label, etc. Both the bottle and the stopper will be held in one hand. Be sure and rinse any drips that might have gotten on the outside of the bottle.

15. Be careful not to interchange stoppers from two different containers

16. Replace all stoppers and caps on the bottle as soon as you finish using it.

17. Mercury spills must be cleaned up immediately. Use the new mercury sponge clean up kits put out by various companies.

E. Using Glassware Safely
1. Glass tubing should never be forced into a rubber stopper. A turning motion and lubricant will be helpful when inserting glass tubing into rubber stoppers or rubber tubing. Your teacher will demonstrate the proper way to insert glass tubing.

2. When heating glassware, use a wire or ceramic screen to protect glassware from the flame of a Bunsen burner.

3. If you are instructed to cut glass tubing, always fire polishes the ends immediately to remove sharp edges.

4. Never use broken or chipped glassware. If glassware breaks, notify your teacher and dispose of the glassware in the proper trash container.

5. Never eat or drink from laboratory glassware. Always thoroughly clean glassware before putting it away.

F. Using Sharp Instruments
1. Handle scalpels or razor blades with extreme care. Never cut any material towards you: always cut away from you.

2. Notify your teacher immediately if you are cut in the laboratory.

3. Properly mount, dissecting specimens to the dissecting pan before making a cut.

G. Electrical Equipment Rules
1. Batteries should never be intentionally shorted. Severe burns can be caused by the heat generated in a bare copper wire placed directly across the battery terminals. If a mercury type dry cell is shorted, an explosion can result.

2. Never deliberately shock yourself or another person. Susceptibility to shock and possible resulting injury is unpredictable because of the many physical and physiological variables.

3. Turn off all power when setting up circuits or repairing electrical equipment.

4. Never use such metal articles as metal rulers, metal pencils or pens, nor wear rings, metal watchbands, bracelets, etc. when doing electrical work.

5. When disconnecting a piece of electrical equipment, pull the plug and not the wire.

6. Use caution in handling electrical equipment which has been in use and has been disconnected. The equipment may still be hot enough to produce a serious burn.

7. Never connect, disconnect, or operate a piece of electrical equipment with wet hands or while standing on a wet floor.

H. End-of-Experiment Rules
1. When an experiment is completed, always clean up your work area and return all equipment to its proper place.

2. Wash your hands after every experiment.

3. Make sure all candles and burners are turned off before leaving the laboratory. Check that the gas line leading to the burner is off as well.

I. Other Safety Rules
1. Do not use hair spray or hair mousse during or even before coming to laboratory class. These are highly flammable and might cause automatic ignition when in close proximity to a heat source.

2. Synthetic fingernails are also highly flammable and should not be worn in the lab.