Science 9 Lab Safety Rules
1. Never eat or drink in the laboratory. Do not bring food or drink into the lab. Accidentally ingesting chemicals can cause serious problems.
2. Wear safe clothing. Jackets, ties, and loose fitting clothes should not be worn. Remove dangling necklaces, chains, and bracelets. They can snag and catch on glassware. Ties and loose fitting clothes are easy to catch on fire in the lab.
3. Tie back or cover long hair, especially near open flames. Hair is very flammable (especially if you use hairspray).
4. Never wear open-toed shoes or sandals in the laboratory. Chemical spills and broken glass are bad enough, getting them between your toes is even worse. Protect your feet.
5. Safety goggles need to be worn at all times when you are in the lab. Your eyes are extremely valuable to you. Glass shards, chemicals, fumes, fire, etc. can all cause catastrophic damage to your eyes.
6. Avoid wearing contact lenses in the laboratory. If a chemical gets in your eye contacts hold the chemical directly against your cornea, and prevent the chemical from being washed out. Also, some vapors can go right through contact lenses, and they are then held directly against your cornea.
7. Never put your face near the mouth of a container that contains chemicals. You should never smell a chemical directly, instead use a wafting motion to smell a chemical. You can burn your sinuses and mouth if you breath in some types of vapors. Don’t take a risk, waft when you want to smell a chemical.
8. Clean and wipe dry all work stations and equipment at the end of class. A messy lab is a dangerous thing. Keeping things clean also ensures the equipment lasts longer, which means we’ll have more of it, which means we spend our budget on cool chemicals and equipment instead of replacing what has been ruined.
9. Report any injuries or spills to your teacher immediately. Don’t be afraid of getting in trouble in the lab. Not reporting that you spilled acid down your leg won’t prevent you from being in trouble, it only prevents you from getting your leg properly taken care of. Accidents do happen, make sure you prevent an accident from being a disaster- report it!
10. No horseplay in the laboratory. “Just having some fun” can result in serious and permanent injury around chemicals and glassware. Have fun in lab, but be responsible.
11. Keep hands away from face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals or lab equipment. Wash your hands with soap and water after performing all experiments. You can accidentally damage your eyes even after lab by rubbing a chemical that you unknowingly have on your hand into your eyes.
12. Know what to do if there is a fire drill during a laboratory period; containers must be closed, any electrical equipment turned off, all burners shut off.
13. Never mix chemicals unless you are instructed to do so. Mixing the wrong two chemicals together can release poisonous gases, cause glassware to shatter, or cause fires and serious injury.
14. Labels and equipment instructions must be read carefully before use. Set up and use the equipment as directed by your teacher.
15. Be alert and proceed with caution at all times in the laboratory. Notify the teacher immediately of any unsafe conditions you observe.
16. If a chemical should splash in your eye(s) or on your skin, immediately flush with running water for at least 20 minutes. Immediately (and loudly) yell out the teacher's name to get the teacher's attention.
17. Know where the eye wash & shower are located in the lab. If you do not know, ask your teacher before you get into the lab. It is important that you don’t have to search for these devices when you really need them.
18. Be very careful when heating beakers and lab equipment. Glass and iron do not necessarily look hot even when they can be extremely hot.
19. Do not immerse hot glassware in water. The glassware can shatter, creating a safety hazard and reducing the equipment that the school has available for your use.
20. Wash your hands after you’re finished with the lab. You want to be sure you don’t have any chemicals on your hands when you leave the lab.
21. Use extreme care when working with acids and other caustic chemicals (those that might burn or irritate your skin).