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Health and Safety
This DVD is designed to show students experiments which they have may well go on to do themselves. You will find sample risk assessments for each experiment. Please read the disclaimer which appears on each one. It is the responsibility of the person leading the practical work to check the accuracy and completeness of these assessments. They may be out of date when you are using this disk so please check the latest health and safety advice. All assessments will need to be considered in the light of your own particular situation. Access to fume cupboards varies widely across the sector - this is just one aspect that may lead you to amend the suggestions that I have given.
For your own health, and that of others, it is important that you always think about the health and safety aspects of any experiment you carry out. It is also a popular source of exam questions. The following is a very brief summary of the more important points that you should know.
Always wear proper eye protection. Your eyes are the most easily and permanently damaged part of your body. Make sure that eye protection is worn over your eyes, it often strays to foreheads and necks!
Always wear a lab coat which is buttoned up. At the very least this will protect your clothing from acid burns, which are quite common in the laboratory. Do not sit (always stand) at the bench with your experiment. It restricts your movement if an emergency occurs.
On occasions you may need to use disposable gloves as many chemicals are corrosive. The more obviously corrosive chemicals are the acids, particularly the concentrated acids. However, there are many other corrosive chemicals and you should always look for the corrosive label on reagent bottles. Alkalis are particularly corrosive and should be treated with extreme caution. Sodium hydroxide is the common laboratory alkali.
You will have to use a fume cupboard where poisonous gases are given off. The common poisonous gases met in this course are sulfur dioxide (found in acid rain), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur trioxide, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen iodide and the vapours of some organic solvents.
Fire risks and burns are common in the laboratory. You should bear in mind that many organic solvents are highly flammable and should be kept away from naked flames. A good way to do this is to use an electric heating mantle. Glass and tripods can remain hot for some time.
Cuts from broken glass are also common in the laboratory. Never pick up broken glass by hand and never force glass apparatus.
You may be asked to carry out a risk assessment of an experiment you have planned. This is a requirement under the COSHH (Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations. It will involve looking up the hazards associated with each of the chemicals you intend to use. You will have to see whether they will have any adverse reactions with other substances present in the lab. You will have to decide what safety precautions you intend to take and how you will safely dispose of the chemicals once you have finished with them.
The following is a set of photographs of the common hazard symbols:
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| CORROSIVE | EXPLOSIVE | IRRITANT | FLAMMABLE |
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| HARMFUL | OXIDISING | TOXIC | DANGER TO THE ENVIRONMENT |