Lab Safety - Helpful Tips
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Prepare a first aid kit. Design your first aid kit specifically for the medical needs of a laboratory. In other words, make sure you include bandages, antiseptic, burn treatment supplies, and phone numbers for the hospital and poison control center.
Keep the laboratory tidy. Limit laboratory clutter to necessary items by removing excess papers, office supplies, food, and bags. In addition, keep chemicals away from the edges of tables and shelves. If necessary, threaten an inspection to motivate workers to clean the lab.
Know your substances. Learn as much as possible about chemicals before you use them. Are they flammable? What do they react with and under what conditions do those reactions occur?
Identify items responsibly. Label substances with both the chemical name and the lead lab worker’s name and contact information. If a substance is not labeled, do not sniff the substance and thus risk toxic fume inhalation. Rather, wait until you can identify the substance before doing anything with it.
Wear proper clothing. Wear gloves, splash goggles, an apron, and, in some cases, a face shield to protect your body. In addition, avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing, which could catch fire or knock over items perched too closely to the ledge.
Transport compressed gas cylinders carefully. Secure the gas cylinder tightly, and then strap the cylinders to a wheeled cart designed especially for the purpose.
Links
http://www.beginnersguide.com
http://sunysb.edu/facilities/ehs/lab/
http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/hazmat/labman.htm
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/laboratories/index.html
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