science in the workplace

GCSE Miscellaneous

Femi Oderinwale 11.13

Unit 1

Science B

Health and Safety in Science Hazards in the Lab

Femi Oderinwale

11.13

Ms Chilvers

The word hazard in a situation where there is a high threat to life, health, property and environment.

The general hazards we normally find in the laboratory are fires, explosions, Chemical and Thermal Burns, Cuts, Absorption of Chemicals, Inhalation of Chemicals and Ingestion of Chemicals.

To prevent fires in the laboratory, there should never be open flames and they should never heat any organic solvent in an open vessel, such as a test tube, Erlenmeyer flask, or beaker, with a flame.

To prevent explosions in the laboratory, there should never heat a closed system or conduct a reaction in a closed system and the system must be vented before starting a distillation or a chemical reaction.

To prevent chemicals and thermal burns, keeps the chemicals away from eyes and skin because many chemicals such as the mineral acids and alkalis are corrosive to these parts of our body.

To prevent cuts in the laboratory, make sure you don’t try to force things into holes it can’t fit into.

To prevent absorption of chemicals, we should keep chemicals of the skin and make sure you hands are clean before touching your face or your chemicals can come in contact with the face which can lead to chemicals absorbing into the skin.

To prevent inhalation of chemicals, keep your nose away from chemicals because some are extremely toxic.

To prevent ingestion of chemicals, we should wash our hands before handling anything that is going into our mouth and we should wash our hands before we leave the laboratory. Don’t eat or drink the laboratory. Never use chemicals form the laboratory in our food and never store food in the laboratory fridge.