This page is not only of self-interest to laboratory workers, but is of especial interest to would-be teachers, who will be responsible for the safety of their future charges.

So far in this course, we have encountered several safety issues.

1. It is a general rule that the lab supervisor will have designed experiments so that less dangerous reagents and equipment is used without sacrificing the quality of the scientific principles being studied.

2. Broken glass is to go into a special container so that the cleaning staff does not suffer injuries during their emptying waste containers.

3. Whenever we are doing something at the lab bench that might result in a sudden splashing due to boiling, dropping, or other cause, or in flying debris, it is incumbant upon the workers to wear the proper eye protection.

4. Whenever possible, we shall use an electric heating element rather than open flames so that any ambient flammable fumes will not be ignited or explode.

5. When working with volatile, flammable liquids, the nearby hood(s) shall be turned on. And spills will be soaked up, and the moist towels will NOT be disposed of in the trash can but under the "on" hood or outside. If the volatile liquid is water soluble, the towel will be rinsed out in the sink - even if the towel is paper. These liquids include acetone and various alcohols.

6. In order to prevent scaldings during handling of hot liquids, whenever possible liquids being heated with be double-strength and then brought to single-strength by adding an equal volume of cool liquid.

7. Working with glass tubing is fraught with danger from cuts, punctures and burns. If possible use copper tubing which is easily bendable and is easily cut using a tubing cutter (looks like a C-clamp).

8. Whenever inserting tubing into rubber stoppers, ALWAYS use some sort of lubricant. As risque as it may sound, KY liquid or gel is extremely good for this as it is water-soluble and rinses away quickly once the tubing is in place.

9. The catalase experiment requires the use of concentrated (30+%) hydrogen peroxide,* which can not only oxidize many fabrics, but can also burn the skin. If at all possible, pre-dilute it to 10% or less so that at least skin won't be burned. (Drugstore peroxide is only 3%.)

10. The conversion of magnesium metal to magnesium oxide entails a few safety concerns. The first is that you will be working with glowing red-hot crucibles requiring the use of tongs and special metalware for holding them. And it is not unknown that a heating crucible shatters spraying hot shrapnel around. The types of gas burners used produce much hotter flames than ordinary Bunsen burners. These are called Meeker burners, and the tops of the burners also get very hot - so ALWAYS pick one up by its base. Another safety concern is that you will be igniting magnesium which is one of the hottest burning substances known. Just for fun, the instructor will light a small piece for you. If you want to watch, bring your welder's goggles! Next, you must be careful when adding water to the crucibles. If they are too hot, causic spatter will occur. Do you have your safety glasses on?

11. Working with strong acids such as NITRIC AND SULFURIC ACIDS.
    
    1. Both of these acids react quickly with skin. Nitric acid will denature your skin and leave orange coloration that will last until the skin wears away. Being that nitric acid is a strong oxidizer, it can rapidly damage some types of fabric. This acid is actually a gas dissolved in water, thus once evaporated, there is no more acid left. (This is also true of hydrochloric acid)...
    2. Sulfuric acid is not a gas disolvved in water. Dilute sulfuric acid will evaporate until all its water has vaporized leaving CONCENTRATED acid behind that will make holes in almost all types of fabrics, severely burn the skin - just plain terrible stuff!
    3. Hydrochloric acid while possessing an overpowering odor, is less dangerous than the two above acids.
12. Spilled acids: use your chemical knowledge - dump on solid weak base.... Write examples here:                             . Once pH paper indicates neutralization, use dustpan to scoop it up. Dispose in sink with lots of running water. All components should be water soluble.
13. Skin: rinse skin in a weak base such as sodium carbonate solution. Any residuals products will have not deleterious effects on your skin.

14. Working with glass. Glass tubing is a notorious danger. Almost every professor has stories of students' running a tube through their hands. Your instructor will give you a lesson in cutting small-diameter tubing/rods. Then how to insert them most safely into rubber stoppers.
15. Bending glass is often needed in lab work. There are tricks for doing this. But the major safety issue is not waiting long enough beore handling your new creation. Glass remains burning hot for much longer than you'd think. OUCH!
16. Working with flammable liquids. Today's exercise will be using three different common alcohols. While flammable, they are not normally considered explosive. Nonetheless, care need be taken. Today, you will be required to heat them to their boiling point. It should be obvious that they should not be heated over an open flame. Commercial labs will have steam baths in which to heat those that will boil below 100c. We will almost as well - heating our liquids in boiling water over an electric heating element.