Chapter 2: Laboratory Safety 9

This is a short chapter, but a very important one. Many of the experiments described in

this book use chemicals, such as strong acids and bases, that are dangerous if handled

improperly. Some experiments use open flame or other heat sources, and nearly all of the

experiments use glassware.

Working in a home chemistry lab has its dangers, but then so does driving a car. And, just

as you must remain constantly alert while driving, you must remain constantly alert while

working in a home chemistry lab.

It’s important to keep things in perspective. More serious injuries occur every year among

a few hundred thousand high-school football players than have ever occurred in total among

millions upon millions of home chemists in the 200-year history of home chemistry labs.

Statistically, students are much, much safer working in a home chemistry lab than they are

out skateboarding or riding bicycles.

Most injuries that occur in home chemistry labs are minor and easily avoidable. Among the

most common are nicks from broken or chipped glassware and minor burns. Serious injuries

are very rare. When they do occur, it’s nearly always because someone did something

incredibly stupid, such as using a flammable solvent near an open flame or absentmindedly

taking a swig from a beaker full of a toxic liquid. (That’s why one of the rules of laboratory

safety is never to smoke, drink, or eat in the lab.)

The primary goal of laboratory safety rules is to prevent injuries. Knowing and following

the rules minimizes the likelihood of accidents, and helps ensure that any accidents that

do occur will be minor ones.

2

Laboratory Safety

dUL. pR A joNES CommENTS:

Everyone rightly treats strong acids with great respect, but many

students handle strong bases casually. That’s a very dangerous practice.

Strong bases, such as solutions of sodium hydroxide, can blind you in

literally seconds. Treat every chemical as potentially hazardous, and

always wear splash goggles.