Lab Safety
Student Activities for Personal
and Environmental Safety
Donna R. Sterling
George Mason University
dsterlin@gmu.edu
Why is safety important?
• Safety of all people
• students
• teachers, parents, janitors
• Safety for the environment
• You might be sued
How can you protect
yourself legally?
Teachers need to have a:
• Consistent, on-going
record that documents
an emphasis on safety.
How do you establish a
safety record?
• Create evidence of your
emphasis on safety that
you can document.
What is evidence of safety
that you can document?

Real concrete examples
•
•
•
•
•
List of rules
Test over rules
?
?
?
Safety Test
Safety Rules
1.
2.
3.
Safety Rules
• Written list – by adults
• Consensus - higher is better
•
•
•
•
•
class
grade/subject level
department
school
school district
List of Rules
• 2 copies - teacher and student
• go over list with students
• list signed and dated by both
• student and
• parent/guardian
• front and back of
• one page
• no cut off section
for signatures
Safety Rules
Safety Rules
• teacher must keep a signed copy
Documentation

What if the student forges the
signature?
• Show of dishonesty by student

How long should you keep a
signed copy?
• For greatest protection, the
teacher should keep a signed copy
of the rules for seven years.
Test over Rules
Must Pass
Practical questions
• Location of Safety Equipment
• Operation of Safety Equipment
• Location of School Nurse
• Knowledge of Safe Procedures
• safe equipment handling
• chemical disposal
Enforce Rules!
• One of the most common problems
What eye protection is
legally required?
• What eye protection is legally required?
• safety goggles
• not safety glasses or spectacles
• Can you wear contact lenses in lab?
• contact lenses do not increase risk
• use same protective goggles
Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories, 1995, ACS
Eye Wash

In case of exposure, how
long do you flush eyes
with water?
• a minimum of 15 minutes

How often do you test an
eye wash?
• weekly - to verify operation
and flush lines
What food is allowed in
a science lab?


No eating or drinking in the lab
It is illegal
Demonstration of Fire
Safety Equipment
To Burn Fires Need

To burn, fires need 3 things:
1. Fuel
2. Oxygen
3. Heat

To extinguish, eliminate one
Types of Fire
Extinquishers

4 Categories of Fires
•
•
•
•

A
B
C
D
Ordinary
Liquids
Electrical
Combustible Metal
4 Types Extinguishers
•
•
•
•
Dry chemical (all)
Water (A)
Carbon dioxide (B, C)
Halon
Operation of Fire
Extinquishers

PASS
•Pull ring pin
•Aim at the base of the fire
•Squeeze the handle to
start flow
•Sweep side to side at the
base of the fire
Fire Extinguisher Video
1. Escape and double click on URL
fire+extinguishers.htm
2. Click on stop preview,
then click on start video
Fume Hood
Fume Hoods

When not using the hood, what
position do you keep the sash
(window)?
• closed

When you are actively using the
hood, how high do you raise the
sash?
• 10-15 cm
What safety activities
can you do with students?
• Make a long list of activities.
• Which of these activities can
you easily document?
Lab Demonstrations
on Safety
• Eyes
• Cow eyes and 18M H2SO4 – demo
• 0-30 seconds – damage immediately
• Egg whites and 6M HCl
• Clothes
• Fabric and 6M HCl
• Read labels
• Water, acid, base – look the same
• pH paper - smell
Safety Discussions
• Stories
• Case Studies
• What if . . . ?
• Role Play
Videos on Safety
Safety videos can be purchased from
Flinn Scientific and other companies
http://www.flinnsci.com/video.asp
Posters on Safety
• Displayed in Lab
• commercial
• student created
Writing
• Student generated
• questions - quizzes
• poems - index cards
• stories - book
• articles - newsletter
Before Each Lab
• Demonstrate Equipment
• Discuss Procedures
• Discuss Hazards
• Review Disposal of Materials
Testing
• Test on Safety
• Quiz Before Lab
• safety question
• Midterm and Final
• safety question
Safety for Living
• Earth Science
• hurricanes and earthquakes
• Biology
• communicable diseases
• Chemistry
• chemical handling
• Physics
• electrical safety
Teacher Safety Issues
• Create a trail of evidence
showing an on-going emphasis
on safety that you can
document for your own
protection.
Safety
Rules
and
Regulations
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
(OSHA)
• OSHA 1910.1450
(Laboratory Standard) Section D(6)
• School laboratories should include
“protective apparel compatible with
the required degree of protection for
substances being handled”.
American National Standards
Institute
(ANSI)
• ANSI is a nonprofit group that
publishes standards for equipment for
industry. It is not a federal agency.
• Eye Protection
ANSI Z87.1-1989
One of many standards for goggle lenses.
• Lenses shall resist impact from a 25.4 mm
diameter steel ball dropped from 127 cm.
• What are ANSI approved goggles?
When should goggles be worn
in a school laboratory?
When anyone is handling:
• Chemicals
• Fire
• Projectiles
(explosions and glassware)
• Compressed gas
(Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories, 1995, ACS)
Eye Protection
• “It is universally agreed that the use
of proper eye protection is required of
everyone who enter a chemical work
area.”
• “All person in the laboratory including
visitors must wear safety goggles (not
safety glasses or spectacles)…”
(Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories, 1995, ACS)
When can contact lenses
be worn in a laboratory?
• “Contact lenses can be worn in
most work environments
provided the same approved eye
protection is worn as required
of other workers in the area.”
• (Safety in Academic Chemistry
Laboratories, 1995, ACS)
Hazard Communication
Standards
“Right to Know Laws”
• A person has the “right to know”
about all hazards they are
exposed to in the workplace.
• 6 components of law
(federal & state)
Right to Know Law
• 6 components of law (federal & state)
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
• primary source of communication
• Hazardous Materials List
• Inventory of Hazardous Materials
• name, quantity, and location
• Notification
• MSDS and training
• Training
• how to read labels, how to handle safely, and
emergency procedures
• Labeling of Hazardous Materials
MSDS
• Material Safety Data Sheet
• Required list of information about
a chemical including physical and
chemical characteristics, fire and
explosion hazards, lethal dose, etc
• Must be available for every
chemical in the laboratory
• Store MSDSs in alphabetical order
in an obvious, convenient location
• Provided by suppliers, also online
Extended Hazard
Communications Act (1990)
• Laboratory Standards
• specifically for academic laboratories
• Same “right to know” laws
• Chemical Hygiene Plan - written report
• laboratory regulations
• Personal protection equipment and materials
• proper lab procedures
• spills, storage, inspections, and training
• how to respond to emergencies
• Chemical Hygiene Officer
Virginia Occupational Safety
and Health
(VOSH)
Virginia requires:
• Chemical Labeling
• MSDS
• Written Inventory
• Chemical Hygiene Plan
• Training