Safety discussion

Safety is an important thing to consider when doing and lab based work. When thinking about the safety of chemicals or procedures, we need to think about what are the possible things that could go wrong, how bad would the consequence be if it went wrong and how likely is it to go wrong. It’s important to think about both of these aspects. We want to do everything we can to minimise the consequence of something going wrong and also set up things in such a way that it is less likely for accidents to happen. It’s important that when things go wrong, it usually happens by mistake, because we weren’t paying attention or didn’t do things in the best possible way. It is not possible to avoid making mistakes during experiments. What we can do instead is think about the consequences of these mistakes beforehand, know how to react if they do happen and set up things in such a way that the likelihood of mistakes happening is as low as possible.

For example, if I’m working with two chemicals that can react violently with each other, such as a strong acid and a strong base, it is possible that I might knock one or both of them over, and they contact in this way and cause an explosion. I will of course try to be careful and pay attention to not knock them over. However, there are things I can do to make it less likely that this will happen in the first place: I can make sure that the chemicals are in closed containers, and I have closed the first one before opening the second one, I can place them far apart from each other on the bench, so they don’t come into contact even if I do knock one of them over, I can make sure that my workspace is clean and I know where everything is. There are also things I can do to make the consequence less bad if the accident does happen: I can do the experiment in a fumehood, I can look up the SDS of all the chemicals in advance, so that I know what to do if it goes on my skin or in my eyes.

Chemicals

• For each chemical that you will use, look up the SDS (safety data sheet) and read through section 2 (hazards identification)

• Based on what you read discuss with your partner and with a supervisor:

  • What PPE (personal protective equipment) do you need to use when handling this chemical?

  • What should you do if it spills on your skin?

  • What should you do if it goes in your eyes?

  • What should you do if you inhale the fumes?

  • Do you need to handle this chemical in a fumehood?

Lab procedures

• Read through the lab procedures

• Discuss with your partner and with a supervisor:

• What are potential accidents that could happen during this procedure?

• What can you do to make these accidents less likely?

• What can you do to make the potential consequences less severe?