Lab Safety

Lab Safety Rules

General Precautions
1. Read all directions for an experiment several times before beginning the activity. Carefully follow all written and oral instructions.
2. Never perform activities that are not assigned or authorized by your teacher.
3. Never eat or drink in the laboratory, unless given permission by teacher.
4. Keep work areas clean and tidy at all times.
5. Do not engage in horseplay at any time in the science classroom.

Dress Code
1. To protect yourself from injuring your eyes, wear safety goggles whenever you work with chemicals, burners, glassware, or any substance that might get into your eyes.
2. Tie back long hair to keep it away from any chemicals, flames, or equipment.
3. Remove or tie back any article of clothing or jewelry that can hang down and touch chemicals, flames, or equipment.

First Aid
1. Always report all accidents or injuries to your teacher, no matter how minor.
2. Use the eye wash or safety shower if you get chemicals in your eyes or on your skin.
3. Be aware of the location of the first aid kit, fire extinguisher, fire blanket, eye wash and safety shower.

Heating and Fire Safety
1. Never use a heat source, such as a candle, burner, or hot plate, without wearing safety goggles.
2. Never heat anything unless instructed to do so.
3. Use oven mitts to pick up a container that has been heated.
4. When heating a test tube, make sure that the mouth of the test tube is pointed away from you.

Using Chemicals Safely
1. Never mix chemicals for the “fun of it”.
2. Never put your face near the mouth of a container that holds chemicals.
3. Never touch, taste, or smell a chemical. Many chemicals are poisonous.
4. Dispose of all chemicals as instructed by your teacher.
5. Be extra careful when working with acids or bases.
6. Take extreme care not to spill any material in the laboratory.

Using Glassware Safely
1. Never use broken or chipped glassware.
2. Never eat or drink from lab glassware.
3. Thoroughly clean glassware before putting it away.

Using Sharp Instruments
1. Handle scalpels or other sharp instruments with extreme care.
2. Immediately notify your teacher if you cut your skin when working in the laboratory.

Animal and Plant Safety
1. Never perform experiments that cause pain, discomfort, or harm to animals.
2. Follow your teacher’s directions when handling animals.
3. During field work, protect your skin by wearing long pants, long sleeves, socks and closed shoes.
4. Never eat any part of an unidentified plant or fungus.
5. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling animals or plants.

End-of-Experiment Rules
1. After an experiment has been completed, clean up your work area and return all equipment.
2. Dispose of waste materials as instructed by your teacher.
3. Unplug hot plates and other electrical equipment.
4. Wash your hands after every experiment.