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Chemistry Home Lab Safety
In 1975, a survey carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools showed that of the 70,000 accidents reported in British schools, only two per cent occurred in a science laboratory. Although Athabasca University students are not attending laboratory sessions in Britain, and are more mature than most school children, this statistic is relevant to the laboratory component of Chemistry 217.
Of the over 300 Athabasca University students who have recently attended supervised chemistry lab sessions, only two have suffered an accident (an acid splash, and a severe cut). The figures suggest that, although a laboratory is a potentially dangerous place to work, the chances of an injury-causing accident are relatively low. This situation exists because of the strict safety rules that are applied to students working in laboratories, and because of a willingness of both students and instructors to look out for unsafe practices and possible hazards at all times.
Some people will approach the laboratory component of their Athabasca University chemistry course with a certain amount of trepidation. In a sense, this is a good thing—no one can afford to adopt a complacent attitude towards laboratory safety. Most of the hazards that you are likely to face while performing the experiments at home are relatively minor and easily avoided, including:
minor cuts—most cuts can be avoided if a student never uses broken or cracked glassware, and is particularly careful when carrying out potentially dangerous operations, such as inserting glass tubing into a rubber stopper.
burns—burns usually occur when a student forgets that something which has just been heated on a hot-plate or in a heating mantle may be very hot.
chemical spills—spills can usually be avoided if students pay particular attention to the technique used when pouring chemicals from a container. Injury caused by spills can be minimized if students wear the appropriate protective clothing: safety glasses, gloves, and lab coat or apron.
Another possible danger is the presence of hazardous gases or vapours in the air. In this course we have attempted to keep the use (or production) of such materials to a minimum. This will protect you and your co-habitants from exposure to undesirable concentrations of toxic or otherwise unpleasant vapours.
When designing the home laboratory component of this course, we found it necessary to strike a balance between minimizing possible hazards and exposing you to a full range of techniques. By its very nature, chemistry often necessitates the handling of dangerous substances; if chemistry students are never exposed to such situations, we would never have any fully trained chemists. Having said this, perhaps we should reassure you that, provided you follow the safety rules that follow, we do not anticipate that any problems will arise
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