Safety and ethics

In a nutshell

When conducting experiments it is extremely important that all hazards and ethical issues are considered and measures are put in place to ensure the experiment is safe. The safety measures required will change depending on the method, equipment and reagents and products that will be handled.

Definitions

Key Word	Definition
Hazard	A hazard is something that may cause harm to a person or damage something, either straight away or later.
Risk	The chance that the hazard may cause harm.

Safety measures

When conducting an experiment there are some general rules that should be followed:

Always wear a lab coat, gloves and protective goggles.
Do not touch chemicals with your hands, whether you are wearing gloves or not.
Always mix chemicals slowly and carefully, as reactions can occur.
Be careful when handling glassware.
Be careful when using hot equipment.

Using equipment in the correct way is a good way of lowering the risk of a hazard.

Example

Using a clamp and clamp stand to hold glassware securely, reduces the risk of any glassware dropping.

In the following table, some hazards, risks and the appropriate safety measures are displayed:

Hazard	Risk	Safety Measure
Corrosive chemicals	Corrosive chemicals can burn the skin and eyes and sometimes burn through clothing.	Avoid skin contact and ingestion, by wearing lab coats, gloves and safety goggles.
Flammable chemicals	Flammable chemicals are at risk of igniting, when near an open flame.	Keep any flammable chemicals away from ignition sources.
Nature polluting chemicals	Nature polluting chemicals can cause harm to aquatic organisms or have long lasting environmental effects.	Dispose of these chemicals, responsibly.
Acutely toxic chemicals	Acutely toxic chemicals can have life threatening effects, sometimes even after limited exposure.	Avoid skin contact and ingestion, by wearing lab coats, gloves and safety goggles.
Compressed gas	Containers with compressed gas in them may explode when heated.	Compressed containers should not be heated.
Explosive chemicals	Explosive chemicals may explode as a consequence of heat, fire, friction or shock.	Keep explosive chemicals away from ignition sources and handle with care.
Oxidising chemicals	Oxidising chemicals can burn even in the absence of oxygen and can intensify fires.	Keep oxidising chemicals away from ignition sources.
Health hazard	Chemicals may cause serious long term health effects, after short term or long term exposure.	Avoid skin contact and ingestion, by wearing lab coats, gloves and safety goggles.
Moderate hazard	Chemicals may irritate the skin or be slightly toxic.	Avoid skin and eye contact.

Hazard signs

When you are working with certain hazards, you will see the following signs.


Corrosive	Flammable	Nature polluting	Acutely toxic	Compressed gas


Explosive	Oxidising	Health hazard	Moderate hazard

Ethical issues

Some experiments might involve the use of organisms, if so, there are ethical considerations that need to be looked at:

Animals should be handled with care.
If wild animals are captured, they must be returned to their habitat once the experiment is complete.
Humans involved in the experiment should be happy to do so.