science

Laboratory safety

Laboratory safety is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Laboratory safety rather than just read about it. In short: Many laboratories contain significant risks, and the prevention of laboratory accidents requires great care and constant vigilance. Examples of risk factors include high voltages, high and low pressures and temperatures, corrosive and toxic chemicals and chemical vapours, radiation, fire, explosions, and biohazards including infective organisms and their toxins.

Key takeaways

Laboratory safety belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Laboratory safety to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Laboratory safety from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Many laboratories contain significant risks, and the prevention of laboratory accidents requires great care and constant vigilance. Examples of risk factors include high voltages, high and low pressures and temperatures, corrosive and toxic chemicals and chemical vapours, radiation, fire, explosions, and biohazards including infective organisms and their toxins. Measures to protect against laboratory accidents include safety training and enforcement of laboratory safety policies, safety review of experimental designs, the use of personal protective equipment, and the use of the buddy system for particularly risky operations. In many countries, laboratory work is subject to health and safety legislation. In some cases, laboratory activities can also present environmental health risks, for example, the accidental or deliberate discharge of toxic or infective material from the laboratory into the environment.

Chemical hazards Hazardous chemicals present physical and/or health threats to workers in clinical, industrial, and academic laboratories. Laboratory chemicals include cancer-causing agents (carcinogens), toxins (e.g., those affecting the liver, kidney, and nervous system), irritants, corrosives, sensitizers, as well as agents that act on the blood system or damage the lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes.

Biological hazards

Biological agents and biological toxins

Many laboratory workers encounter daily exposure to biological hazards. These hazards are present in various sources throughout the laboratory such as blood and body fluids, culture specimens, body tissue and cadavers, and laboratory animals, as well as other workers. These are federally regulated biological agents (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi, and prions) and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety, to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products.

Anthrax - Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. Avian Flu - Avian influenza is caused by Influenza A viruses. Botulism - Cases of botulism are usually associated with consumption of preserved foods. Foodborne Disease - Foodborne illnesses are caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxins, metals, and prions (microscopic protein particles). Symptoms range from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening neurologic, hepatic and renal syndromes. Hantavirus - Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans from the dried droppings, urine, or saliva of mice and rats. Legionnaires’ Disease - Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial disease commonly associated with water-based aerosols. Molds and fungi - Molds and fungi produce and release millions of spores small enough to be air, water, or insect-borne which may have negative effects on human health including, allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory problems. Plague - The World Health Organization reports 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year. A bioterrorist release of plague could result in a rapid spread of the pneumonic form of the disease, which could have devastating consequences. Ricin - Ricin is one of the most toxic and easily produced plant toxins. It has been used in the past as a bioterrorist weapon and remains a serious threat. Smallpox - Smallpox is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. It is estimated that no more than 20 percent of the population has any immunity from previous vaccination. Tularemia - Tularemia is also known as "rabbit fever" or "deer fly fever" and is extremely infectious. Relatively few bacteria are required to cause the disease, which is why it is an attractive weapon for use in bioterrorism.

Physical hazards and others Besides exposure to chemicals and biological agents, laboratory workers can also be exposed to a number of physical hazards. Some of the common physical hazards that they may encounter include the following: ergonomic, ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation, and noise hazards.

Ergonomic hazards Laboratory workers are at risk for repetitive motion injuries during routine laboratory procedures such as pipetting, working at microscopes, operating microtomes, using cell counters, and keyboarding at computer workstations. Repetitive motion injuries develop over time and occur when muscles and joints are stressed, tendons are inflamed, nerves are pinched and the flow of blood is restricted. Standing and working in awkward positions in front of laboratory hoods/biological safety cabinets can also present ergonomic problems.

Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation sources are found in a wide range of occupational settings, including laboratories. These radiation sources can pose a considerable health risk to affected workers if not properly controlled. Any laboratory possessing or using radioactive isotopes must be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and/or by a state agency that has been approved by the NRC, 10 CFR 31.11 and 10 CFR 35.12. The fundamental objectives of radiation protection measures are:

to limit entry of radionuclides into the human body (via ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or through open wounds) to quantities as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and always within the established limits; to limit exposure to external radiation to levels that are within established dose limits and as far below these limits as is reasonably achievable.

Safety hazards

Autoclaves and sterilizers Workers should be trained to recognize the potential for exposure to burns or cuts that can occur from handling or sorting hot sterilized items or sharp instruments when removing them from autoclaves/sterilizers or from steam lines that service the autoclaves.

Centrifuges Centrifuges, due to the high speed at which they operate, have great potential for injuring users if not operated properly. Unbalanced centrifuge rotors can result in injury, even death. Sample container breakage can generate aerosols that may be harmful if inhaled. The majority of all centrifuge accidents are the result of user error.

Compressed gases

Laboratory standard for compressed gas

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Laboratory safety

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Laboratory safety claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Laboratory safety before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Laboratory safety ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Laboratory safety

In research: Laboratory safety appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Laboratory safety in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Laboratory safety is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Laboratories, Occupational safety and health, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Laboratory safety outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Laboratory safety in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Laboratory safety means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Laboratory safety out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Laboratory safety in simple terms?

Why does Laboratory safety matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Laboratory safety?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Laboratory safety.