Lab Safety and Hazards

Besides the qualitative, quantitative, and analytical chemical methods used in quality control, Joe must also be familiar with lab safety and be aware of potentially threatening hazards. Therefore, he must have proper lab technique and be able to handle the equipment and chemicals properly and safely. He must also wear goggles at all times, similar to when I am performing labs in school. Eye protection is vital when it comes to working in the lab. Joe must also wear gloves and a lab coat in order to prevent any hazardous staining, and physical contact with corrosive materials. Procedures that are dangerous such as highly exothermic reactions must be performed in the fume hood to minimize exposure to toxic fumes. This is similar to the usage of the fume hood in the evaporation and intermolecular forces lab, where I had to handle substances that gave off highly harmful fumes.

Joe must also safely dispose of chemicals (he never puts the sample that he tested on back into the source where he got it from!) depending on the type of waste, just like the simple hazardous waste bins we have at school. He also mentions that he must be very careful when handling highly concentrated sulphuric acid, which is a common catalyst in organic reactions, because it is a strong acid that is extremely corrosive and should be handled with great care. Material safety data sheets (MSDS) are also available to Joe and necessary to read, because they inform him on how to handle the materials properly to reduce risk. This is a real-world application of the MSDS that I used to filled out before school labs in grades 9 and 10. I didn't really enjoy doing that, but it was imperative.