Lab safety/Safety Contract

    An important part of your biology work will take place in the laboratory.  The lab is a safe environment in which to work if some general rules are observed and if the people who work in the lab are informed and careful.  These guidelines are specifically for Biology. Read the following safety rules to make sure that you understand each rule.  Ask your teacher about the rules that are unclear to you.  When you are sure that you understand all of the safety rules, sign and date the contract in the space provided.  Signing the contract indicates that you are aware of the rules of the laboratory.  You will be allowed to work in the lab only after you have signed this contract, had your parent sign the contract, made a map of the room indicating safety equipment and emergency exits, and have passed a safety test.  

DRESS CODE
  1. To protect your eyes from possible injury, always wear safety goggles when working with heat, chemicals or glassware (except microscope work).   Your grade will suffer if you aren't wearing safety goggles.  Wear glasses rather than contact lenses unless you have permission from the instructor.  Goggles will fit over glasses. 
  2. Tie back long hair and loose clothing and remove jewelry when you work at the lab station.  Roll up loose sleeves that might fall into chemicals or become caught on equipment. 
  3. Do not wear open-toed shoes or sandals in the lab when using glassware or chemicals.  Never go barefoot.

PREPARATION FOR LAB WORK 

  1. Prepare for the experiment by reading all of the directions before you start the lab.  Be sure you understand all directions.  Discuss the procedures with your lab partner or team.  Assign specific tasks to individuals, especially if time is a factor in the procedure.
  2. Before you begin work, make sure that you know how to operate the equipment that will be used in the experiment.

PERFORMING AN EXPERIMENT 

  1. Keep your lab work area clear of any materials that are not needed for performing the experiment.  Texts, notebooks, bookbags, sweaters and other materials should be stored away from the work area.  Push in chairs when not in use and as you leave the lab area.
  2. Handle all equipment as directed.  Note safety precautions in the instructions for your experiments.
  3. Handle all sharp instruments with extreme care.  Remember that they are considered weapons if they go out of the room or are handled in an inappropriate manner. Never try to catch falling sharp instruments.  "Dueling" with probes will net an automatic "0" on a lab and a call home.
  4. Do not stir solutions with a thermometer; use a glass stirring rod.  If a thermometer breaks, inform your teacher at once, and  your teacher will clean it up.  Do not touch the mercury from broken mercury thermometers.
  5. Take extreme care not to spill materials in the lab.  Report all spills immediately, and follow your teacher's directions for cleaning them up.  Keep your lab area neat and clean. 
  6. Never use an open flame in Biology lab. Use tongs or a clamp to pick up hot containers.  Test the temperatures of equipment and containers that have been heated by placing the back of your hand near any object before picking it up.  If you can feel heat, the object might be too hot to handle.
  7. Dispose of materials only as directed.  Do not pour chemicals or other solids into a sink or put specimens or their parts into the trash or sink.
  8. After  you have completed your work, turn off all equipment and clean your work area.  Return all equipment and materials to the place that you got them. Report any broken or missing equipment.
  9. Keep hands away from your face, eyes, mouth and body while using chemicals or preserved specimens.  Wash your hands before and after each experiment.
  10. Never eat, drink, or chew gum in the lab.  Never eat or drink from lab equipment.
  11. Perform only those experiments authorized by your teacher. Never do an experiment that is not called for in the laboratory procedures or your instructor.
  12. Do not work alone in the lab.  When entering the room, do not touch any equipment, chemicals or other materials in the laboratory area until you are instructed to do so.
  13. Experiments must be personally monitored at all times.  You will be assigned a laboratory station at which to work.  Do not wander around the room, distract other students, or interfere with the laboratory experiments of others.

FIRST AID or EMERGENCIES 

  1. Report any accident to your teacher immediately, no matter how minor the accident might seem.  Follow your teacher's recommendations for further treatment.
  2. Report all fires to your teacher at once, and leave the room after turning off electrical equipment.  Do not try to put out a fire by yourself.  If a person's clothing or hair are on fire, smother the fire with a nonflammable object or use the water faucets.
  3. Know the locations of the fire extinguisher, eyewash, first aid kit, and other safety equipment. Learn how to use each item.
  4. Know the shortest exit route from the lab, from the corridor, and from the building.

HANDLING CHEMICALS                 

  1. Read the labels on chemical containers twice.  Many chemicals look alike.  Label and date all containers into which you put materials. (This is very important!!)
  2. Do not touch, taste, or smell chemicals unless directed to by your teacher.  Waft fumes toward your nose by waving your hand over the mouth of the container if directed to smell a chemical.
  3. To avoid the contamination of chemicals, take only what you need, and do not return unused chemicals to the bottle.  Dispose of chemicals only as directed by your teacher.
  4. Always pour acid into water; never pour water into acid.
  5. Do not use your mouth to draw liquids into a pipette; use a pipette bulb.
  6. Never point the open end of a heated test tube toward yourself or anyone else.

HANDLING GLASSWARE                                                                    

  1. Do not use cracked, chipped, scored, or badly scratched glassware.
  2. Never handle broken glass with your bare hands.  Tell your teacher, and let your teacher clean up broken glass.
  3. Allow plenty of time for hot glass to cool before touching it.  It shows no visible signs of its temperature, and can cause painful burns.
  4. Learn the names of the equipment and glassware you use so there is no misunderstanding.

HANDLING LIVING ORGANISMS

  1. Treat all microorganisms as if they were harmful.  Use antiseptic procedures, as directed by your teacher, when working with microbes.  Dispose of microbes as your teacher directs.
  2. Treat living organisms carefully.  Do not cause pain, discomfort, or injury to an organism.  Follow your teacher's directions when handling animals.  Wash your hands thoroughly after handling animals or their cages.

DISSECTIONS

34.     Place the dissection specimens in the pan.  Do not dissect a handheld specimen. Treat specimens respectfully.

35.     Use dissection tools as directed.  Use the right tool for the job.

36.     Pin specimens before cutting (do not hold) and then cut away from yourself.

37.     Dispose of specimen as directed by the teacher & rinse and dry all dissecting equipment.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

38.      Make sure your hands and area are dry and that plugs, cords, & outlets are in good condition.

39.      Make sure electrical  cords do not hang off the lab counter.  

GENERAL DEPORTMENT

40.     Move from area to area carefully.  Do not make sudden moves. Other students may be endangered.

41.     No horseplay. (Yes, shoving is horseplay.)

42.     No practical jokes or pranks.  

CLICK HERE FOR BIOLOGY SAFETY CONTRACT
CLICK HERE FOR NOTEBOOK COPY OF SAFETY RULES