SAFETY IN

SCIENCE

A teacher and three Grade 11 girls suffered minor injuries in a chemical explosion in a science lab at Brennan Catholic High School in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday morning. The explosion, which caused students' ears to ring, was an exothermic reaction between the ingredients potassium chlorate, manganese dioxide, sugar and glycerin.

November 23, 2010, reported by CBC news

HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE LAB EXPLOSION INJURES 4

This is just one of many incidents that have happened in science labs in recent years

BASIC SAFETY RULES• Use common sense. If you think what

you are about to do is a bad idea, it is.• Follow the lab procedure given to you.

No unauthorized experiments. • No goofing around. See above.• Handle chemicals and glassware

carefully. Use both hands: one holding the neck of the glassware, the other hand under the bottom.

CHEMICAL BURNS

Chemical burns on feet.

Skin burned by chemicals

FlammableFlammable

ReactiveReactiveHealthHealth

SpecialSpecial

This can happen if you are careless with chemicals in the lab

SAFETY FEATURES OF THE LABLocate the following:

• safety glasses & goggles

• chemical shower station

• fire extinguisher

• eye wash station

• broken glass container

• fire / emergency exit door

LaboratorySafety Rules

DANGER

ARNPRIOR DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLScience Department

Safety Rules

1.Read your handout carefully.

2.This sheet must be signed by you and a parent before you can participate in any lab activities.

PICK OUT 10 UNSAFE THINGS HAPPENING IN THE FOLLOWING PHOTO

LAB SAFETY SYMBOLS

• stands for Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

• designed to inform workers about the (dangerous) substances they use

• aimed at reducing or preventing injuries in the workplace (like school!)

MSDS (material safety data sheet) • document that tells a scientist about a chemical• lists hazards, special handling instructions, and risks

associated with a chemical• are supplied by the company that makes the chemical

• each chemical has its own MSDS that tell about its physical properties, chemical properties, first aid required, etc.

A) WHMIS

WHMIS SYMBOLS

can explode if put under lots of pressure

capable of catching

fire

reacts with air to increase the

risk of fire

can cause immediate

illness or death

can react dangerously if left standing for a

long time, being shaken, etc.

can burn/destroy the skin & eat through metals

living thing that can make you

sick

can cause illness later in life

(cancer, sterility)

EXAMPLES OF SUBSTANCES WITH THESE LABELS

Guess as to which substance matches best with which WHMIS symbol:

A. X-ray machines, mercury

B. oxygen cylinder

C. blood, flu virus

D.peroxides, nitrates

E. cyanide, arsenic

F. acids, hydroxides

G.ethylene oxide (gas used to sterilize surgical equipment)

H.gasoline

Which WHMIS symbol should appear on cigarette packages?

LAB SAFETY SYMBOLSB) HHPS

• stands for Home Hazardous Product Symbols

• found on household products and cleaners

• used to warn people of the potential dangers of common household products

• similar to WHMIS symbols, but just for household products

poisonous explosive flammable corrosive

danger warning caution

SAFETY SCENARIOS

#1: Sandra• Sandra heats a test tube filled with acid over

the flame from a Bunsen burner. She then tries to cool the test tube by running it under cold water. The test tube breaks resulting in hot acid and broken glass in the sink.

# 2: George• George is doing a lab activity and decides to

not follow the procedure found in his textbook. He tries mixing two unknown chemicals together, resulting in bubbles and a rotten smelling gas. George decides to smell the gas by holding the beaker directly under his nose. He then feels nauseous and gets a headache. He leaves the class and tells no one what he did.

Discuss what should happen in your table groups:

# 3: Cindy & Sam• Cindy and Samuel are testing the chemical

properties of some various acids and bases. Cindy is goofing around and accidentally trips Samuel, who is carrying the full beaker of acid back to his station. The liquid splashes all over Andrew, who was working quietly next to them. Unfortunately, he was only wearing his goggles on his forehead (instead of over his eyes), resulting in acid splashing up into Andrew’s eyes.

# 4: Justin & Corrine• Justin and Corrine are trying to identify different

types of metals by doing a flame test (where they burn the metal they identify it by the colour it turns the flame). Justin plays in a rock band and has really long hair. He leans over to see what kind of metal is making the bright green flame and accidentally catches his untied hair on fire in the process.

# 5: Richard• Richard was late to class on the day of a summative lab.

He hurries into class and tries to catch up to the rest of the students, only he didn’t pre-read the lab procedure. Richard ends up making numerous mistakes, like measuring the wrong amount of chemicals, and falls behind the rest of the class because he doesn’t know what he is doing. Since this lab is summative, Richard tries to finish the lab anyway, but gets different results from the rest of the students.

# 6: Brenda & Nancy• Brenda and Nancy are sitting in science class together

doing some textbook questions. Brenda decides to pull out her bag of candy because she’s hungry. Nancy wants to have some too, so Brenda pours the candy onto the desktop to share. The two girls then eat their candy, but end up feeling sick to their stomach in their next class. Little did they know that the class before them had been doing a lab, testing acids and bases, and did not clean up properly. Or maybe it was from the biology class from the day before who dissected their pig right where Brenda and Nancy were sitting?

PUT YOUR HEADS TOGETHER

1.Compressed Gas2.Flammable

/Combustible3.Oxidizer4.Corrosive5.(Dangerously) Reactive6.Biohazardous

(Infectious)7.Poisonous 8.Toxic

A B C D E F G H

In your table groups, match up the WHMIS symbols with their titles

GROUP EFFORT, ONE MORE TIME1.Danger

2.Poisonous

3.Warning

4.Flammable

5.Caution

6.Explosive

7.Corrosive

A B C D E F G

In your table groups, match up the HHPS symbols with their titles