Identifying Hazards

Lab safety is something that is in your head, not in any textbook. It is dangerous to not check into the lab mentally while performing a lab procedure. To be safe in the lab you need to be able to properly identify hazards. To identify hazards in any situations it is easier to split them into categories. An important way to identify hazards in the lab is to look at the Chemical Hygiene Program that your company has currently employed. This can normally be found by your Department of Environmental Health and Safety. Another way to identify hazards is by looking at the Blood borne Pathogens Plan.  

A typical chemical hygiene plan consists of general laboratory procedures, chemical acquisition distribution and storage, hazard identification, and many others. The main parts we will focus on to identify hazards are: behavior in the laboratory and hazard identification. It is inappropriate to enact in any horseplay or practical jokes in the laboratory. Workers can also never work alone on a potentially dangerous activity. This last rule also incorporates that a procedure shall not be completed if the reaction is not well understood. People are also not allowed to eat or drink in the laboratory because this could end up being a serious hazard when there are dangerous chemicals in the lab and ingesting them would cause health effects.

To identify hazards the containers need to have a clear and legible label that is not easily removable. Safety Data Sheets should be readily available for all workers to be able to see in the lab. OSHA standards must be followed at all times. When first receiving the new shipment of chemicals you must make sure that you have the proper storage requirements and room available to contain the shipment. This can be best avoided by checking the storage area before placing the order so this problem does not arise.

               Lab hazards can be split into different categories which are dealt with in different ways. Classes of hazardous chemicals are identified in different ways. The level of hazard determines how these materials will be stored and handled throughout the lab process. The storage of these chemicals are classified under the National Fire Prevention Association, (NFPA.) NFPA labels the room with a door posting that separates the chemicals into four categories, fire hazard, health hazard, specific hazard, and reactivity hazard. The first three are ranked one through four, with four being the most dangerous.

               Certain chemicals are classified as particularly hazardous substances, PHSs. These chemicals are ones that pose significant threats to human health. These must have the proper labels on all containers and must be stored in the proper area and in the correct amounts. If an extremely dangerous chemical was stored in too high of an amount it could react badly with nearby chemicals.

               They can also be categorized into nanomaterials, or materials that have an external dimension in the nanoscale. These can both be naturally occurring and can be produced in manufacturing, or Engineered Nanomaterials.