Chemical Laboratory Safety
Course Overview
Everyone has a responsibility to work safely in laboratories. Management not only has the duty to provide information, instruction, training and provision, but should also communicate and reinforce safety rules and work practices. In order to control and review all laboratory practices, an occupational health and safety (OHS) management system or quality management system should be adopted. This module has been developed to provide an understanding of the safe working practices with regards to chemical hazards in the laboratory.
Key Content- OH&S responsibilities and obligations.
- Hazardous substances.
- Dangerous goods and dangerous goods classes.
- Drugs, poisons and controlled substances.
- The use of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
- Labels and storage.
- Inventory of chemicals and purchasing.
- Generation and storage of waste.
- Handling of chemicals / routes of entry.
- Hazards to pregnancy and the reproductive system.
- Unattended experiments.
- Housekeeping & equipment maintenance.
- Laboratory equipment.
- Gas cylinders.
- Cryogenic materials and cold traps.
- Working with biological material & radioactive material.
- First Aid.
- Safety showers and eye-wash.
- Incident reporting.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this course, learners should be able to:- Identify hazards that potentially exist in laboratories.
- Describe hazardous substances, dangerous goods, drugs, poisons and controlled substances.
- Assist in the conduct of risk assessments.
- Explain the necessity of adhering to a substance's MSDS or label.
- Identify safe ways of storing chemicals.
- Describe the role of a safe and tidy work environment.
- Use the appropriate PPE.
- Identify common laboratory equipment.