A Few Safety Rules
 Think through each step before beginning an
experiment
 Identify possible hazards and take appropriate
measures to contain or minimize hazards (read labels)
 If you don’t know what is going to happen and think
there may be a potential for danger
 Stop!
 Get help before proceeding or modify procedure to minimize
risk.
 When using hazardous chemicals use secondary
containment and appropriate personal protection
Routes of Chemical Exposure
 skin
 protective clothing
 gloves
 ingestion
 don’t pipette by mouth!
 no food in the lab
 wash before leaving the lab
 inhalation
 dust and vapors (use fume hood when either are present)
 eyes
 eye protection against splashing and vapors
Material Safety Data Sheets:
an information source
 Emergency information
 chemical product and company identification
 composition
 hazards identification
 Appropriate response to hazardous situations
 first aid measures
 fire fighting measures
 accidental release measures
Material Safety Data Sheets:
an information source
 Prevention of hazardous situations
 handling and storage
 exposure controls and personal protection
 physical and chemical properties
 stability and reactivity
 Miscellaneous
 toxicological information
 ecological information
 disposal considerations
 transportation information
 regulatory information
Material Safety Data Sheets:
an example - Hydrochloric Acid
 You’ve been asked to mix up a solution of 1N HCl
from concentrated hydrochloric acid. You would
like to know of any hazards associated with this
procedure.
 You remember the safety rule and you think
through the steps of preparing the solution. You
realize that you’ve never opened a container of
concentrated HCl before. So you STOP! and get
some help.
Hydrochloric Acid:
Potential Health Effects
 DANGER! CORROSIVE. CAUSES EYE AND
SKIN BURNS. CAUSES DIGESTIVE AND
RESPIRATORY TRACT BURNS.
 Eye:
 May cause irreversible eye injury. Vapor or mist may
cause irritation and severe burns. Contact with liquid is
corrosive to the eyes and causes severe burns.
 Skin:
 May be absorbed through the skin in harmful amounts.
Contact with liquid is corrosive and causes severe burns
and ulceration.
Hydrochloric Acid:
Potential Health Effects
 Ingestion:
 May cause circulatory system failure. Causes severe digestive tract
burns with abdominal pain, vomiting, and possible death. May
cause corrosion and permanent tissue destruction of the esophagus
and digestive tract.
 Inhalation:
 Causes severe irritation of upper respiratory tract with coughing,
burns, breathing difficulty, and possible coma. May cause
pulmonary edema and severe respiratory disturbances.
 Chronic:
 Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Repeated
exposure may cause erosion of teeth. May cause conjunctivitis and
photosensitization.
Hydrochloric Acid
Physical State:
Liquid
Appearance:
Clear, colorless to faintly yellow.
Odor:
Strong, pungent.
pH:
1.1 (0.1N sol).
danger!
Vapor Pressure:
160 mm Hg
Vapor Density:
1.257 (Air=1)
Evaporation Rate:
2.0 (Butyl acetate=1)
Viscosity:
Not available.
Boiling Point:
230_F
Freezing/Melting Point:
-101_F
Decomposition Temperature:3239.6_F
Solubility:
823g/L water at 32F.
Specific Gravity/Density: 1.19 (Water=1)
Molecular Formula:
HCl
Molecular Weight:
36.46
Hydrochloric Acid:
My Solution to the solution
Vapor pressure is significant and vapor is
very corrosive
Liquid is very corrosive
Solution preparation should be done in a
fume hood with gloves, protective clothing,
and eye protection
MSDS: Hazards Identification
 NaCl
 Warning! Causes eye irritation.
 HCl
 Poison! Danger! Corrosive. Liquid and mist cause severe
burns to all body tissue. May be fatal if swallowed or
inhaled. Inhalation may cause lung damage.
 H2SO4
 Poison! Danger! Corrosive. Liquid and mist cause severe
burns to all body tissue. May be fatal if swallowed or
contacted with skin. Harmful if inhaled. Affects teeth. Water
reactive. Cancer hazard. Strong inorganic acid mists
containing sulfuric acid can cause cancer.
MSDS: Summary
A good source of information on safe
handling
May provide useful information on
physical-chemical properties
Provide first aid, fire fighting, and
accidental release measures
Can be used to obtain concentrations of
ingredients in proprietary solutions
Unattended Experiment
Guidelines
 Prepare for power failure, _______
software failure, or a leak
 __________
Secondary containment of hazardous chemicals
 Prepare for flooded and ____
dry conditions
 Do not let equipment such as power stirrers, hot plates,
heating mantles, and water condensers run overnight
without ________
fail-safe provisions and the instructor's consent
 Everything well secured
 Check unattended reactions periodically
 Post contact information
labels for emergency
 Accurate instructions and _______
personnel