Wear safety goggles whenever instructed
Even if you wear glasses. The teacher decides when, not you. Glasses don't count as goggles.
Tie back long hair, tuck in loose clothing
Hair near a flame catches fire fast. Sleeves over a beaker can knock it over.
Closed-toe shoes only
If something spills, sandals don't protect you. No exceptions on lab days.
Read the procedure ALL THE WAY THROUGH before starting
Don't just do step 1 and figure out the rest. You'll skip a critical safety note in the middle.
Never taste, touch, or smell unknown substances
If you must smell something, waft the air toward your nose with your hand. Don't put your nose near the container.
Never eat or drink in the lab
The surface might look clean. It isn't.
Handle glass carefully; report breaks immediately
Hot glass looks like cold glass. Don't pick up broken glass with your bare hands.
Point test tubes AWAY from yourself and others when heating
Contents can boil over and spit.
No horseplay, no running, no shoving
This isn't gym. A bumped Bunsen burner is an emergency.
Know where the eyewash, fire blanket, and extinguisher are
Before the experiment starts. Look up, find them, pay attention to the path.
Clean up your station completely
Wipe down. Return tools. Dispose of waste in the correct container (NOT the regular trash for chemicals).
Wash your hands with soap after EVERY lab
Even if you wore gloves the whole time. Soap, not just water.
Report any injury, spill, or breakage to the teacher RIGHT AWAY
Even small cuts. Even if you think it's nothing. Teachers can decide; students can't.
Never work alone in the lab
If your partner leaves, you stop until they're back or the teacher reassigns you.
Follow the procedure exactly; don't substitute or "improve"
The teacher chose those quantities for a reason. Doubling the acid won't double the result; it might double the danger.
🏷️ WHMIS symbols you'll see in school
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. These pictograms appear on every chemical container.
🚨 If something goes wrong
- You got a chemical in your eyes
- EYEWASH STATION, 15 minutes, eyes open. THEN tell the teacher.
- You spilled a chemical on your skin
- Rinse with cold water for 5+ minutes. Tell the teacher immediately.
- You burned yourself
- Cold water for 10 minutes. Tell the teacher.
- You broke glass
- Step back. Don't touch. Tell the teacher who'll get the broken-glass dustpan.
- Something is on fire
- Step back, alert the teacher. Don't try to extinguish unless instructed. If on a person, use the fire blanket, not the extinguisher.
- You feel dizzy or short of breath
- Step outside the lab. Tell the teacher. Could be fumes.