Chemical Safety and

Laboratory Rules

Injuries and accidents rarely occur in a well-supervised laboratory. The

laboratory is a safe place in which to work if appropriate precautions are taken
and sound judgment and common sense are exercised.

The following sections present some general guidelines. Students are

expected to know and adhere to these safety practices in the laboratory.

LABORATORY APPAREL
1. Laboratory gowns and safety goggles are required in the laboratory at
all times.
2. Sandals, open-toed shoes, high heels, shorts or skirts cut above the
knee are not allowed in the lab.
3. Contact lenses are not permitted in the lab due to fumes that might
cause them to dry.
4. Long hair should be kept in place.
5. Careful consideration should be given before wearing any jewelry in the
lab.
6. Radios, tape players, CD players, iPods, mp3 players or any other
electronic entertainment devices are not allowed to be played in the lab.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT
1. Be familiar with the locations of laboratory safety equipments, like fire
extinguisher, emergency eyewash station, safety shower and the first-
aid toolbox.
2. Check all safety equipment if they are still working properly and loaded
or charged.

LABORATORY DECORUM
1. Place your coats, books, backpacks and other personal item in the
designated place in the lab. Bring only the materials you are going to
use for the day’s experiment in the bench assigned to your group.
2. Eating, drinking, smoking and horse playing are strictly prohibited in
the lab.
3. Always read the upcoming experiments thoroughly to help you perform
the experiment correctly and quickly.
 4. Wash your hands frequently during
experiment and certainly, at the end of the
lab period.
5. Report any accidents or injuries to your
instructor for immediate remedy.
6. Perform experiment under the supervision of
your instructor. Any modifications in the
procedure, hazards and safety precautions of
the day’s experiment will also be explained
by your instructor. Never make unauthorized Figure 1. Some Precautionary
Symbols in Chemical Labels
substitutions
7. In the event of broken glasswares, never pick up the chips with your bare
hands, regardless of the size of the pieces. Use a brush and a dustpan.
8. Prevent common accidents by being aware of their causes. Most hand
injuries involve cuts, thermal burns and chemical burns. Clean all broken
glass and spilled chemicals immediately.
9. Never smell gases or vapors directly. Turn off the gas outlet immediately
when not in use. Use the fume hood whenever heating involves large
evolution of irritating and hazardous fumes.
10. Always read the labels of the reagents you are going to use twice and never
take more of the reagent than you need. Excess liquid chemicals should be
disposed properly.
11. Report all chemical spills immediately to your instructor. Spills on bech or
floor must be cleaned up instantaneously.
12. Maintain cleanliness in the laboratory especially your working area.
Matchsticks, pieces of papers and solid substances should be thrown in
garbage cans.
13. Inform your instructor if you have medical conditions that can affect your
performance in the lab. Epilepsy, pregnancy, dyslexia and other conditions
can be hazardous in the lab.
14. Be cautious in using the gas burner when volatile organic solvents are
involved in the experiment.

FIRE
1. In the event of fire, don’t panic.
2. If large portion of your clothes catches fire (a) drop to the ground and roll,
(b) use the safety shower or (c) use the fire blanket.
3. Never use a fire extinguisher on a person.
4. If a fire occur in a beaker or some other container, cover it with a watch
glass or other flame-retardant items.
5. Never move any burning object or use water to extinguish the chemical fire.
 6. Be familiar with the proper utilization of the fire extinguisher especially if the
fire is large enough to warrant its use.

FIRST-AID & EMERGENCY MEASURES

THERMAL BURNS

Hold the burnt area under the cold water or in contact with ice for several
minutes. Do not apply ointment or bandage. If the burn is large or severe, call a
physician at once.

ACIDS ON THE SKIN

Pat the affected areas immediately with cloth then wash with plenty of water,
then with saturated bicarbonate solution and again with water.

SOLID ORGANIC SUBSTANCE ON THE SKIN

Wash affected area with rubbing alcohol. Then clean well with soap and
water.

CUTS
For minor cuts, allow them to bleed for a few seconds. Remove bits or
fragments of substances from the wounded area, and apply an antiseptic and
bandage. For serious cuts, send for the doctor at once. Meanwhile, try to stop the
bleeding by applying pressure with a sterile pad over the wound.

EYE ACCIDENTS

Immediately flush the eyes with a stream of water for at least 10 minutes.
Do not attempt any chemical neutralization in the eyes for deeper burns that might
result to the heat of reaction. In all cases, take the patient to the student clinic.

POISONING BY SWALLOWING

Dilute the poison as fast as possible by drinking plenty of water. Then

neutralize the poison, for acids, induce vomiting by freely giving lukewarm water
with 2 tablespoons of salt per glass until the expelled liquid is clear.

ELECTRIC SHOCK

Remove the source of shock as soon as possible. Use a dry towel when
removing live wires or equipment. If the victim is not breathing, administer artificial
respiration. CALL A CERTIFIED FIRST AIDER OR A PHYSICIAN AT ONCE.
Laboratory Techniques
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Branch of chemistry that deals with the:
 identity or nature of the substances making up the compound
 quantity or proportion of substances making up the compound.

QUANTITATIVE CHEMISTRY - quantity or proportion of substances making up the

compound.

QUALITATIVE CHEMISTRY - identifies the substances making up the compound

ULTIMATE / ELEMENTARY ANALYSIS - identifies the elements/ions

PROXIMATE ANALYSIS – identifies the compound

Semi-micro analysis method – amount of the substance is about 50 mg of solid & 1

mL of the test solution

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
Used in the experiments – reactions accompanied by external effects/easily
recognizable changes:

 Formation of a precipitate
 Dissolution of a precipitate
 Appearance & disappearance of color in a solution or in a flame
 Evolution of a gas
 Development of a characteristic odor

For reliable results of the reactions, analytical reaction must be conducted under
strictly definite conditions:

1. Suitable medium
– may be adjusted as required by addition of acid or alkali to the solution
2. Temperature of the solution
– either hot, room temperature or cooled
3. Sufficiently high concentrations of a particular ion in solution
- dissolution of a precipitate depends on the amount of precipitate to be
dissolved
4. Prevent contamination of the reagents
- cleanliness of the apparatus and carefulness in work are very essential

TERMINOLOGY
REACTION – process where a new substance is formed
TEST – laboratory operation to show the presence or absence of some substance,
usually some ionic species
REAGENT - substance used to bring about a reaction
TEST SOLUTION – contains the ion or substance for which tests are made
 1. For cations – prepared from their nitrates or chlorides
2. For anions – prepared from the corresponding sodium and potassium salts

CLEAR SOLUTION – not turbid or cloudy

COLORLESS SOLUTION – not colored
CONFIRMATORY TEST– identifies the ion, gives the characteristic result for the ion
PRECIPITATE – insoluble substance produced in a reaction
RESIDUE - solid remaining after evaporating a mixture or solution to dryness

GENERAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES

PRECIPITATION
Use either a centrifuge tube or round-bottom test tube.

PROCEDURE
- Add dropwise the precipitating reagent to the test solution with constant
stirring/flicking until precipitation seems to be complete

FILTRATION
Use of CENTRIFUGE makes filtration more rapid and convenient
CENTRIFUGE – makes use of centrifugal force for speeding up the rate of settling of
solid

PROCEDURE:
-use a centrifuge tube (tapered end) or small test tube
-amount of the liquid should not be more than ¾ full
-place the tube in one of the cups inside the centrifuge
-balanced symmetrically to avoid vibration
-turn on the switch and allow to rotate for 20 – 30 seconds then turn it
off and allow to stop by itself

TEST FOR COMPLETENESS OF PRECIPITATION

PROCEDURE
-add to the clear supernatant liquid 1 – 2 drops of the precipitating reagent
after centrifuging.
-precipitation is complete if no more precipitate is formed
-in case of precipitation or turbidity, add a few drops more of the
precipitating reagent, stir and centrifuge again
-procedure is repeated until the solution fails to give a precipitate

DECANTATION
separation of the centrifugate from the precipitate using a pipet after centrifugation

PROCEDURE
-compress the bulb and insert the tip of the pipet slightly below the level of
the liquid and then slowly release the bulb
-lower the tip as the level of the solution drops
 -when the solution level nears the precipitate, slightly tilt the tube so as to
bring the additional solution to the surface

WASHING OF THE PRECIPITATE

the precipitate retains some of the centrifugate containing some ions that may
interfere in the analysis of the precipitate
impurities are removed by washing the precipitate
wash liquid is distilled water unless other liquid is specified

PROCEDURE
- add the required amount of distilled water or wash solution to the solid.
- stir , centrifuge and decant the wash liquid
- first portion of the washing is combined with the supernatant liquid
- second portion is discarded

TEST FOR SOLUBILITY OF PRECIPITATE

PROCEDURE
- add dropwise the specified reagent to the precipitate
- stir the mixture and observe the quantity of the precipitate
- if the amount decreases, continue adding the reagent until the precipitate
dissolves

USE OF THE WATER BATH

Use a 100 mL beaker 2/3 filled with water

a small test tube containing the solution should never be heated in a direct
flame since bumping will cause the loss of part or all of the solution

EVAPORATION

PROCEDURE
-use a small porcelain casserole and heating over a wire gauze using a
small flame.
-rotate the casserole slowly to allow the liquid to come in contact with the
hot walls of the casserole to facilitate evaporation.
-should be conducted without boiling since boiling is always accompanied by
spattering
-in evaporating to dryness, remove the casserole from the flame while there
is still a drop or two of the liquid left.
-heat in the casserole will complete the evaporation

PRECIPITATION WITH HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS

Sources of hydrogen sulfide gas:
1. Reaction of HCl with FeS (pyrite) in the Kipps Type Generator.
 FeS + 2HCl → FeCl2 + H2S↑

2. Hydrolysis of thioacetamide in a slightly acidic or basic media at elevated

temperature.
CH3CSNH2 + H2O → CH3CONH2 + H2S↑
thioacetamide acetamide

PROCEDURE
-Add 10 drops of 10% CH3CONH2 to the solution to be saturated with H2S.
-stir the mixture and heat in a water bath for 10 minutes

FLAME TEST
A platinum wire or nichrome wire is used

WORK INVOLVING GASES

Devise a gas chamber

PROCEDURE
- use 2 watch glasses in contact with each other (like a clam)
- Attach a piece of filter paper moistened with the reagent to the concave
surface of the upper watch glass
- place the reaction mixture on the lower watch glass