Before any lab

Lab Safety

Biomedical science is hands-on, and that means real tools, chemicals, and cultures. Two things clear you for the bench: a signed safety contract on file, and a passing score on the safety test. Everything you need is on this page.

1. Sign the safety contractYou and a parent or guardian both sign. Required before your first lab.2. Pass the safety test10 scenarios, walk through each one. Retake until you pass.

Quick start: the 6 non-negotiables

Goggles on before any bottle is opened, and on for the whole activity.
Gloves for anything wet, chemical, or biological.
No food, drink, or gum, ever.
Know your eyewash, shower, extinguisher, and spill kit before you start.
Label samples with a code, never a name; put biohazard and sharps in the right bin.
Report every spill, cut, or accident right away, no matter how small.

PPE: what to wear, and when

Illustration of lab personal protective equipment: goggles, gloves, and lab coat

Match the gear to the hazard. Goggles and gloves are the floor, not the ceiling.

Hazard	Wear
Chemical	Splash goggles, gloves, apron
Biological / cultures	Gloves, goggles, lab coat
Sharps / dissection	Gloves, cut-resistant care, tray
Heat / flame	Goggles, tied hair, no loose sleeves

Take gloves off inside-out so the outside never touches your skin, then wash your hands.

How to read a Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

Illustration of a Safety Data Sheet document

Every chemical has an SDS. Before you open a bottle, read three sections:

Section 2 (Hazards): what this chemical can do to you. Read this first.
Section 8 (PPE): exactly what to wear to handle it.
Section 4 (First aid): what to do if it gets on your skin, in your eyes, or is swallowed.

The SDS binder lives in the room. If you cannot find a chemical's SDS, do not open it. Ask.

Before you begin a lab: the checklist

State the question in your own words.
Read every step and know step one.
List each hazard and the PPE for it.
Write a prediction with a because-clause.
Set up and date your data table.
Name your control and what it rules out.
Locate the eyewash, shower, extinguisher, and spill kit.
Confirm your signed contract is on file.

Emergencies: what to do

Chemical in eyes: flush at the eyewash for 15 minutes, then tell Mr. Mendoza. Do not rub.
Chemical on skin: rinse the area with water, remove contaminated clothing, tell the teacher.
Small spill: tell the teacher and use the spill kit as directed. Never clean a spill alone.
Large spill or fire: move away, alert the teacher, follow the evacuation route.
Cut or needlestick: let it bleed briefly, wash, tell the teacher; a human-sample stick is a biohazard.
When in doubt: stop, hands off, and ask. Always.

Equipment quick-cards

Micropipette

Rule: Never rotate the volume past its range; keep it upright with liquid in the tip.

Avoid: Jamming it below its minimum.

Gel box + power supply

Rule: Lid on and hands off before power on; red to red, black to black.

Avoid: Opening the lid with the power still on.

Microscope

Rule: Carry with two hands; start on the lowest objective.

Avoid: Racking a high objective down into the slide.

Centrifuge

Rule: Always balance tubes across from each other; lid latched before spin.

Avoid: Spinning an unbalanced rotor.

Bunsen burner / hot plate

Rule: Tie hair, control sleeves; assume the surface is hot.

Avoid: Reaching over an open flame.

UV transilluminator

Rule: Eyes and skin covered; use the shield.

Avoid: Looking at UV without protection.

All 21 safety rules

How you act in the lab

1. Act responsibly at all times. No horseplay, no practical jokes, no pranks. A lab is not the place for it.
2. Follow every written and spoken instruction carefully. If you do not understand a step, ask before you do it.
3. Do not touch equipment, supplies, specimens, or materials without permission from your teacher.
4. Do only approved experiments. Never run an experiment when the teacher is out of the room.
5. Never eat, drink, chew gum, or taste anything in the lab. Keep food and drinks out of the room.
6. Keep your hands away from your face, eyes, and mouth while you work. Wash your hands with soap and water before you leave.

Protect your body

7. Wear your goggles or safety glasses whenever you are told to, and keep them on for the whole activity. There are no exceptions to this rule.
8. Wear gloves for anything wet, chemical, or biological, and a lab coat or apron when told to.
9. Tie back long hair, remove dangling jewelry, and avoid loose or baggy clothing. Closed-toe shoes only.
10. Keep your hands, and everyone's, out of the biohazard and sharps containers. Those are one-way.

Chemicals, heat, and sharps

11. Treat every chemical as dangerous. Do not touch or smell a chemical unless the procedure tells you to, and read its Safety Data Sheet (SDS) first: Section 2 (hazards), Section 8 (PPE), Section 4 (first aid).
12. Handle all glassware with care. Never pick up hot or broken glass with your bare hands, and check every piece for chips and cracks before you use it.
13. Use burners, hot plates, and flames only when told to. Do not put anything into a flame unless instructed, and never leave a lit burner unattended. When heating a test tube, point the open end away from every person.
14. Cut away from your body, never toward it. Use scalpels, blades, and dissecting tools only as instructed, and put them in the sharps container, never the trash.
15. Follow your teacher's directions to dispose of every waste material. Biological waste is decontaminated (10 percent bleach) before disposal and never goes in the regular trash.

Equipment, specimens, and the room

16. Carry a microscope with both hands: one on the arm, one under the base.
17. Treat all specimens and cultures with care and respect. Do not remove any specimen, culture, chemical, or equipment from the lab.
18. Never open a storage cabinet or enter the prep room without permission.
19. Keep your work area and the whole room neat. Bring only your lab instructions, worksheets, and something to write with to the bench.
20. Clean your area and equipment at the end of the lab and return everything clean and working to its place.

When something goes wrong

21. Learn where the safety equipment is (eyewash, shower, extinguisher, spill kit, exits) and how to use it before you start. Report every accident, injury, spill, breakage, or hazard to your teacher right away, no matter how small.

Sign the contract Printable contract (PDF)

Printable contract based on the Flinn Scientific Student Safety Contract (© Flinn Scientific, Inc.), used for classroom safety instruction.