The health of individual persons and the integrity of experiments being conducted, especially when they use hazardous materials, should always be protected when working in any laboratory. Here is a comprehensive list of the top 10 must-have Laboratory Safety Equipment that every lab should be equipped with:
Safety Goggles
It is necessary to protect eyes from chemical splashes, flying debris, and hazardous vapours in the working environment. Safety goggles are safety wear that should be worn at all times in the laboratory especially where hazardous materials are being dealt with.
Lab Coats
Stainsuits as lab coats are put on to protect the skin and the clothes worn from spills, splashes and contamination.
Gloves
Nitrile, latex, rubber, etc., are common types of gloves that are worn to guard your hands from coming into contact with chemicals, bio-hazardous materials, or any substance that may be harmful to your skin. Therefore, depending on the work being done on the different parts of the hand, one needs to wear the correct type of gloves.
Fume Hoods
Several workers in laboratories are at the receiving end risking their health to come into direct contact with fumes and vapours due to lack of fume hoods. It plays the role of affording a sheltered area that assists in limiting and expelling dangerous airborne elements.
Fire Extinguisher
Accidents can happen at any time and can easily trigger a fire in a lab. A fire extinguisher should be kept close at hand as this is the only way to intervene effectively at the moment a small fire has started to avoid it growing out of proportion.
First Aid Kit
A first aid box is considered essential in managing minor injuries and giving early treatment in the occurrence of an accident at the workplace. It should have simple first-aid items such as adhesive bandages, alcohol wipes, and burn gel among others.
Emergency Shower
An Emergency shower washes the whole body when there is a spillage or comes across a dangerous chemical; therefore, it is essential. It can be used to give a quick efficient rinse to everything that may have adhered to it.
Chemical Spill Kit
Chemicals are potentially hazardous when shed, and calling for the abilities of the expert when such a circumstance happens is important. For instance, a chemical spill kit containing absorbent material, neutralising agents, and protective clothing are important tools, which cannot be a no-show while cleaning up a chemical spill.
Proper Signage
Proper labelling and writing of signs in the lab provide information to all the people in the lab about possible dangers and measures to be taken. Safety signs and signals, emergency information, and other signs including hazard signs, warning signs and; proper identification of chemicals, tools and equipment must be displayed.
Purchasing these basic items of Laboratory Safety Equipment for your laboratory avails protection not only to people but also meets the safety and efficiency requirements of a lab environment. All safety equipment should be inspected and tested periodically and proper usage of each of them should be demonstrated to the lab personnel repeatedly. In this case, safety takes precedence, and thus possible risks can be reduced while the safety culture in the lab can be improved.
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