Graduated Cylinders and General Lab Safety Tips

It is common knowledge that before you can use laboratories for scientific purposes, you must first follow certain safety measures.This is important in both the classroom setting as well as any educational institution. To make things always safe and effective, you must follow this simple guidelines that can help you make everything fun and at the same time very safe.

Mercury Safety Tips
-Mercury is one of the most dangerous substances to handle, it can cause bad effects to people if taken in amounts beyond human tolerance.
-That’s why you should try to always use alcohol thermometers instead of mercury ones in the lab.
-Try to use a mercury substitute also for procedures whenever possible.
-Remember that mercury exhausts need to be vented into a fume hood.
-Mercury spills should be contained immediately. Always use a tray that does not react poorly with mercury. A glass, plastic, or steel tray
-A mercury container should be placed inside a second container in case the first one fails.
-Mercury should never come into contact with hot surfaces.

Other Lab Safety Rules
-Never eat or drink inside the lab or eat anything found in the lab because of the risk of contamination.
-Never mix your chemicals! Potentially harmful substances should not get mixed or touched. Have clear labels.
-Safety glasses and safety gloves are mandatory when working with potentially hazardous materials.
-Your clothing should cover all your skin skin. Legs, feet, and arms, should be covered in case of a spill. Clothing shouldn’t be too lose in order to prevent it from getting caught in any machines.
-Keep the work area free of things that are not absolutely necessary for that specific experiment.
-After completing your task, wash your hands thoroughly.

Graduated Cylinders
First and foremost, learn how to make use of a graduated cylinder. In order to remain safe and to avoid repeating the entire lab process, make sure that the rate of transferring another liquid to the graduated cylinder is as slow as possible. Level your eye to the cylinder and not level the cylinder relative to your eye in order to attain more precise results. Minor lapses in measurements when it comes to laboratories can cause the entire procedure to self-destruct. But, perhaps, the best reason not to stand directly over the cylinder when pouring has nothing to do with the desired outcome of a project, but rather the desired outcome of your health. When you work too closely to the cylinder, you might inhale poisonous fumes. However, because you are at eye level with potentially harmful liquids, always wear safety glasses in case it breaks or spills.