More than 500,000 workers are employed in laboratories in the U.S. The laboratory environment can be a hazardous place to work. Laboratory workers are exposed to numerous potential hazards including chemical, biological, physical and radioactive hazards, as well as musculoskeletal stresses.
LITERATURE
OSHA: Laboratory Safety Guidance
NIOSH: Guidance for Coats
It is possible, even common, for a single laboratory to have types of hazards associated with more than one of these categories at once.
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It is possible, even common, for a single laboratory to have types of hazards associated with more than one of these categories at once. Engineering controls should be used as primary barriers, functioning to contain the hazards. Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used in combination with engineering controls to reduce the risk of worker exposure to laboratory hazards.
ES&H: Lab Coat Selection Guide Matrix
from ES&H Safety Manual
NALGENE: Chemical Compatibility Guide
Chemicals can affect the strength, flexibility, surface appearance, color, dimensions or weight of plastics. The
basic modes of interaction which cause these changes are: (1) chemical attack on the polymer chain, with
resultant reduction in physical properties, including oxidation; reaction of functional groups in or on the chain,
and depolymerization
by Thermo Scientific NALGENE