CHEMICAL HOODS IN INTRODUCTORY LABORATORIES

Preview This section discusses the use and operation of laboratory hoods as a key part of your arsenal of safety equipment to protect you from exposure and to keep chemical aerosols, vapors, fumes, particulates, and odors under control. 

The day before he died, Daigle, 46, worked with TSDM, (CH3)3SiCHN2, when the lab fume hoods were not operating because of roof work. 

A student needed to purify a chemical using the process of recrystallization. He needed to use a very flammable solvent but he discovered that the laboratory hood that he intended to use was cluttered with no room for his experiment unless he first cleaned it up. So he decided to carry out the recrystallization on the benchtop. As the solvent boiled he added the crystals of the compound that he wanted to purify. Suddenly the vapors ignited and a fire ensued. Luckily the fire was extinguished and the student only received minor burns. 

What lessons can be learned from these incidents  

Laboratory Safety for Chemistry Students, Second Edition. Robert H. Hill, Jr. and David C. Finster. 2016 John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published 2016 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

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