CHEMICAL SPILLS ON YOU AND IN THE LABORATORY

Preview This section describes actions that should be taken in the event of a chemical spill on you or in your laboratory. 

It is by presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of man is tested. 

A student was using a phenol solution in his laboratory when he spilled the solution and it splashed on his pants. Although there was a safety shower nearby the spill area, he went past the shower, to the men s restroom. There he removed the pants, washed the chemical off his leg, and rinsed the pants. After this, however, he put on the contaminated pants again and then proceeded to the university clinic. As a result of continued wearing of contaminated pants, he received second degree chemical burns from the phenol. 

What lessons can be learned from these incidents  

Chemical spills are one of the most common incidents in laboratories. Spills of chemicals in laboratories come in various sizes, and present various levels of hazard. Knocking over a 100-mL graduated cylinder with 5 mL of 0.1 M NaCl in it is a fairly trivial event. Dropping a large glass container that has 4 L of concentrated nitric acid or 4 L of (flammable) acetone is a serious event. What to do in the event of some chemical spill depends on the nature of the spill. 

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Chemical Spills On You and in the Laboratory Describes aetions that should be taken... 

When an Arrhenius acid is combined with an Arrhenius base, we say that they neutralize each other. By this, we mean that the acid counteracts the properties of the base, and the base counteracts the properties of the acid. For example, a strong acid, such as nitric acid, must be handled with extreme caution, because if it gets on your skin, it could cause severe chemical burns. If you accidentally spilled nitric acid on a laboratory bench, however, you could quickly pour a solution of a weak base, such as sodium hydrogen carbonate, on top of the spill to neutralize the acid and make it safer to wipe. In a similar way, a solution of a weak acid, such as acetic acid, can be poured on a strong base spill to neutralize the base before cleanup. Therefore, reactions between Arrhenius acids and bases are ofren called neutralization reactions. 

Many laboratories have buckets or cabinets with supplies for cleaning up chemical spills. These are often called chemical spill kits (see Figures 2.2.2.1 Figure 2.2.2.2). While these kits are likely to contain written instmctions and needed supplies and protective equipment, you should not attempt to clean up a spill unless you have received some instruction and demonstration about carrying out a cleanup operation. Depending on the nature of the chemical, it may be possible to clean up a spill with only a few paper towels that are then disposed of in an appropriate manner (ask what is appropriate). For larger spills you should seek assistance, which often comes from the institution s health and safety department. 

Good housekeeping Keeping your working area clean, neat, and free of extraneous materials and equipment can help prevent spills. Do not store chemicals on the floor where they might be broken as someone trips over them. Always return chemicals to their proper storage place. Minimize the number of chemicals in your laboratory space. You should not store heavy objects over your experiments or chemicals. 

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