SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PURIFICATION OF LABORATORY CHEMICALS

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PURIFICATION OF LABORATORY CHEMICALS 

Hazardous purchased chemicals are accompanied by detailed MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), which contain information regarding their toxicity, safety handling procedures and the necessary precautions to be taken. These should be read carefully and filed for future reference. In addition, chemical management systems such as Chem-ChemWatch, which include information on hazards, handling and storage, are commercially available. There are a number of websites which provide selected safety information these include the Sigma-Aldrich website www.sigmaaldrich.com and other chemical websites, e.g. www.ilpi.com/msds . 

Laboratory coats, disposable aprons, caps, sleeves, dust/mist respirators and foot protection, hearing protection as well as a variety of safety glasses, goggles, face and body shields should be used when the demand arises and are available commercially (see e.g. the Sigma-Aldrich Labware catalogue). 

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As a good general rule, all low boiling (<100°) organic liquids should be treated as highly flammable and toxic (because they can be inhaled in large quantities) and the necessary precautions should be taken (see Safety precautions associated with the purification of laboratory chemicals in Chapter 1, p 4). 

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