SCH4U - Chemistry 12 (2024-25) - A

Safety in the Lab

A very important aspect of chemistry is demonstrating proper safety practices while in the laboratory. Even though this is an online course, you are still required to know proper lab practices. For this activity you will learn about some of the important symbols that identify dangerous substances in the lab, and then you will learn about proper lab practices as you try to fight off the zombie apocalypse in the Zombie College Lab Safety game.

There are two important part of proper lab safety:

1. Identifying dangerous materials in the lab.  

2. Demonstrating safe lab practices.

In this activity you will learn about identifying dangerous materials in the lab.

Identifying Dangerous Materials - WHMIS

To help make identifying dangerous materials easier for large populations of people, standard symbols are used. In fact throughout all schools and workplaces in Canada, these standard symbols are used to identify any materials that are dangerous or potentially hazardous. These standard symbols are useful because they help all people, regardless of language spoken, to be aware of the safety involved in using and storing a product. This system of symbols is called WHMIS which stands for: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. These symbols are typically found on the labels of materials which are dangerous and you have likely seen them before. Below is a list of common symbols that you would find in a typical chemistry lab. 

Symbol	Meaning
	Flammable Substance
	Biohazardous Material
	Poisonous Substance

For further information about WHMIS click here for the Health Canada summary page.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

Another important tool used in chemistry labs to help identify and inform about dangerous materials are Material Safety Data Sheets also known as MSDS. These sheets provide information on the dangers and precautions for the safe us and handling of dangerous chemicals. These sheets contain information and symbols to help easily communicate the danger of a given chemical.

Each MSDS contains a hazard rating system for health, flammability and reactivity as well as an indicator for what type of personal protection is needed to safely handle the chemical. The higher the rating, the greater the danger. The image below demonstrates a MSDS sheet for the chemical Azodicarbonamide.