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No Food or Drink.
Wear Your PPE and Proper Lab Attire.
Good Hygiene.
Use Proper Storage Containers.
Label Your Work Space.
Don't Work Alone.
Stay Focused and Aware of Your Surroundings.
Participate in Safety Exercises.

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No Food or Drink.
Wear Your PPE and Proper Lab Attire.
Good Hygiene.
Use Proper Storage Containers.
Label Your Work Space.
Don't Work Alone.
Stay Focused and Aware of Your Surroundings.
Participate in Safety Exercises.

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10 Important Lab Safety Rules to Protect Yourself and Your Research

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The science lab is an inherently dangerous place, with fire hazards, dangerous chemicals, and risky procedures. No one wants to have an accident in the lab, so it's imperative to follow lab safety rules.

The Most Important Lab Safety Rule

Follow the instructions! Whether it's listening to your instructor or lab supervisor or following a procedure in a book, it's critical to listen, pay attention, and be familiar with all the steps, from start to finish, before you begin. If you are unclear about any point or have questions, get them answered before starting, even if it's a question about a step later on in the protocol. Know how to use all of the lab equipment before you begin.

Why is this the most important rule? If you don't follow it:

You endanger yourself and others in the lab.

You could easily ruin your experiment.

You put the lab at risk of an accident, which could damage equipment as well as harm people.

You could get suspended (if you're a student) or fired (if you're a researcher).

Don't Eat or Drink in the Laboratory

Save your snacking for the office, not the lab. Don't eat or drink in the science laboratory. Don't store your food or beverages in the same refrigerator that contains experiments, chemicals, or cultures.

There is too much risk of contaminating your food. You could touch it with a hand that is coated with chemicals or pathogens or set it down on a lab bench that has residue from past experiments.

Having drinks in the lab risks your experiment, too. You could spill a drink on your research or lab notebook.

Eating and drinking in the lab is a form of distraction. If you are eating, you aren't concentrating on your work.

If you're used to drinking liquids in the lab, you might accidentally reach for and drink the wrong liquid. This is especially true if you did not label your glassware or used lab glassware as dishes.

Don't Taste or Sniff Chemicals

Not only should you not bring in food or drinks, but you shouldn't taste or smell chemicals or biological cultures already in the lab. Tasting or smelling some chemicals can be dangerous or even deadly. The best way to know what's in a container is to label it, so get in the habit of making a label for glassware before adding the chemical.

Don't Play Mad Scientist in the Laboratory

Another important safety rule is to act responsibly in the lab - don't play Mad Scientist, randomly mixing chemicals to see what happens. The result could be an explosion, fire, or release of toxic gases.

Similarly, the laboratory is not the place for horseplay. You could break glassware, annoy others, and potentially cause an accident.

Dispose of Lab Waste Properly

One important laboratory safely rule is to know what to do with your experiment when it's over. Before you start an experiment, you should know what to do at the end. Don't leave your mess for the next person to clean up.

Are the chemicals safe to dump down the drain? If not, what do you do with them?

If you have biological cultures, is it safe to clean up with soap and water or do you need an autoclave to kill dangerous organisms?

Do you have broken glass or needles? Know the protocol for disposing of "sharps".

Don't Experiment on Yourself

The premise of many a science fiction movie starts with a scientist conducting an experiment on him or herself. However, you won't gain superpowers or discover the secret to eternal youth. More than likely, whatever you accomplish will be at great personal risk.

Science means using the scientific method. You need data on multiple subjects to draw conclusions, but using yourself as a subject and self experimenting is dangerous, not to mention bad science.

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10 Important Lab Safety Rules to Protect Yourself and Your Research

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Learn the 10 most important lab safety rules to protect yourself, the lab, and your research, including the cardinal rule for all scientists.