Knowing where safety equipment is located and checking safety supplies regularly can prevent or minimize accidents. Researchers and safety experts offer other tips:
"Mixing incompatible chemicals is a potential issue in labs," reports Peter Ashbrook, head of hazardous waste management at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. If glass containers of chemicals are knocked over, will the resulting mixture explode? This happened in October 1996 in a chemistry lab at the University of Texas, Austin. A postdoc reacted elemental sodium with an alcohol and poured it down the drain, not realizing that the sodium would ignite on contact with water. The resulting spark broke a nearby bottle of acetone. "Acetone is a common solvent in many labs. The bottle broke, the material spread, and the fire went out of control," recalls Ashbrook. Storing the acetone in a safer place would have limited damage.
Although Bio-Rad extended the warranty, the university's insurance ...
