Strong acids and bases

An indispensable premise to carry out prevention in the laboratories is the correct information of the personnel about the physical-chemical and toxicological characteristics of the reagents and of the employed materials. The Italian legislation compel the employer to inform workers of the risks they are exposed to (law n. 277/1991). This informative activity should be carried out at the beginning of the laboratory work and periodically pursued with short refresher courses.

Products should be kept in suitable containers and rooms and adequately labelled. The packing and labelling of dangerous substances are regulated by legal regulations (n. 256/1974; 1147/1977; DM 1981, 1985; 1987). The label must synthetically report the name of the product, its essential physical-chemical properties, its analytical characteristics, the indication and the symbol of hazard (inflammability, explosiveness, toxicity, irritating or corrosive power), the recommended preventive measures (personal protective devices, fume cupboards). Such information should be transcribed on a new label should the product be transferred into other containers. According to the law of 1992, safety cards must accompany hazardous products. These cards must report detailed data on the technical and toxicological properties of the product, information on the exposure limits, information on the transport and the handling criteria and on the emergency procedures.

Furthermore, prevention is carried out by complying with the safety legislation and by adopting an adequate behaviour with regard to the working environment, the employed substances, tools and equipment, the environmental prevention systems, the personal protective devices (such as gloves and eye protection). The choice of the protective means must take into account the nature of the employed substances (caustics and solvents), the permeability of the different available materials and the utilization length. Lab coats must be worn in the laboratory and must remain there when the activity is finished. To prevent the accidental ingestion of noxious agents, eating, drinking, smoking, teeth brushing and mouth pipetting should not be allowed in the laboratory. Smoking prohibition, of course, also represents an elementary norm to prevent fire.

Compliance with measures of technical prevention must be particularly strong in the case of carcinogenic agents' handling. For such substances it is very difficult, or even impossible, to establish "safe" exposure limits. Therefore, they must be replaced with non-carcinogenic products whenever the advancement of technical knowledge makes it possible.

Laboratories

Chemical laboratories

Strong acids and bases