1.1 Personal Protective Equipment
Identify the personal protective equipment worn in the laboratory, state the function of each item, and recognise the protective equipment provided in the laboratory itself.
Learning Objectives
- Define personal protective equipment and explain why it is needed.
- Name the personal protective equipment worn by a student and state the function of each item.
- Identify the protective equipment provided in the laboratory and state when each one is used.
- Explain why every accident or injury must be reported to the teacher immediately.
Protection from Head to Toe
Each item of personal protective equipment guards a different part of the body.
Short Explanation
Definition
Personal protective equipment is needed to protect the wearer from danger.
You learned about safety rules and measures in the laboratory in Form 1. In order to keep you safe in the laboratory, there is a variety of protective equipment that you need to know and use correctly.
Two groups of protective equipment. Some equipment is worn on your body — goggles, a face mask, gloves, a lab coat and closed shoes. Other equipment is provided in the laboratory and is used when an emergency happens or when a particular experiment requires it.
Report every accident. Even though there is personal protective equipment in the laboratory, every accident or injury in the laboratory must be reported immediately to the teacher.
Explore the Equipment You Wear
Select each card to read the function of that item of personal protective equipment.
Personal Protective Equipment and Its Functions
| Equipment | Function |
|---|---|
| Goggles | Protect the eyes from hazardous chemical substances such as acid, bromine, ammonia and reactive metals. |
| Face mask | Protects the nose and mouth from inhaling pungent and volatile chemical substances and dust. |
| Gloves | Gloves made of rubber protect the hands from hazardous chemical substances. |
| Lab coat | Made up of safety layers and easily removed in an emergency; protects clothing from damage. |
| Closed shoes | Protect the feet from chemical substance spills and glass splinters. |
Personal Protective Equipment in the Laboratory
This equipment is part of the laboratory itself and is used when it is needed.
Personal protective equipment that is available in the laboratory includes the safety shower, eyewash station, fume chamber and laminar flow cabinet.
| Equipment | When it is used |
|---|---|
| Safety shower | The safety shower is used to immediately clean and rinse parts of the body or clothing that have come into contact with chemical substances. |
| Eyewash station | The eyewash station is used to immediately rinse and wash the eye that has come into contact with chemical substances. |
| Fume chamber | The fume chamber is used to carry out experiments that use substances which are volatile, flammable, poisonous, corrosive or pungent. |
| Laminar flow cabinet | This cabinet is used to avoid contamination when microbiological activities are carried out. |
Try to Answer First
Answer in your mind, then press “Check Answer”.
Give three examples of personal protective equipment that must be worn in the laboratory.
Hariz’s eye was accidentally splashed with dilute sulphuric acid. What action does Hariz need to take?
Aqil wears slippers while carrying out an experiment. Is this action correct? Give a reason.
Which equipment in the laboratory is used for experiments involving volatile and pungent substances?
Common Mistakes
- Wearing slippers or open shoes in the laboratory. Only closed shoes protect the feet from chemical spills and glass splinters.
- Cleaning up spilled chemical substances with bare hands instead of wearing gloves and following the proper procedure.
- Thinking a small injury does not need to be reported. Every accident or injury must be reported to the teacher immediately.
- Confusing the safety shower with the eyewash station. The safety shower rinses the body or clothing; the eyewash station rinses the eye.
- Treating the lab coat as an ordinary uniform. It is made of safety layers and must be easy to remove in an emergency.
Concept Misunderstandings
Wearing personal protective equipment makes the laboratory completely safe, so an accident does not need to be reported.
Protective equipment reduces risk but does not remove it. Every accident or injury must still be reported to the teacher immediately.
The fume chamber and the laminar flow cabinet do the same job.
The fume chamber is used for substances that are volatile, flammable, poisonous, corrosive or pungent. The laminar flow cabinet is used to avoid contamination during microbiological activities.
Personal protective equipment is only the equipment you wear.
Protection also comes from equipment provided in the laboratory, such as the safety shower, the eyewash station, the fume chamber and the laminar flow cabinet.
Summary
- Personal protective equipment is needed to protect the wearer from danger.
- The equipment worn by a student is goggles, a face mask, gloves, a lab coat and closed shoes.
- Goggles protect the eyes, a face mask protects the nose and mouth, gloves protect the hands, a lab coat protects clothing, and closed shoes protect the feet.
- The laboratory also provides a safety shower, an eyewash station, a fume chamber and a laminar flow cabinet.
- Every accident or injury in the laboratory must be reported immediately to the teacher.
Short Activity
A. Objective Quiz
1 Which personal protective equipment protects the eyes from hazardous chemical substances such as acid and bromine?
2 Which equipment in the laboratory is used to immediately rinse an eye that has come into contact with a chemical substance?
B. Fill in the Blanks
3 Laboratory gloves that protect the hands from hazardous chemical substances are made of .
4 Experiments that use volatile, flammable, poisonous, corrosive or pungent substances must be carried out in the .
C. Drag and Drop: Match the Equipment to Its Function
Drag each item of protective equipment to the function it performs. On a phone, tap an answer first, then tap a matching box. Tap the Answer Choices area to return a selected item.
C. Match the Equipment to Its Function
Write the correct item of protective equipment next to each function.
| Function | Protective Equipment |
|---|---|
| 1. Protects the eyes from acid, bromine, ammonia and reactive metals | |
| 2. Protects the nose and mouth from dust and volatile substances | |
| 3. Protects the hands from hazardous chemical substances | |
| 4. Protects the feet from chemical spills and glass splinters |
Answer choices: Goggles • Face mask • Gloves • Closed shoes
