Chemical Lab Safety and Risk Assessment
4 weeks · 0 milestones
Write a complete laboratory risk assessment for a real specific named chemical procedure — for example, 'acid-base titration of sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid' or 'recrystallisation of acetanilide from water.' A generic 'working in a chemistry lab' assessment is not accepted; the procedure must be specific and named. The assessment must identify the actual chemical hazards of the specific reagents and products (not generic lab hazards), control measures, required PPE with justification for each item, emergency procedures, and disposal protocols for the specific waste streams generated. Proof is the completed COSHH/MSDS-based risk assessment reviewed by a qualified chemist who confirms it correctly identifies the actual chemical risks of that specific procedure — a reviewer can immediately distinguish a real hazard assessment from a generic template. For students without lab access, the risk assessment may be written for a procedure to be performed as a secondary data analysis exercise using published data; the assessment must still document the real hazards of the specific named reagents involved.
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Milestone map
3 milestones
Select a specific named laboratory procedure and systematically identify all hazards it presents: chemical, biological, physical, and fire or electrical risks. Accessible alternative: if physical laboratory access is unavailable, conduct the hazard identification for a documented published procedure using freely available safety data sheets (SDS) from PubChem or ECHA — the intellectual rigour of hazard identification is identical for both routes. A good risk assessment requires genuine engagement with what can go wrong, not a list of generic laboratory dangers.
Proof required
Submit the procedure specification (the specific named technique, the chemicals or biological materials involved, the equipment used, and the scale of work) and a complete hazard identification table listing each distinct hazard, its category (chemical/biological/physical/fire-electrical), the specific harm it could cause, and the source of information used to identify it (SDS reference, regulation, or laboratory standard).
What gets checked
- Procedure is specific — not 'acid-base titration' but 'potentiometric acid-base titration of an unknown carbonate sample using 0.1M HCl with a glass electrode, 250mL beaker, and magnetic stirrer'
- Every hazard is linked to a source — SDS GHS hazard classification, COSHH regulation, RIDDOR category, or equivalent national standard; no hazard is asserted without a regulatory or data source
- Hazard identification covers all four categories — a risk assessment that only covers chemical hazards and ignores equipment pinch points, electrical equipment, or spillage fire risk is incomplete