laboratory safety
Housekeeping is a safety control
Clear benches, labelled vessels, closed waste, and a dry floor are one control. Watch them applied during a single afternoon bench reset.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
Topic cluster
Laboratory safety
Biosafety levels, PPE, cabinets and sterilisation, written as educational guidance rather than an approval to proceed.
All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
biosafetyenquiryglossarytroubleshootingpipettesautoclavebenchescontainmentppereportingfume hoodsterilisationwastecabinetschemicalscylindersethidium bromidegels
26 articles
laboratory safety
Incident reporting without blame theatre
Incident, exposure, route, and corrective action are different words. This glossary shows what a useful report contains and what blame leaves out.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
laboratory safety
Load density and trapped air
Load density, trapped air, and steam contact are different ideas. This glossary says what each term means when a packed load fails to sterilise.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
laboratory safety
PPE that matches the task
Match the coat, the gloves, and the eye protection to the route a splash or a contamination would take. Extra layers are not automatically safer.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
laboratory safety
Pregnancy and specific agents need occupational advice
Some agents are a question for occupational health, not for a seller. This guide separates a catalogue line from an assessment a clinician must own.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
laboratory safety
Questions before a safety-equipment enquiry
Before you enquire about a cabinet or a hood, name who it protects, which test documents you will read, and who will maintain it.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
laboratory safety
Risk assessment is a local document
A risk assessment records the agent, the procedure, the people, the place, and the controls. Copying another laboratory's sheet does not create one.
8 October 2026 · 10 min read
laboratory safety
Sharps and glass pasteur pipettes
A glass Pasteur pipette is a sharp in the middle of an ordinary transfer. Substitution and the waste stream are institutional decisions.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
laboratory safety
Spill cleanup starts with the substance identity
Name the spilled material before you reach for a cloth. Biological, acid, solvent, and cryogen spills do not share one cleanup method.
8 October 2026 · 10 min read
laboratory safety
Training records and who may use a cabinet
A certified cabinet is not a trained user. The record should show who was shown the airflow, the sash height, and the signs of failure.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
laboratory safety
UV light on a transilluminator
Eye pain after a gel, a shield left up, and DNA that will not clone are different symptoms of the same lamp. The shield and the interlock are the controls.
8 October 2026 · 10 min read
laboratory safety
Waste streams chemical biological and ordinary
Chemical, biological, sharps, and ordinary waste fail when they share a container. Follow one afternoon and see where the streams must stay apart.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read