Recognising laboratory hazards
Lab Edu3
Physical hazards
Heat, pressure, noise, sharp edges.
Step 3 / 6VOICE · ON
IN ONE LINE
Every lab hazard falls into one of five families — learn to spot them on sight.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Name the five core hazard categories found in any laboratory.
Identify hazards from labels, pictograms and the Safety Data Sheet.
Apply the precautionary principle to anything unlabelled or unknown.
READ THE LESSON
Hazards come in families
Almost every risk in a lab is chemical, biological, physical, electrical or ergonomic. Learning these five families gives you a mental checklist you can run the moment you walk up to a bench.
The label is your first warning
GHS pictograms, signal words and the SDS exist so you never have to guess. Before you move, open or heat anything, confirm what it is and what it can do.
When in doubt, treat it as dangerous
An unlabelled bottle, an unfamiliar smell, a warm reaction flask — uncertainty is itself a hazard. Stop, ask, and verify before continuing.
Remember
If you can't identify it, you can't handle it safely. Unknown = hazardous until proven otherwise.
QUICK CHECK
1 / 5How many core hazard families does the lesson group lab risks into?
Select an answer to continue
CORE · 01
KEY POINTS
Five families: chemical, biological, physical, electrical, ergonomic.
Read the label and SDS before you act.
GHS pictograms communicate hazard at a glance.
Unlabelled or unknown is treated as hazardous.
REFERENCES
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 — Hazard Communication
GHS Rev. 9 — UN, 2021
Prudent Practices in the Laboratory, NRC 2011
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