Beyond chemicals, microscopes, and glassware, a properly stocked school laboratory means going beyond these basics; it’s about investing in safety!
It is an ethical and regulatory requirement for all school labs in Kenya to have and maintain quality lab safety equipment. By doing so you will be able to safeguard not just the students who participate in the practical lessons, but also the teachers' offering lessons, as well as the school laboratory technicians within the lab.
This blog post will look into all the safety equipment that you will need to ensure safety is guaranteed in the laboratory to minimize injuries and facilitate a safe and lab conducive environment.
List of 8 essential lab safety equipment every school should consider having:
1. Safety Goggles
Safety goggles have the ability to shield lab personnels from doing things related to chemicals. They prevent the eyes from spills, smoke, and sparks. They are among the essential items of personal protective equipment in any school laboratory.
During practical classes, especially those involving chemicals, glass apparatus, heat, and other sensitive experiments, students may be subjected to harmful splashes, vapors, broken pieces of glass, or flying particles.
We have high-quality safety goggles that will effectively protect the eyes of students in your care. They come in a clear color that allows the individuals to see clearly what is happening.
Every student and laboratory technician should be wearing these laboratory safety glasses any time in practical lessons. It’s a vital investment that will contribute immensely towards a culture of lab safety and can prevent eye injuries for years to come.
With KES 350 you'll be able to get our safety goggles that will help you prevent yourself from getting harmed.
2. Lab Coats
Lab coats protective attire works to protect students and teachers against stray chemical splashes, stains and spills from reaching their clothing and in turn their skin. They are also used to prevent the personnel from dust, especially when using chalk.
Our lab coats come in different sizes including S, M, L, XL, XXL, both of them cost KES 2,240. These pieces of protective gear are also good at maintaining a uniform and professional environment in the laboratory.
Schools should make sure they have invested in lab coats to hand out for any lab work. Our lab coats are made of pure cotton to ensure comfort, durability, and safety in mind.
3. Fire Extinguishers
Fire extinguishers are a must and should be placed in many areas with any science lab.
Many lab experiments involve the use of highly flammable materials, or the setup of heat sources and electrically powered apparatus which are potential triggers for fires.
Having a reliable fire extinguisher could mean the difference between containment of a small kitchen fire and its escalation to a full laboratory blaze, potentially damaging costly equipment and even injuring individuals. It makes perfect sense to have quality fire extinguishing equipment strategically positioned and well maintained to minimize the impact of an emergency.
4. First Aid Kit
As much as safety procedures and protocols can minimize the likelihood of lab accidents occurring, there will always be a minor degree of risk.
The best practice is therefore for a first aid kit to be fully stocked, easily accessible and up to date in your school laboratory to attend any minor injuries. They are usually placed in many areas in the lab to ensure each and every student can reach it easily.
They come in different sizes, starting from small, medium, and large in capacity. Both of them are well packed with essential items that will allow you to be able to perform various emergencies.
The first aid kit is important in reducing the severity of the accident. The small first aid kit goes at KES 3,000 while the medium one goes at a cost of KES 4,500. They are both available at our store and you can click the links to make an order.
5. Eye Wash Stations
The wash stations are essential for rapid rinsing after the chemical spills. In the unfortunate event that someone suffers a chemical splash on their eyes, rapid and immediate rinsing is crucial.
Eye wash stations provide an instantaneous solution that flushes the harmful chemical out, thus reducing the likelihood of vision loss or severe ocular damage. Any school laboratory handling acids, bases, and other reactive chemicals must have a purpose-built, operational eye wash station in an easily accessible location.
This critical safety feature showcases the school’s commitment to its duty of care and may prove indispensable.
6. Disposable Protective Gloves
Normal lab safety for hands is basic and suitable when working with glass, biological samples, and hazardous low-level lab chemicals. Example the latex disposable safety gloves protect the user from cross-contamination, small chemical splashes and direct skin contact with anything that can irritate skin.
Latex, Nitrile and Vinyl gloves are most common for these applications and in particular, Nitrile gloves can be popular as they offer some protection against chemical splashes, have good strength, and wear very well against punctures.
Every school lab should be equipped with disposable safety gloves for everyday practical work. With our quality gloves, you will protect yourself from direct chemicals.
7. Acid proof gloves
For protection of the corrosive substances, handling concentrated Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric acid and Nitric Acid, ordinary lab safety gloves offer little protection. These types of gloves, known as ‘acid proof gloves’ resist corrosive materials to keep hands safer when carrying out potentially hazardous lab work.
Lab technicians working in secondary school science classrooms who are using concentrated forms of these substances should be wearing a pair of durable gloves made of materials such as Neoprene or Butyl rubber as well as heavier grades of nitrile or equivalent.
Acid protection should form the basis of every glove safety requirement in the lab.
All the above safety equipment are available in our store and you can shop them and get to enjoy 20% off the fire extinguishers. We also deliveries countrywide!