ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the hazards of working with chemicals in a laboratory. It outlines the legislative framework for using hazardous substances in the workplace. The chapter highlights some sources of hazard information for carrying out hazard and risk assessments. Hazard is the set of inherent properties of a chemical substance that make it capable of causing adverse effects in people or the environment when a particular degree of exposure occurs. Good laboratory and manufacturing practices are encoded in national and international health and safety legislation, and they place emphasis on the key attitudes to be adopted when handling and working with chemical substances. Solvents are fire, health and environmental hazards, and caution is necessary when using these substances in a laboratory environment. Many inorganic reagents used in organic syntheses are highly reactive and have corrosive properties, which cause immediate and severe damage in contact with the skin, eyes or by inhalation as vapours, dusts or mists.
