Five pieces of safety gear cover a home biology bench. Each one only works if it is on, in reach and used the right way.
Eyes, hands and skin first.
Goggles
Wear goggles whenever liquid, glass or a flame is on the bench. Look for Z87 or Z87+ marked on the frame, which shows eye protection tested to the ANSI Z87.1 standard. Splash goggles also carry a D3 mark.
Everyday glasses leave gaps at the sides and top. Goggles that seal around the eyes stop splashes from those directions, and many fit over prescription glasses.
Anti-fog lenses stay clear through a long session. Rinse the goggles with soap and water afterward and store them in a bag away from dust.
Nitrile gloves
Nitrile resists punctures and many chemicals, and it avoids latex allergies. Change gloves when they tear, when they get contaminated, and before you touch your phone or a doorknob.
The outside of a used glove is the dirty side, so take gloves off without touching it with bare skin. These are the steps the CDC teaches.
With one gloved hand, grasp the palm of the other glove. Do not touch your bare skin.
Peel it away from your body, pulling it inside out.
Hold that glove in your still-gloved hand.
Slide your bare fingers inside the second glove at the top of the wrist.
Peel the second glove off inside out, leaving the first glove wrapped inside it.
Throw both away and wash your hands right away. Do not reuse gloves.
Lab coat
A lab coat keeps stains, agar and chemicals off your clothes and skin. Wear it buttoned, with the sleeves down.
Take it off before you leave the bench area and wash it separately from other laundry.
Eyewash
A chemical in the eye needs flushing at once. The ANSI Z358.1 standard that workplaces follow calls for a hands-free station delivering flushing fluid for 15 minutes, within about 10 seconds of the hazard.
A home bench rarely has a plumbed station, so keep sealed eyewash bottles on the wall beside the bench. Use them on the way to a sink or shower, where you keep flushing with running water for the full 15 minutes.
Fire extinguisher
An alcohol lamp, a hot plate and bottles of ethanol share the same bench. Keep a home extinguisher rated for flammable liquids and electrical fires mounted near the exit, where you can grab it on the way out.
Check the pressure gauge now and then. If a fire is bigger than a wastebasket or growing, leave and call 911.
Bench habits that prevent most accidents
No food or drinks on the bench. Label every bottle and tube with what it holds and the date. Tie back long hair near a flame. Wash your hands when you finish, even if you wore gloves.
Broken slides and cover slips are the injury a home bench actually produces. Sweep the pieces up with card, never fingers, and put them in a rigid closed container that goes in the trash whole.
Safety equipment on Amazon
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Goggles
TR Industrial anti-fog lab safety goggles
Wide-vision lab safety goggles with anti-fog lenses, approved to ANSI Z87.1.
No. Everyday glasses leave gaps at the sides and top. For workplaces, OSHA's eye protection rule, 29 CFR 1910.133(a)(3), requires anyone who wears prescription lenses to use eye protection with the prescription built in, or eye protection that fits over the glasses. The rule covers workplaces, not homes, and goggles that fit over glasses close the same gaps on a home bench.
Goggles, whenever liquid, glass or a flame is on the bench. Goggles that seal around the eyes stop splashes from the sides and top. Either way, look for Z87 or Z87+ marked on the frame, and D3 on splash goggles.
Grasp the palm of one glove with your other gloved hand and peel it off inside out. Hold it in your gloved hand, slide your bare fingers inside the second glove at the wrist and peel it off over the first. Throw both away and wash your hands. These are the steps the CDC teaches.
For 15 minutes, the time the ANSI Z358.1 eyewash standard calls for. Start with an eyewash bottle, then keep flushing with running water at a sink or shower, and call Poison Control or 911 once flushing has started.
A home extinguisher rated for flammable liquids and electrical fires, mounted near the exit. If a fire is bigger than a wastebasket or growing, leave and call 911.
