Lab Safety Series: Laboratory Glassware Safety
This comprehensive laboratory glassware safety course teaches essential skills for the safe inspection, handling, transport, assembly, heating, cleaning, and disposal of laboratory glassware. Designed for laboratory personnel at all levels, the course addresses the critical gap between informal on-the-job learning and documented safety practices, recognizing that glassware-related injuries remain among the most common laboratory incidents due to the familiarity that leads to complacency. Participants will learn to identify hazards associated with damaged glassware, master proper inspection procedures, apply safe handling and thermal management techniques, understand appropriate disposal methods for both clean and contaminated broken glass, and respond correctly to glass-related incidents. Through real-world case studies from OSHA accident records and evidence-based practices from leading university safety programs, learners develop practical skills that reduce laceration risk while preventing the secondary hazards of chemical exposure, contamination, and thermal injuries that often accompany glassware failures in laboratory environments.
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Course Details
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify common types of laboratory glassware and explain their basic uses
- Recognize hazards associated with broken, chipped, cracked, scratched, or thermally stressed glassware
- Inspect glassware before use and remove damaged items from service
- Demonstrate proper handling, transport, and setup techniques for common laboratory glassware
- Apply safe methods for inserting and removing glass tubing and thermometers from stoppers or tubing
- Explain safe heating practices, thermal shock risks, and prevention methods
- Distinguish between proper disposal methods for clean broken glass and contaminated broken glass, including when sharps containers are required
- Describe reporting expectations for lacerations, splash exposures, and other glass-related laboratory incidents
