If there is something that all laboratories have in common, it is bottles and bottles of chemicals. And if we are not diligent in handling and storing these bottles properly, problems will arise.

This month's cover story invites you to take a walk through your lab and look at everything as though seeing it for the first time, through unbiased eyes. Is there unnecessary clutter? Have your labcoats outlived their usefulness? What is the condition of your lab's extension cords? This simple exercise can help you develop a keener eye towards lab safety.

Probably the single most common item of personal protection in the laboratory is the glove. Yet it is also the item most likely to receive the least amount of thought or consideration and may be the most misunderstood.

Effective emergency management requires preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery to protect personnel, samples, records and operations.

Smart chemical waste management relies on a written program, accurate characterization of waste and an understanding of accumulation guidelines.

The case for an effective emergency shower and eyewash program

As we say over and over again, chemical safety begins with a good working knowledge of the chemicals you use and their hazardous properties. When incompatible materials contact each other the result can lead to explosion, the evolution of toxic or or flammable gas, or both.