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Tips for working with glassware

Broken glass is one of the most common causes of laboratory injuries. In particular, cuts from forcing glass tubing into stoppers or plastic tubing are the most frequent kind of laboratory accident. To reduce the chance of cuts or punctures, use common sense when working with glassware. Inspect glassware for chips and cracks before use. When you cut glass, use hand protection and fire-polish all cut surfaces.

Follow these additional tips to reduce the risk of injury:

• Never use laboratory glassware to serve food or drinks.
• Use care in handling and storing glassware to avoid damaging it.
• Discard or repair any chipped or cracked items.
• Leave at least 10% air space in containers with positive closures.
• When possible, substitute plastic or metal connectors for glass connectors.
• Thoroughly clean and decontaminate glassware after each use.
• When inserting glass tubing into rubber stoppers, corks, or tubing:
  • Use adequate hand protection (e.g., gloves or a towel)
  • Lubricate the tubing
  • Hold hands close together to minimize movement if the glass breaks.
• Use thick-walled, round-bottomed glassware for vacuum operations. Flat-bottomed glassware is not as strong as round-bottomed glassware. Carefully handle vacuum-jacketed glassware to prevent implosions. Dewar flasks, vacuum desiccators, and other evacuated equipment should be taped or shielded and for vacuum work, use only glassware designed for that purpose.
• Large glass containers are highly susceptible to thermal shock. Heat/cool large glass containers slowly. Use Pyrex or heat-treated glass for heating operations.
• Do not use chromic acid to clean glassware, use a standard laboratory detergent. Chromic acid is extremely corrosive.

With proper precautions, work with glassware can be conducted safely.

• When handling cool flasks, grasp the neck with one hand and support the bottom with the other hand.
• Lift cool beakers by grasping the sides just below the rim. For large beakers, use two hands, one on the side and one supporting the bottom.
• Never carry bottles by their necks.
• Use a cart to transport large bottles of dense liquid.

Regardless of the precautions you take, glass may still break. Broken glass poses a hazard for puncture wounds and injection of hazardous chemicals.

• When handling cool flasks, grasp the neck with one hand and support the bottom with the other hand.
• Lift cool beakers by grasping the sides just below the rim. For large beakers, use two hands, one on the side and one supporting the bottom.
• Never carry bottles by their necks.
• Use a cart to transport large bottles of dense liquid.
• Do not pick up broken glass with bare or unprotected hands. Put on a pair of Kevlar gloves and use a brush and dustpan to clean up broken glass. Remove broken glass in sinks by using tongs for large pieces and cotton held by tongs for small pieces and slivers.
• Glass contaminated with biological, chemical or radioactive material must be decontaminated before disposal.

Frozen Glass Stoppers. Ground glass stoppers frozen by contact with base solutions may be hopelessly welded. Those welded by fluoride solutions may have built-up pressure of silicon tetrafluoride. Be careful when removing frozen glass stoppers.

First try soaking the stopper in hot water to expand the glass. If this doesn't work, try a special solution for freeing frozen joints:

• 10 parts chloral hydrate,
• 5 parts glycerin,
• 5 parts water and
• 3 parts concentrated HCl

Paint the solution on the frozen ground glass joint or immerse in the solution. If you need to remove a stopper by tapping, wrap the stopper in a cloth or paper towel and wear gloves to protect your hands and prevent injury in case of breakage.

Safety Equipment Ordering Information

Labs that have the potential to contain hazardous glass and plastic (items that can injure if disposed of in normal trash containers) should be equipped with Fisher Scientific glass containment boxes. Hazardous glass and plastic includes (but is not limited to): pasteur pipettes, other pipettes and tips, uncontaminated slides and cover slips and broken or fragile glass. Glass containment boxes can be ordered through VWR. The ordering information is indicated below:

Labs that have the potential to contain hazardous glass and plastic should also be equipped (or have access to) a pair of Kevlar gloves. These gloves can also be ordered through VWR:

To order these items contact VWR Customer Service at 1-800-932-5000.

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The Risk Unit is responsible for evaluating loss exposures, assessing liability, handling claims, promoting internal controls and developing effective safety and health programs. The corporate and student insurance plans are managed by this unit.