Essential Personal Protective Equipment for Any Lab

The laboratory can be a hazardous place. You may be working with hazardous materials such as corrosive chemicals or flames from a Bunsen burner. That’s why all laboratories have personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand. If you want to make sure your laboratory is up to safety standards, here are some examples of essential personal protective equipment for any lab.
Protective Eyewear
All laboratories—from university to professional spaces—require occupants to use protective eyewear. Most labs will make you don a pair of protective glasses or goggles as soon as you enter. Eye protection is essential to have on hand in any lab for experiments. Some laboratories will even have a variety of eyewear to be used with different experiments.
Outerwear
Some of the more important pieces of personal protective equipment in the lab fall under the outerwear category. This includes protective gear such as the laboratory gown or coat. Gloves are another crucial part of handling and working with any caustic materials. They’re important for any experiments you conduct around chemicals, organic materials, or other hazardous specimens.
Additional PPE
Along with eyewear and outerwear, some labs require further PPE for optimal protection. For lab technicians working with organic materials or chemicals, a face mask or guard may be required. Most labs have a guideline that all lab-goers must wear closed-toe shoes to protect their feet from spills or broken equipment. This is why you should always pay close attention to your laboratory guidelines and training.
The guidelines and specifications of every lab are going to be different, but all laboratories make use of PPE. These are examples of the essential personal protective equipment for any lab you can find in university labs, professional labs, and small-scale labs. Every lab should have these examples of safety equipment on hand.