RISK ASSESSMENT Mount Gravatt High School

Heating water
Written by: Yanina Anders on Commenced on: 15 Feb 2019 Expires: 15 May 2020

Classes for which experiment is required

Teacher: Anna Kapeleris (training code 2) Year Group: 8 Room Period Date
F18 4 Fri 22/2/19
Items to be prepared by laboratory technician (training code 2)
For 8 groups :
crus hed ice
thermometer (-10 to 110°C)

Temperature probe for teacher demo pleas e and dry ice if pos s ible?

Procedure or reference, including variations

Science Es s entials p 51

Equipment to be used
Bunsen burner
Potential hazards Standard handling procedures
Roaring flame is very hot and can caus e s evere burns . Ins pect and clean the jet and bas e of Buns en burners
Rapid pas s age of hand through fully luminous flame regularly. Ins pect and replace tube whenever any s ign of
us ually does not res ult in a burn. Roaring Buns en burner wear or damage is noticed. Us e only hos es of the
may "burn back" at low gas flow, with flame emerging correct s ize to ens ure a comfortable fit on both Buns en
from air holes in bas e; this makes the bas e of the burner and gas tap.
burner hot to touch and liable to caus e burns . Gas from
gas tap or from end of rubber tube burns with large
luminous flame, likely to caus e burns . Rubber hos e is
eas ily melted by flame from burner, e.g. if burner
knocked over, res ulting in fire from burn hole in tube.
Ens ure hair is tied back, s o does not catch alight.

gauze mat
Potential hazards
Edges of wire mat can s cratch s kin. Edges can catch on
clothes , e.g. jumper, caus ing the mat to be pulled off the
tripod, caus ing the object on top of the mat to fall, e.g.
beaker of boiling liquid. Mat can be thrown, ninja-s tyle;
pos s ibility of eye injury. Avoid touching gauze mat while
hot as may caus e burns .
Standard handling procedures
Explain the ins tability of tripod and gauze and ens ure
that tripod and gauze are s et well back from edge of
bench. Avoid wide s leeves that can catch on the gauze
mat and tripod, caus ing them to fall. Gauze mats with
ceramic centres s hould not be us ed as the central region
may contain as bes tos . Any mats s us pected of containing
as bes tos s hould be tes ted and dis pos ed of
appropriately. Areas where mats were s tored s hould be
cleaned appropriately to remove any as bes tos fibres .

match
Potential hazards
Ignition s ource. If us ed to light buns en burner, light
match before turning on gas to avoid explos ive ignition of
air-gas mixture. May burn fingers if held too long.
Standard handling procedures
Keep dry. Ens ure properly extinguis hed after us e. Us ed
matches s hould never be returned to the box. Count
boxes out and in.

probe
Potential hazards
May be us ed as a weapon.

retort stand
Potential hazards
Centre of mas s of s upported object is often high and the
s tand may topple over.

thermometer
Potential hazards Standard handling procedures
Pos s ibility of breakage and s evere cuts when ins erting Ins pect and dis card if damaged. Never force a
 or removing from fittings e.g. corks , rubber bungs . If
us ing a mercury thermometer and the bulb breaks , toxic
mercury will be releas ed.
thermometer into a cork or rubber bung. Sweep up
broken glas s with brus h and dus tpan; do not us e
fingers . If mercury thermometer breaks , mix broken
pieces with s ulfur, to react with any mercury es caping,
and pack the pieces and s ulfur in a container with more
s ulfur before dis pos al to garbage. Sprinkle s ulfur
liberally where mercury droplets may have lodged, or
s pray with s odium thios ulfate s olution. Better to us e
alcohol thermometer, where pos s ible for low
temperature ranges .

Chemicals to be used
carbon dioxide, solid (dry ice) CO 2
UN: 1845 CAS : 124-38-9
Clas s : 9 PG: III Us ers : Tch* Training: 1-5

GHS data:
Caus es s evere s kin burns and eye damage
WARNING
May caus e drows ines s and dizzines s

Potential hazards Standard handling procedures

Caus es fros tbite or "burns " on contact with s kin. Evolved
gas is toxic at high concentrations in air due to
abs orption through lungs into blood, lowering the pH.
Magnes ium burns in a block of dry ice to form
magnes ium oxide and carbon.
DO NOT PLACE DRY ICE IN A CLOSED CONTAINER SINCE
THE CONTAINER MAY EXPLODE. Wear heavy ins ulating
gloves when handling dry ice. Do not trans port in a lift
with people due to pos s ibility of lift failure and
as phyxiation.

water, solid (ice) H2 O

CAS : 7732-18-5
Clas s : nc PG: none Us ers : K-12 Training: 1-6

GHS data: Not clas s ified as a hazardous chemical.

Potential hazards
Fingers may s tick to s urface of ice at low temperatures ,
caus ing s kin to rip off when finger pulled away.

Knowledge
I have read and unders tood the potential hazards and s tandard handling procedures of all the equipment, chemicals
and biological items , including living organis ms .
I have read and unders tood the Safety Data Sheets for all hazardous chemicals us ed in the experiment.
I have copies of the Safety Data Sheets of all the hazardous chemicals available in or near the laboratory.

Risk assessment
I have cons idered the ris ks of:
fire or explos ion breakage of equipment expos ure to pathogens was te dis pos al
chemicals in eyes injuries from equipment injuries from animals improper labelling/s torage
inhalation of gas /dus t rotating equipment intens e light/las ers inappropriate behaviour
chemicals on s kin electrical s hock UV, IR, nuclear radiation communication is s ues
inges tion of chemicals vibration or nois e pres s ure ins ide equipment allergies
runaway reaction s harp objects heavy lifting s pecial needs
heat or cold falling or flying objects s lipping, tripping, falling other ris ks

Certification by Teacher
I have as s es s ed the ris ks as s ociated with performing this experiment in the clas s room on the bas is of likelihood and
cons equences us ing the School's ris k matrix, according to International Organization for Standardization Standard ISO
31000:2009.

I cons ider the inherent level of ris k (ris k level without control meas ures ) to be:
Low ris k Medium risk High ris k Extreme ris k

Control meas ures :

Additional meas ures : s afety glas s es , demons tration

With the s pecified control meas ures in place, I have found that all the ris ks are "low ris k". Ris ks will therefore be
managed by routine procedures in the clas s room, in combination with the s pecified control meas ures .
Electronic Signature: Anna Kapeleris Date: 15 Feb 2019

You have provided an electronic s ignature which is the equivalent of s igning your name with a pen and as s uch will
cons titute a legally binding agreement between the relevant parties . We can give no warranty in res pect to fraud or
s ecurity breach res ulting from the us e of an electronic s ignature.

Certification by Laboratory Technician

I have as s es s ed the ris ks as s ociated with preparing the equipment, chemicals and and biological items , including living
organis ms , for this experiment and s ubs equently cleaning up after the experiment and dis pos ing of was tes , on the bas is
of likelihood and cons equences us ing the School's ris k matrix, according to International Organization for Standardization
Standard ISO 31000:2009.

I cons ider the inherent level of ris k (ris k level without control meas ures ) to be:
Low risk Medium ris k High ris k Extreme ris k

Ris ks will therefore be managed by routine procedures in the laboratory.

Name: Signature: Date:

Monitoring and review

This ris k as s es s ment will be monitored us ing comments below and will be reviewed within 15 months from the date of
certification.

Attach further pages as required