Lab Safety Series: Flammables and Explosives

This course teaches laboratory personnel how to recognize, store, handle, and respond to flammable, combustible, explosive, and reactive hazards in laboratory environments. Participants will learn that fire and explosion hazards often begin with ordinary conditions: open solvent bottles, vapor accumulation, poor storage decisions, incompatible chemicals, static discharge, aging peroxide-forming solvents, or unrecognized ignition sources. The course connects OSHA regulatory requirements with practical laboratory safety decisions.

At the end of this course, learners should be able to:

1. Define flammable, combustible, explosive, and reactive hazards in a laboratory context.
2. Explain flash point and vapor density basics and why they matter during storage and handling.
3. Identify common laboratory flammable chemicals and peroxide-forming chemicals and describe their major risks.
4. Recognize ignition sources, static-electricity hazards, and the purpose of bonding and grounding during certain transfers.
5. Apply cabinet storage, quantity-limit, segregation, labeling, secondary-containment, and ventilation principles for laboratory flammables.
6. Explain basic emergency response expectations for fires, explosions, peroxide hazards, and unsafe storage conditions.