RISK ASSESSMENT Mark Oliphant College

Combustion
Written by: Jade Francey Commenced on: 4 Jun 2017 Expires: 4 Sep 2018

Classes for which experiment is required

Teacher: Steph Wotton (us er code 2) Year Group: 9 Room Period Date
15.3 Block 2 (Les s on 3& 4) Wed 7/6/17
Items to be prepared by laboratory technician (user code 2)
x10 groups of:

x1 buns en burner
x3 pieces magnes ium ribbon
x1 metal tongs
x1 dropper bottle hydrochloric acid
x2 tes t tubes

x1 box matches for clas s

Procedure or reference, including variations

Science by Doing
Year 9 Chemical Reactions
Activity 4.3

Equipment to be used
box of matches
Potential hazards Standard handling procedures
Box burns violently if ignited. Keep dry. Us ed matches s hould never be returned to the
box. Count boxes out and in.

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.

metal tongs
Potential hazards
Pos s ibility of burns as tongs retain heat. Us e heatproof
gloves if hot.

test tube, medium (~150 x 15 mm), borosilicate ("pyrex")

Potential hazards Standard handling procedures
Breakage of tes t tubes . Cuts from chipped tes t-tube Ins pect and dis card any damaged tes t tubes . Sweep up
rims . Small tes t tubes more likely to eject material broken glas s with brus h and dus tpan; do not us e
during exothermic reactions . fingers .

Chemicals to be used and produced

hydrochloric acid <3 M (<10% wt/wt) HCl(aq)
Clas s : nc PG: none 7-12 Us ers : (1,2,3,4,5) CAS : 7647-01-0

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

Potential hazards Standard handling procedures
Higher concentrations irritate eyes , lungs and s kin. Avoid inhalation of vapour.

magnesium, ribbon Mg
 magnesium, ribbon Mg
Clas s : 4.1 PG: III 7-12 Us ers : 1,2,5 UN: 1869 CAS : 7439-95-4

GHS data:

DANGER In contact with water releas es flammable gas es which may ignite s pontaneous ly

Potential hazards Standard handling procedures

Burns with white-hot flame; UV radiation emitted from Keep containers tightly s ealed to prevent corros ion.
flame may caus e eye damage; do not allow s tudents to
view flame from clos e dis tance. Reaction with ethanol
may be violent after a long induction period. Reactions of
magnes ium with dichromate s alts , nitrate s alts , s ulfur,
phos phorus or halogenated s olvents can be dangerous ly
violent. Reaction of magnes ium with s ilica (s and) to form
s ilicon may be dangerous ly exothermic if the s ilica is not
completely dry. Do not us e magnes ium as an alternative
to aluminium in the thermite reaction; the reaction is
dangerous ly explos ive. Magnes ium ribbon can, however,
be us ed as a fus e for the thermite reaction.

Knowledge
I have read and unders tood the potential hazards and s tandard handling procedures of all the equipment, chemicals
and living organis ms .
I have read and unders tood the (Material) Safety Data Sheets for all chemicals us ed and produced.
I have copies of the (Material) Safety Data Sheets of all the chemicals available in or near the laboratory.

Risk assessment
I have cons idered the ris ks of:
fire breakage of equipment electrical s hock radiation
explos ion cuts from equipment es cape of pathogens was te dis pos al
chemicals in eyes s harp objects heavy lifting inappropriate behaviour
inhalation of gas /dus t rotating equipment s lipping, tripping, falling allergies
chemicals on s kin vibration and nois e falling objects s pecial needs
runaway reaction pres s ure heat and cold 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 and the Ris k Management Guidelines , HB 436:2013.

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 , lab coat

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: Stephanie Wotton Date: 4 Jun 2017

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 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 and
the Ris k Management Guidelines , HB 436:2013.

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.

Electronic Signature: Sheree McPeak Date: 5 Jun 2017
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.

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