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Question: What kind of precautions do you have to take when playing with liquid nitrogen?
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Asked by QuentinThePineCone to Sophie, Adam on 13 Mar 2018.Question: What kind of precautions do you have to take when playing with liquid nitrogen?
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Comments
Breandan commented on :
Lol – don’t play with any chemicals!
If you were conducting a serious science experiment involving liquid nitrogen, one of the first things you’d need to do is a risk assessment, part of that would be can you achieve the low temperatures (which is probably what is would be being used for) in any other way? If not then you would need to make sure that your lab has the right equipment to store and handle it, in case of liquid nitrogen, depending on how you were handling it, you would likely need Personal Protective Equipment capable of protecting yourself and any other scientists involved from a -195°C liquid. This would be heavy gloves/gauntlets, full face mask and coat all tested and rated to protect the wearer from splashes of very very cold liquid! You’d also want a clear plan for what you’re going to do with it, who will touch what, write down your procedure, practice it and have a plan for what you will do if something goes wrong (eg. nearest hospital, a plan for how to get there etc).
A scientific approach to understanding the risks in an experiment and taking steps to control or lessen those risks is an important part of modern science.
But still… don’t play with chemicals kids!
QuentinThePineCone commented on :
Thank you so much – that was really detailed!