Laboratory safety: theory and practice

Toxicity information is given for each chemical, and a section on hazards is included in appropriate experiments. However, be- yond the substitution of toluene for benzene, no attempt has heen made to avoid the use of hazardous chemicals, and some experiments will have to be modified or omitted in the interest of safety.

Several experiments utilizing IR, NMR, and GC are included. I was surprised to find only one experiment using TLC, but the de- sign of the hook allows such deficiencies to be remedied easily.

The author makes an effort to counteract the cookbook tendency of students by eom- pletely separating the operations from the experimental procedure. Procedures do not give information on what size flask to use in a distillation, how much solvent is to be used in an extraction, etc. Rather, the student is expected to deduce such information from the guidelines given in the opbration section. (The instructor's manual eives soecifies.1

BOOH REVIEUJJ I fication of biological agents, exempting strictlv animal oathoeens. Bibliomaohical

~. Co~aequrntly, inrtrurtora must be prrpared to deal w~th questam and inevitable errors

The hook is vew well written and well or-

which will result, particularly in earlier ex- periments. This is not a book to be used in a laboratory where instruction is casual, but where students get close supervision it is worth considering and has the potential for producing students who will know haw to work independently in an organic labora- tory.

James U. Piper SimmOns College

Boston. MA 02115

Laboratory Safety: Theory and Practice

Anthony A. Fuscaldo, Barry J. Erlich. and Barbara Hindman (Editors). Academic Press. New York 1980. xiv + 357 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $39.50.

This hook differs significantly in content from the laboratory safety books with which chemists commanlv are familiar. As such. i t will romplcmrnt the referenre mnnuals kl- ready prwent un a departmental lmokshelf. bur rt rs more likrly to find use as a lmrnary source in hiology departments.

The first section of the book deals in eon- cise fashion with General Laboratory Safety. This includes a chapter by well-known Nor- man V. Steere on Physical, Chemical, and Fire Safety. Another chapter deals with classes of toxic compounds and the evalua- tion of toxicity. A third covers radiation hazards.

The second section, Biological Laboratory Safety, has chapters on viruses and cancer, recombinant DNA research, and biohazards with lahoratory animals.

The remaining third of the book is devoted to Medical and Psychological Factors, cov- erine tooin outside of the exoerience of most .. . chemish. These include some medical prob- l e m uf laboratur). workers, rlrk nmessment. nnd ocrupatiunal health in a lahoratory, ge- netic monitoring, and behavioral factors (personnel characteristics and the modifi- cation of unsafe acts).

An Appendix carries a three-page classi-

. - . references are sparse.

The Preface comments in interesting fashion on the ironic relationship between actual hazards and the fears they engender in potential victims. Whereas, the health haz- ards resultingfrom the habitual ingestion of ethanol or frequent cigarette smoking have been well-publicized for years, their self- abuse still is widespread. Legislation to re- strict their use continually meets strong re- sistance. Conversely, the sight of a snake or sharks, even on film, makes many people re- coil with fear, despite the rarity of shark and snake attacks. Evidently, we fear most strongly what we do not understand or a n a t control. Whether one smokes, drinks, or drives a car is largely self-controlled; whether a shark attacks is notoriously unpredictable and is controlled by the shark rather than the person attacked.

Similar relationships between hazard and anxiety exist in the scientific laboratory. Overfamiliarity tends to make scientists at work on virulent pathogens and toxins view them with about as much fear as the general public feels for a cigarette or a congested freeway. This may, in unfortunate instances, lead to the harmine of laboratow workers. ~ ~

The editors of the hook have attempted to bridge the gap hptween frnr of the unknown and familiarity Ired of dnily work. They stress the important concept that even the best equipped and well-designed laboratory will be only as "safe" as the people who work in it. Without consideration of behavioral factors contributing to accidents, laboratory safety will he an administrator's theory rather than a laboratory reality.

Malcolm M. Renfrew University of Idaho MOSCOW. ID 83843

Chemical Equilibrium and Analysis Richard W. Ramene, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.. Reading. 1981. xv + 765 pp. Figs. and tables. 17 X 24 cm.

In recent vears there has aooeared an the . . market a laree number of introductorv nnn- ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~, ~~~

lytiral texrhwks. eithrr new offerings or re- vired editions of previously puhliihrd w<,rks. Within thisgraup there exists a tremendous range in terms of the amount of material covered, the depth of coverage of particular topics, the sequence of topics and of course the individual writing style of the suthor(s). To some extent, the foregoing is dictated hy the audience for whom the hook was intend- ed, i.e. chemistryversus non-chemistrymajor, life-science versus non-life-science, etc. and also whether the teat was designed for a normal single-semester course or for hoth semesters of a two-semester sequence that includes instrumental methods of analysis. "Chemical Equilibrium and Analysis" by Richard Ramette is clearly designed for use in a single-semester course and according to the author intended for hoth chemisrry and non-chemistry majors.

The topics covered are acid-base, redon, solubility, complexation, and distribution equilibria along with discussions on spec- trophotometrie analysis. The coverage is also quite thorough with approximately 600 pages of the text devoted to these few, yet essential topics.

ganized. One unique feature is the way in which a concept is carried throughout sub- sequent topics once it has been introduced. For example, the effect of ionic strength on equilibria is one of the first topics discussed and is used in every sample calculation for the remainder of the hook. Spectrophotometry is presented in an early chapter and is used later to calculate an acid dissociation con- stant, the end-point in a photometric titra- tions and a metal-complex formation con- stant in chapters on aeid-base equilibria, ti- trations, and complexation equilibria, re- spectively. Also, quite frequentb the relative accuracy of a sample calculation is made along with the numerical result, a cam- mendable practice.

Several of the sample calculations are taken from the literature with the references

~ ~

cired. Many other general r e f~rmrw are alio pruvideu, including e fmr number fnm t l w Journal, that would serve as a valuable aid to students interested in expanding their knowledge in certain areas.

The appendices are complete with a peri- odic table, atomic weights of the elements, molecular weights and formulas of over a hundred commonly used compounds, acid and hase dissociation constants for a large number of species and acid-base, redox and complexation equilibrium of selected ele- ments, by element. The more conventional listing of redox potentials by decreasing re- ducing strength is located in the text. The inside-back c&er contains critical data an the comoosition of stock solutions of freouentlv . , used ncidqand basrs, fur quick reference. A h prowdrd is a table used t,, e.tim=te mean nrr~vity corffirirnta of variudy charged ~ n s as a function of ionic strength.

The book presents nineteen well-chosen laboratory experiments, strictly inorganic in nature, that compliment very well the mate- rial developed in the text. They include a short statement of purpase, a list of materials needed, procedure and comments, and a sample lab report format.

There are few weak points in the book that are worth noting. One is the author's refusal to use units in most of his calculations. He even states on page 38, "Note the importance of keeping track of units," hut he leaves it as an exercise for his students throughout the tent. Another occurs when discussing the dissociation of a weak monoprotie acid which is represented as: HA e H + A, with no charge indicated on the conjugate base. The lack of charge balance might present some confusion of itself, but if not, the confusion will'certainly appear later on in the discussion of polyprotie acids where charges are in- cluded and the svmhol A is redefined as the sum of the umcentratrons of all t'orms of the wid. Aka. the chapter un distritutim eqw. libria is not thoruugh enough I t cvvers the extraction of an organic acid into a non- aqueous a,lwnr hut RIWS only a qualitative descrrptim uf how the pH uf rhr aqueous phase nffecu the disrrihurion wlthntlt oro- iiding a mathematical analysis. A&, it urohablv should have included a section on the ielective cxtrnvtim ot m~tsl-rhrlate complexes intu nnnnqueous 4vrnr*, n com- ~nunlv used dnalytical trchmqur.

Overall this bwk isquitegwd. I t ircnsyu, wad and follows d lugiral pwcreriim. It is suitable for use by both ch&&try and non-

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A176 Journal of Chemical Education