Here are 10 bad laboratory practices that can compromise safety, data quality, and reliability of the laboratory.
Not Wearing Proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Failing to wear gloves, goggles, lab coats, or other required PPE increases the risk of injury, contamination, and exposure to hazardous substances.
Mislabeling or not labeling samples can lead to mix-ups, compromised results, and potential safety hazards, especially with hazardous substances.
Using uncalibrated equipment (e.g., pipettes, scales, spectrophotometers) can result in inaccurate data, making experiments unreliable.
Disposing of chemicals, biological samples, or hazardous materials in regular trash or down the sink can cause contamination, harm to the environment, and safety hazards for others.
Eating, Drinking, or Storing Food in the Lab: Consuming or keeping food in the lab area risks contamination and exposure to chemicals or biological agents, which can pose serious health risks.
Skipping Documentation and Record-Keeping: Poor or missing documentation (such as omitting dates, sample IDs, or method details) makes it difficult to replicate experiments and trace errors, reducing data reliability.
Neglecting to clean benches, glassware, or instruments properly can lead to cross-contamination, especially in microbiological or chemical labs.
Overlooking established lab safety protocols, like not reading Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or skipping emergency procedures, increases risks for accidents and injuries.
Storing incompatible chemicals together or neglecting proper temperature and humidity conditions can lead to dangerous reactions, degradation, or loss of sample integrity.
Taking shortcuts, skipping steps, or failing to follow protocols precisely can lead to inaccurate results, failed experiments, and increased risks of accidents or errors.