Question12 Below are the structures of two compounds you encountered in Practical 3 'Enzymes' and Practical 5 'Glycolysis' laboratory classes, respectively. Compound A: p-nitrophenol Compound B: Perchloric acid Both compounds are used in biochemical assays, but they differ in their hazard profiles. Which of the following options best describes the appropriate safety precautions when handling these compounds? Select one alternative: Only Compound B requires gloves, as Compound A is volatile and should be handled in a fume hood. Compound A requires gloves and eye protection due to its ability to be absorbed through the skin and cause irritation. Compound B is less hazardous but should still be handled with standard personal protective equipment. Both compounds are equally hazardous and always require full personal protective equipment. Compound A is non-toxic, while Compound B requires full personal protective equipment. Neither compound is hazardous but should still be handled with standard personal protective equipment. ResetMaximum marks: 1 Flag question undefined

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

We begin by parsing the question and the given answer choices.
Option 1: 'Only Compound B requires gloves, as Compound A is volatile and should be handled in a fume hood.' This statement assigns a fume-hood requirement to Compound A solely due to volatility, and suggests gloves for Compound B only; however, this ignores the potential for skin absorption or irritation from Compound A and does not account for standard safety practices that call for protective gear beyond a fume hood for many chemical hazards. Moreover, it implies Compound A is volatile, which may not be the primary hazard profile in biochemical lab contexts.
Option 2: 'Compound A requires gloves and eye protection due to its ability to be absorbed through the skin and cause irritation. Compound B is less hazardous but should still be handled with standard personal protective equipment.' This option acknowledges that Compound A poses skin absorption and irritation risks, justifying gloves and eye protection, and it also recognizes that Compound B, while comparatively less hazardous, still warrants standard PPE, not neglecting safety.
Option 3: 'Both compounds are equally hazardous and always require full personal protective equipment.' This overstates safety for Compound B by claiming full PPE is always required for both, which may not reflect relative hazard levels and could be unnecessarily conservative for less hazardous substances. It also fails to distinguish between standard PPE and more protective measures when not warranted.
Option 4: 'Compound A is non-toxic, while Compound B requires full personal protective equipment.' Labeling Compound A as non-toxic contradicts typical safety data where p-nitrophenol (Compound A) and similar nitroaromatic species can cause irritation or more, so assuming non-toxicity is inaccurate. Recommending full PPE for Compound B only also ignores appropriate PPE levels for different exposure routes and tasks.
Option 5: 'Neither compound is hazardous but should still be handled with standard personal protective equipment.' This downplays hazards that are typically present with these kinds of reagents and would be inappropriate if either compound has documented irritant, corrosive, or toxic properties. Even standard PPE is a minimum; the statement may mischaracterize hazard potential.
In summary, the options differ in how they rank hazard and prescribe PPE. The most balanced and accurate approach among the choices appears to be Option 2, which assigns protective gloves and eye protection to Compound A due to skin absorption and irritation concerns, while still prescribing standard PPE for the less hazardous Compound B. The other options either overstate or understate hazards, or make inaccurate claims about toxicity or required protection, which could mislead safe handling practices.

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