From: John Callen <jbcallen**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] demonstration safety shield material
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 19:31:01 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 52BBE28F-1E8B-4C2F-AEE4-7B6938FF7A4C**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
In-Reply-To
Heather,
If you are going to put up a plastic barrier, make sure the plastic will be resistant to the chemicals and heat/flame/explosions in the lab.
Construction grade polycarbonate under the trade name "Lexan" is a better choice than clear acrylic under the trade name "Plexiglass."
Lexan has the higher impact resistance of the two and will (in most cases) bend rather than crack.
Besides being less inclined to discoloration, Plexiglass is more scratch-resistant and tends to be the less costly, but is does not have the same strength as Lexan.
Please note that Lexan discoloration should not be an issue since its use will be indoors as opposed to outside (think UV exposure)..
Try to get consensus from the DCHAS Group since there are some who are pro-plastic barriers and some who are con-plastic barriers.
Be Safe, Secure & Sound in Judgement, Vigilant as Always and Stay Well!
We are putting up plexi shields to that clamp on the bench to divide them in half so students can work at opposite ends of the bench, facing each other. My department chair just suggested that we order some of them in a "thicker plexi" so they can be repurposed as demonstration shields, something I have been advocating for for several years now. Looking online, the shields I am finding are listed as "thick polycarbonate" (one site specifically said 3/16 in) or "acrylic". Is there something more specific that you can recommend? Members of my department really like to push beyond the boundaries of what I consider safe for chemistry demos, so I would love to protect students however I can.
Thank you,
Heather Wages Zimmer
Science Department
Outreach Team
Norris House Advisor
Milton Academy
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