Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management

Phenol Quiz

Please complete the below Phenol Quiz by clicking on the box that best represents a correct answer.

Once you have completed the quiz click the "Submit to EHS&RM" button and the quiz will be emailed directly to fysafety@uaf.edu. Your quiz will be graded and entered into the safety training database.

First Name:

Last Name:

Department:

Department PO Box Number:

Email Address:

Employee or Student Identification Number:

Are you:

Staff / Faculty / UAF Student Employee
UAF Student (if you are a UAF student AND a UAF student employee click above)
Volunteer
Non Affiliate

1. Jamie walks into a laboratory and notices a broken bottle of liquid phenol on the floor, she immediately detects a sweet, tar-like odor in the air. What should she do?:

Immediately remove ignition sources, evacuate any personnel, close the lab doors, and call EHS&RM Division of Hazardous Materials.
Inhale deeply because she really likes the smell.
Sweep up the glass and crystals before dumping them into the trash.
Run screaming down the hall for help.

2. Phenol has all of the following properties, EXCEPT:

It turns pink to red when exposed to air.
It is slightly soluble in water.
It has a high vapor pressure.
It has a sweet, tar-like odor.

3. Chloroform will enhance the absorption of phenol through the skin.

True
False

4. A tube containing phenol has broken in the centrifuge. What do you do?:

Immediately open the centrifuge and dump the broken tube in the trash.
Wait 10 minutes before opening the centrifuge in the hood to remove broken tube.
Go home for the day and pretend you know nothing about it.
Pour sodium hydroxide solution into the rotor in order to neutralize the phenol before it corrodes the metal.

5. Absorption of phenol through the skin may be disguised by a loss of pain sensation.

True
False

6. All of the following are proper storage protocols for phenol, EXCEPT:

Keep in a tightly closed container.
Keep out of direct sunlight.
Store in the oxidizer cabinet.
Store separately from bases.

7. Bert forgot to wear the proper PPE when working with phenol and accidentally got some phenol on his hands. He should:

Immediately start using polyethylene glycol, glycerol or vegetable oil to remove any phenol contaminants from his hands.
Wash with soap and water for 15 minutes after using polyethylene glycol, glycerol or vegetable oil.
Call 474-7721 or 911 and state he has been exposed to phenol and where he is located.
All of the above.

8. Which of the following gloves are acceptable for use with phenol?:

Butyl rubber or Viton
Nitrile
Latex
Platex dishwashing gloves

9. If you smell phenol, you are likely over the permissible exposure limit.

True
False

10. A phenol spill/exposure kit should contain all of the following, EXCEPT:

Sand, vermiculite or other noncombustible absorbent material.
Polyethylene glycol, glycerol or vegetable oil.
A copy of the CDC phenol exposure information.
A good book to read in the emergency room while you are waiting to be treated for phenol exposure.