Dear Science,
Why do scientists wear lab coats? In every stereotypical scene of
a laboratory, you see scientists shaking flasks or micropipetting in
lab coats. What function do lab coats serve other than a sort of seal
of pure epistemological approval? Is it just to make them look more
official?
When I was in chemistry lab in school or working in my current
lab, I never understood the protective properties of lab coats. I’ve
heard explanations that range from protection of the scientists to
protection of the science itself. Scientists work with all sorts of
dangerous and strong acids, but how does a heavy cotton bathrobe
protect against concentrated hydrochloric, nitric, or hydrofluoric
acids? As for the samples, I’ve heard that the dust on my clothing will
contaminate them. While this is true for U-Pb dating, how does a lab
coat stop the dust from billowing outward?
Stylish
Sir or madam, your question makes Science think back to the times
when wearing a lab coat saved him from misery, pain, or
embarrassment. Like the time he was injecting mice with a
gene-therapy virus in a two-person hood, and his partner missed the
sharps container between them, dropping the mouse and virus-infested
needle onto Science’s lab-coat-covered leg instead. Science got
nary a scratch on the skin from that one. Or the time a student helper
grabbed a just-boiled beaker of water—remember, kids, hot
glass looks like cold glass—and dropped it and the scalding
water onto Science’s lab coat. Or the time he was wearing a
bleach-stained shirt with a mushroom cloud on it when television
cameras were rolled into the lab. All led to Science’s grand unified
theory of wearing a lab coat. One should wear a lab coat when:
1. Working with dangerous reagents, particularly in liquid form.
We’d all rather have all that thick cotton absorb the nasty stuff than
our skin.
2. Working with a new or careless colleague. Students are great
fun but tend to do foolish things.
3. Working with the public or the media looking for an authentic lab
experience.
But, as you note, lab coats aren’t all that protective or
useful—despite the dangers of much of what scientists work with
in a lab. Ethidium bromide, used to make DNA glow in gels, causes
stomach cancer. Acrylamide, used to make protein gels, is a nasty
neurotoxin. Many organic solvents, like carbon tetrachloride,
pummel the liver. The lab coat itself—white, long sleeved,
drooping nearly to the floor, with abundant pockets—acknowledges
these risks to health and longevity taken on by scientists for the
greater good. It’s a symbol of our altruism.
Imperilingly Yours,
Science
Send your science questions
to dearscience@thestranger.com
I was listening to the CBC’s ‘white coat, black art’ it’s a radio show about health-care in Canada.
On the topic of white coats, they had a doctor-historian, name escapes me, with a story, possibly anecdotal, about how the old medical/sciencey colour used to be BLACK… because it hid stains like, blood, vicera etc.
Once doctors got savvy to cleanliness being next to… not having clothing act as a vector for disease, they switched to white, because it showed stains better than not-at-all.
Anecdotally, the same could be true for SCIENCE!!
where is the stomach cancer reference? thanks.
I’m reminded of a time I was in a veterinarian lab and one of the doctors was shaking tubes of horse excrement mixed with chemicals to test for worms. One of the caps came flying off, and he was glad to be wearing his lab coat and goggles.
Another time, in a photography class, a woman didn’t have on her protective gear, and her polyester shirt melted when it got splashed with photo chemicals. A lab coat might not have saved her shirt but it would’ve saved her dignity.
If you’re the kind of scientist who works with electronics (think “rocket” scientist), the lab coat you wear is a Faraday cage that’s electrically grounded to protect the static sensitive components you work with. Some of the most sensitive circuits cost upwards of a million bucks apiece. They’re not the sort of thing you want to bake with electrostatic discharge.
Well – if you actually have a real job in a company that is regulated by either OSHA or the FDA you are required to wear lab coats in labs. And you have to remove them before you enter a “nonlab” area.