What safety equipment is essential in a biotechnology lab?

In a biotechnology lab, safety goggles, gloves, lab coats, and fume hoods are essential safety equipment because they help protect personnel from various hazards commonly present in such environments.

Safety goggles protect the eyes from chemical splashes, flying debris, or infectious materials that could cause serious harm. Gloves are critical for preventing direct contact with harmful substances, including toxic chemicals and biological agents that could pose health risks. Lab coats serve as a barrier to protect the skin and personal clothing from spills or splashes that can occur with various reagents and samples. Finally, fume hoods are used to ventilate harmful or volatile substances, minimizing inhalation risks and providing a controlled environment for conducting potentially hazardous experiments.

Other choices, while they include some form of protection, do not align specifically with the primary safety requirements in a biotechnology lab. Hearing protection and reflectors might be applicable in other industrial settings that involve loud machinery, but they are not relevant to the typical activities in a biotech lab. Protective shoes and helmets are more associated with construction or fields where overhead hazards are common, while incubators and sterile bottles are essential for experiments but do not provide personal protective measures for the people working in the lab.