User:Shawndouglas/sandbox/sublevel5

A laboratory refrigerator is a common laboratory appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic, or chemical) which transfers heat from the inside of the unit to its external environment so that the inside is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room. Related is the laboratory freezer, which like the refrigerator cools the inside, but in this case to a temperature below the freezing point of water (at a minimum) or much below it, depending on the substance being frozen. As such, the laboratory refrigerator and freezer are quite similar to an ordinary residential refrigerator and freezer in that regard. However, the laboratory refrigerator tends to have smaller, more confined spaces which can trap escaping vapors of toxic or even flammable nature, meaning that several safety precautions must be taken when using a laboratory refrigerator. This includes:

• Never placing personnel's consumable foods and beverages in the laboratory refrigerator and freezer;
• Never placing flammable substances in the laboratory refrigerator and freezer, unless it is comes directly from the manufacturer as being rated to standards such as NFPA Standard 99 (formerly 56C), Underwriters Laboratories, DIN EN 14470-1, TRGS 510, FM 6050