Safety standards are designed to reduce the inherent risks in the handling of dangerous materials and potentially dangerous procedures or practices.  All laboratories can be inherently dangerous places and the attitudes and actions of those who work in the laboratory determine their own safety and that of their colleagues and, ultimately, that of the community.  Different standards are set for different levels of risk.  High levels of risk require more stringent standards than lower levels of risks.  Laboratory equipment and design have become more sophisticated and safer, but safe operation still depends on properly trained and genuinely concerned personnel, who are safety conscious at all times.