• Question: why are lab coats only white?

    Asked by to Edward, Ian, Mathew, Naomi, sakshisharda on 13 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Mathew Piasecki

      Mathew Piasecki answered on 13 Jun 2014:

      It’s easy to see when they’re dirty/stained, either with something completely harmless or some kind or work-ending virus.

    • Photo: Ian Stephenson

      Ian Stephenson answered on 13 Jun 2014:

      They’re not!

      They come in lots of colours. White is the most common because it shows the dirt, but I was at the dentist today, and they had blue lab coats. Surgeons often wear green – I guess it shows the blood, and white would glare to much under the bright lights.

      I just checked and Amazon sell a kids lab coat in red.

    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 15 Jun 2014:

      They’re not! Where I work we have different coloured lab coats for different people – engineers wear red coats and scientists wear white. Because scientists work with chemicals and bacteria, it’s important to see any spillages on the coats which is why they’re white. As engineers work only with equipment in the lab they don’t need to wear white lab coats.

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