Rob makes several good points. 

A paper recently published on the subject looked at incidents in both 
industry and laboratories and found that there is a significant gap in the 
type of training that both chemists and safety processionals are given in 
this area. 

The article, "Chemical Safety: Asking the Right Questions" is in the 
Journal of Chemical Health & Safety May/June 2009 issue.  The citation is 
volume 16, number 3, pp.34-39. 

Similar article in the same publication is "Laboratory Safety?" column by 
Neal Langerman, pp.49-50. He addresses the UCLA laboratory fatality 
incident.

Fred Simmons
Department of Energy
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions



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Sent by: DCHAS-L Discussion List 
06/23/2009 07:36 AM
Please respond to
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Subject
Re: [DCHAS-L] Serious Lab Incidents




On Jun 22, 2009, at 7:37 PM, NEAL LANGERMAN wrote:
> 1. Has anyone got any statistics on research lab accidents in 
> industry or academia, or alternative suggestions for how to 
> benchmark an individual or lab group safety record?
>

I can tell you that any statistics out of academia would be even more 
unreliable than those out of the Congressional Budget Office.

During my years as an undergrad, grad student, postdoc, and professor, 
I was first and second-hand witness to numerous accidents and 
incidents that nobody ever even *thought* of reporting.  Sink fires, 
hood fires, spills, waste disposal "events", safety shower activations 
and more.   Most of the time the supervisor was not even told/aware.

In my personal experience, the only incidents that ever got recorded 
were those that required a 911 call.  Or the time the EPA showed up 
for an inspection and found ten 5-gallon metal cans being used as 
waste containers, one of which was forming a puddle in the middle of 
the analytical laboratory.
> 3. Does anyone know of a situation in which a faculty member was 
> sanctioned as a result of a lab safety incident?
>

Never once heard of that, although the EPA did fine $25K for the waste 
violation - just the sort of penalty that really makes faculty members 
Not Like bureaucrats (for some fixed percentage of folks, the campus 
safety office(rs) fall into that category, alas).    And let's view 
that $25K fine in the context of the (regulatory feeble) OSHA fines 
for the UCLA incident....talk about disproportionate response!

I have never heard of safety being a regular agenda item at faculty 
meetings or research group meetings at any of the four major 
universities I have had experience with, but there would be occasional 
discussions in the context of incidents or responses that were 
reported.   Once in a while, some sort of "initiative" would start, 
and that would peter out after a few weeks/months.  It's a lot like 
having home exercise equipment - one starts off with a good ideas and 
resolve and then after 3 months, it's unused and forgotten.

No faculty member I have ever known has thought he/she was endangering 
their students, and if you asked all of them, they would tell you and 
genuinely believe that safety was a high priority in their labs.   But 
the fact of the matter is that there are small subsets of folks who 
are religious about safety as well as those who are complete slobs 
(completely cluttered hoods, no protocols...you know the ones).   The 
vast majority of faculty fall somewhere in the middle ground.  And 
never do you see a mechanism to do something about the tail end of 
that curve.

It has been LONG overdue for chemistry curricula to start *teaching* 
safety the way that industry handles it (and expects/desires students 
to be trained).   I am not aware of any department that has tried to 
instill a "culture of safety" throughout their curriculum, although 
there are some excellent individual attempts at doing so.   The core 
problem here is that safety is not directly a research or funding- 
generating activity, and (junior faculty, in particular) are  actively 
discouraged from doing anything that does not bring in the bucks, 
generate papers, or count towards P&T (promotion and tenure).  The 
problem is obviously greater at graduate-level schools and those 
departments with a lot of "dead wood" who are like a black hole for 
new ideas - they get the safety proposal and then the light never 
escapes.

So, where/how do we even *begin* to change the academic attitude?  I'd 
say it has to start with the ACS and the accreditation process. 
Specifically, ACS-certified undergraduate programs should explicitly 
be required to  teach industrial best safety practices in their 
curriculum.  Students need to learn the expectations and ramifications 
("No PPE, newbie?  You're fired.") they will encounter in the "real" 
world outside academia.  Eventually, faculty teaching courses with 
this approach might start seeing The Light on the matter, and we can 
get the culture of safety to filter up to the graduate level.

Rob Toreki

   =====================================================
Safety Emporium - Lab & Safety Supplies featuring brand names
you know and trust.  Visit us at http://www.SafetyEmporium.com
esales**At_Symbol_Here**safetyemporium.com  or toll-free: (866) 326-5412
Fax: (856) 553-6154, PO Box 1003, Blackwood, NJ 08012





Rob makes several good points.  

A paper recently published on the subject
looked at incidents in both industry and laboratories and found that there
is a significant gap in the type of training that both chemists and safety
processionals are given in this area.  

The article, "Chemical Safety: Asking
the Right Questions" is in the Journal of Chemical Health & Safety
May/June 2009 issue.  The citation is volume 16, number 3, pp.34-39.
 

Similar article in the same publication is
"Laboratory Safety?" column by Neal Langerman, pp.49-50. He addresses
the UCLA laboratory fatality incident.

Fred Simmons

Department of Energy

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions






ILPI <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>


Sent by: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
06/23/2009 07:36 AM



Please respond to

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Subject
Re: [DCHAS-L] Serious Lab Incidents








On Jun 22, 2009, at 7:37 PM, NEAL LANGERMAN wrote:

> 1. Has anyone got any statistics on research lab accidents in  

> industry or academia, or alternative suggestions for how to  

> benchmark an individual or lab group safety record?

>


I can tell you that any statistics out of academia would be even more  

unreliable than those out of the Congressional Budget Office.


During my years as an undergrad, grad student, postdoc, and professor,
 

I was first and second-hand witness to numerous accidents and  

incidents that nobody ever even *thought* of reporting.  Sink fires,
 

hood fires, spills, waste disposal "events", safety shower activations
 

and more.   Most of the time the supervisor was not even told/aware.


In my personal experience, the only incidents that ever got recorded  

were those that required a 911 call.  Or the time the EPA showed up
 

for an inspection and found ten 5-gallon metal cans being used as  

waste containers, one of which was forming a puddle in the middle of  

the analytical laboratory.

> 3. Does anyone know of a situation in which a faculty member was  

> sanctioned as a result of a lab safety incident?

>


Never once heard of that, although the EPA did fine $25K for the waste
 

violation - just the sort of penalty that really makes faculty members
 

Not Like bureaucrats (for some fixed percentage of folks, the campus  

safety office(rs) fall into that category, alas).    And let's
view  

that $25K fine in the context of the (regulatory feeble) OSHA fines  

for the UCLA incident....talk about disproportionate response!


I have never heard of safety being a regular agenda item at faculty  

meetings or research group meetings at any of the four major  

universities I have had experience with, but there would be occasional
 

discussions in the context of incidents or responses that were  

reported.   Once in a while, some sort of "initiative" would
start,  

and that would peter out after a few weeks/months.  It's a lot like
 

having home exercise equipment - one starts off with a good ideas and  

resolve and then after 3 months, it's unused and forgotten.




No faculty member I have ever known has thought he/she was endangering
 

their students, and if you asked all of them, they would tell you and  

genuinely believe that safety was a high priority in their labs.  
But  

the fact of the matter is that there are small subsets of folks who  

are religious about safety as well as those who are complete slobs  

(completely cluttered hoods, no protocols...you know the ones).  
The  

vast majority of faculty fall somewhere in the middle ground.  And
 

never do you see a mechanism to do something about the tail end of  

that curve.


It has been LONG overdue for chemistry curricula to start *teaching*  

safety the way that industry handles it (and expects/desires students  

to be trained).   I am not aware of any department that has tried
to  

instill a "culture of safety" throughout their curriculum, although
 

there are some excellent individual attempts at doing so.   The core
 

problem here is that safety is not directly a research or funding- 

generating activity, and (junior faculty, in particular) are  actively
 

discouraged from doing anything that does not bring in the bucks,  

generate papers, or count towards P&T (promotion and tenure).  The
 

problem is obviously greater at graduate-level schools and those  

departments with a lot of "dead wood" who are like a black hole
for  

new ideas - they get the safety proposal and then the light never  

escapes.


So, where/how do we even *begin* to change the academic attitude?  I'd
 

say it has to start with the ACS and the accreditation process.  


Specifically, ACS-certified undergraduate programs should explicitly  

be required to  teach industrial best safety practices in their  

curriculum.  Students need to learn the expectations and ramifications
 

("No PPE, newbie?  You're fired.") they will encounter in
the "real"  

world outside academia.  Eventually, faculty teaching courses with
 

this approach might start seeing The Light on the matter, and we can  

get the culture of safety to filter up to the graduate level.


Rob Toreki


   ======================================================

Safety Emporium - Lab & Safety Supplies featuring brand names

you know and trust.  Visit us at http://www.SafetyEmporium.com

esales**At_Symbol_Here**safetyemporium.com  or toll-free: (866) 326-5412

Fax: (856) 553-6154, PO Box 1003, Blackwood, NJ 08012

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