Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 15:47:25 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Vaiju.Bagal**At_Symbol_Here**EMDCHEMICALS.COM
Subject: Re: pregnant student in chemistry lab
In-Reply-To: <B1331E0BABBF2F41ADBB549EF89EA74A033492391CA6**At_Symbol_Here**WITTFSVS.wittenberg.edu>

I, of course, am in industry and not academia, but this was an interesting
 
question. It does appear that there should be guidelines akin to CHP for 
undergraduate students in classes. it also appears to be a learning 
opportunity in chemical safety as well for the students.  How does your 
CHP handle the issue of teratogenicity? 

In our company we work  with an occupational medicine group, and in an 
emergency we would have sent along the MSDS to emergency responder. 
Therefore it seems the student can bring MSDS of the reagents to her 
physician, perhaps in conjunction with an occupational medical group, 

In addition, We have set procedures and the MSDS for each reagent in the 
procedure,  and in addition we include a safety section which addresses 
PPE, limitations, etc to that procedure. This sounds like the same 
situation as for general chem labs,. Is it possible to incorporate this 
kind information in the lab instructions in order to standardize the 
protocol at Wittenberg? 

If the individual lab that uses a teratogen cannot be altered with 
alternative reagents, skipping that one does seem to be a reasonable 
alternative. As a parallel in industry, we would reassign the lab worker, 

Ujjvala (Vaiju) Bagal
Specialist, Methods Development
Phone: 01-912-964-9050 ext.53236
Fax:     01-912-966-5917
Email:   Vaiju.Bagal**At_Symbol_Here**emdchemicals.com

EMD Chemicals
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Savannah, GA 31407
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"David C. Finster"  
Sent by: DCHAS-L Discussion List 
08/09/2010 02:54 PM
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Subject
[DCHAS-L] pregnant student in chemistry lab




I am aware that a student who will be taking a general chemistry course 
this fall is pregnant.  I am writing to the list to seek advice about how 
to best handle this circumstance (assuming that one of the options ? not 
taking the course ? is not a preferred option).
 
(I have checked the D-CHAS archives, and other sources, and found no 
particularly helpful answers to this question.  This is not really a CHP 
matter since the student is not an employee ? although we ordinarly use 
our CHP as the safety document for students, too.)
 
So far as I know (but I can check this to be certain) none of the 
chemicals used in our general chemistry labs are teratogens.  Thus, my 
initial suggested course of action is that the student participate in all 
of the labs experiments (using all of the PPE at all times that is 
recommended for all students.)  We rarely use chemical hoods in this 
particular course since most of the chemicals we use present no 
significant inhalation risk.  (We use hoods when there is an inhalation 
risk.) 
 
If there is some chemical that is, or is suspected to be, a teratogen, I 
would advise the student to skip that lab (and have the instructor 
determine how to do this without any penalty to the student).
 
The pathway suggested above seems reasonable and prudent to me.  However, 
since we live in a world where the consideration of worst-case scenarios 
is wise and legally prudent, it seems to me that having the student 
consult with her physician (with a complete list of chemicals ?in hand?) 
and having the physician and/or student ?sign off? on some reasonable 
statement in advance seems smart.  Since I would not expect a physician to
 
be familiar with the teratogenic effects of ?all chemicals?, I would also 
present the physician with a detailed list of the known or suspected 
effects of each chemical (extracted from TOXNET) with regard to being 
handled while pregnant.
 
The advice and experience of the D-CHAS group is welcome.
 
Dave
 
 
David C. Finster
Professor of Chemistry
University Chemical Hygiene Officer
Department of Chemistry
Wittenberg University
dfinster**At_Symbol_Here**wittenberg.edu
 


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