Earlier this week, I polled the list for potential topics for a symposium I'm organizing for the September ACS national meeting on "New Horizons in Chemical Health and Safety". I got several interesting suggestions, including:
- Developing EHS generalists who are performing all-hazards lab safety support and oversight (rad, bio, chem, physical, etc.) in large organizations with diverse research efforts
- Educating the increasingly diverse population in higher education about basic chemical safety for lab students (in this case, diversity includes physical limitations, such as poor eyesight, hearing or mobility, as well as language issues).
- The increase in international and inter-campus scientific collaborations and its implications for EHS support programs.
- Training for EHS professionals who need to support emerging techniques, both in terms of technical and program outreach issues
- Managing the challenge of "merging technologies" which increasingly involve a variety of scientific disciplines working together, perhaps with various lab cultures
- EH&S support of the use of Engineered Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
- The longer term legal and management implications of the UC Regents agreement with the Los Angeles District Attorney
- EHS support of sustainable labs and green chemistry
- Laboratory ventilation and energy conservation in laboratories
I've identified speakers for a couple of these topics, but I am still interested in more suggestions for topics, and if you know of people who are well positioned to address any of these, I'd appreciate suggestions about who I might approach to share their expertise.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas and comments so far.
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart CIH
Chemical Hygiene Officer
Department of Environmental Health and Safety
Cornell University
rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**cornell.edu
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