I have a suggestion, which I must state is not popular: have the person in question, particularly a pregnant person, sign a waiver that not merely promises that they will not sue in case of misadventure (such as birth defects), but that they accept full responsibility for any consequences of chemical exposure, with the understanding that not all hazards may be currently known and that some responses to exposure can be idiosyncratic.  (The listed LD-50 for glucose may not apply to a person with diabetes.)  The reason for this (again particularly in the case of birth defects) is that any relatives other than the victim (for want of a better word) can sue on the victim’s behalf.

This is not to preclude previous consultation with a physician, which I would suggest should be documented, but the list of teratogens is growing and SDS’s (if they are like MSDS’s, as valuable as they are) are not always going to be up-to-date, will contain boilerplate and cannot cover all synergistic effects of exposure to a combination of substances.  Consultation with a (qualified) physician would seem a requirement for informed consent, in which I am a strong believer.  Nor should it preclude lab safety training, which should also be documented.

Thank you,

Ben

CHAS folks,

I recently got an email from a colleague asking:

“Our department is looking for model policies for students with medical conditions which might limit their participation in the laboratory (such as asthma, pregnancy, allergies, etc.). We’re getting a suggestion from “on high” to have a caveat emptor policy where we just refer students to the SDS’s and tell them that they have to make their own decisions in consultation with their physician.

Do you know of any models we might look at for review, consideration, and/or adoption?”

Suggestions?

Dave

David C. Finster
Professor, Department of Chemistry
University Chemical Hygiene Officer
Wittenberg University
937-327-6441
http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/dfinster/index.html