Monona, 

You are dead on with your shayla and abaya descriptions.  I was an organic lab teacher at the Texas A&M Qatar campus for 3 years before becoming their lab safety manager.  At the start of each lab, all of the males had to have their gutras (head scarves) removed, and a lab coat over their thobes (traditional white robes).  The females had to have the shaylas and abayas tucked into a lab coat.  I also walked around the lab and had every single student show me their toes…if they were in sandals, which is considered part of their “national dress”, they were asked to leave the lab until they could return in closed-toed shoes.  After a few missed labs and grade deductions, I would have 100% compliance by about the 3rd week of labs. 

For our engineering students that worked in shops and interned in the field, full coveralls were mandatory.  They offered the same degree of modesty and we were non-negotiable on this point.  Because most of our students were going to end up working for the international sector of the oil and gas industry, they had to get used to these stringent safety requirements as they knew that the future employers would not be open to negotiations.

As a male lab teacher, on the first day of lab, I asked for a female volunteer to act “as my hands” in case of an emergency.  I gave that student a brief shower/eye wash/first aid training and anytime there was an incident or exposure involving a female student, this designee would address it under my supervision..

Safety was always the number one priority and the institution bore all of the cost to address these issues.  

Regards,

Brandon

Brandon S. Chance, M.S., CCHO

Program Manager, Chemical Safety

Environmental Health and Safety

Princeton University

262 Alexander Street

Princeton, NJ 08540

609-258-7882 (office)

609-955-1289 (mobile)

609-258-1804 (fax)

"The second I feel like I made it, the second I feel like I've arrived, that's the second someone will take my spot. And I like my spot." J.J. Watt – Houston Texans

Very interesting., Jafreen,

1.  First,  no where did I say that the sandals were required by the religion.  I just said that where I was, you couldn't get the students to wear anything else.

2.  I was told repeatedly by administrators and department heads, some of which were Muslim, about the male hands-off policy.  I am not a religion expert, I am a safety expert.  When the college administrators make it clear that that is the policy that I must consider, then consider it I must when I write my reports.  So your argument is with these administrators and not with me. 

3.   There are lab coats with sleeves that have elastic at the wrist which would work better for this purpose than the open sleeve types.

4.   There were only a few students who wore a burqa.  Most wore a garment that was made of a very loose flowing black fabric from the neck to the floor which they called an Abaya.  The type of head scarf was one I did not see when I googled them just now.  But they called it something that started with an "s" sounding like "shala."  The way they wore it wound around their necks resulted in a tail of fabric which kept falling lose.  They often were putting these back in place over their shoulders.  As I understand it, there are many different styles and ethnic varieties of these garments.  But the ones I observed were inconsistent with working on a table saw or welding.  Welding in particular requires the fabric to be fire resistant through out--head to toe, with no pockets, cuffs, gaps or folds where sparks can lodge. 

5.  I have no issue with opening courses to either disabled students or people with religious restrictions affecting their attire.  And I believe the school should bear the cost of special clothing, respiratory protection or what ever is needed.  But if, despite special gear, this student is put at a greater risk of harm than the other students, that is a deal-breaker.  And whether or not these individuals feel they have the right to put themselves at risk is irrelevant to me personally.  My job is assessing risk. And while there are some school administrators who decide to keep the peace by putting students at risk, that is on their heads, not mine. 

This safety professional is never willing endorse a policy which will put you or any other student or employee in harms way. 

Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist

-----Original Message-----
From: Sadeque, Jafreen <jsadeque**At_Symbol_Here**IUPUI.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sent: Wed, Mar 5, 2014 2:48 pm
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Body piercings on laboratory researchers working in a chemical laboratory.