Another anecdote:
When I was in undergraduate chemistry about 1950, my professor was finishing his thesis in reactions of permanganate. He was colorblind also and had to have his wife read the color changes during the reactions. That was before the automated graphing spectrophotometers and all had to be done by hand. He would be in the lab for hours.
Kenneth Smith
Former CIH
-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of Debbie M. Decker
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2017 9:13 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Color-blindness as a lab safety concern
An anecdote:
When I worked in aerospace, a colleague described a situation in which he and a group of fellow electrical engineers and electricians were working on wiring up a control panel for a nuclear power plant. They got it all hooked up and tested the system and it didn't work. Checked connections, etc. - nothing. Repeat. Finally decide to go to lunch and think about what might be wrong. Over lunch, one of the group mentions that he's color blind. You guessed it - turns out the entire crew, including my friend, were color blind and the wiring was all color-coded. They finally found an admin person with normal color vision who helped them make sure the proper wire got connected where it was supposed to be connected.
My spouse is color-blind - it makes for some amusing family stories.
Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow
Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety University of California, Davis
(530)754-7964
(530)304-6728
dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu
Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions, can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."
-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of pzavon**At_Symbol_Here**ROCHESTER.RR.COM
Oh, my! Yes, color blindness is a safety issue in the lab and lots of other place.
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This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
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