Dear All:
Please note that ACS had published rather practical guide on elements of safety culture in Academic Institutions at
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/academic-safety-culture-report.pdf
One recommendation is to establish collaborative and trusting partnerships among members of the institution, especially among faculty, staff, and environmental
health and safety professionals. One of such "bright spots" is a growing number of Safety Joint Teams. These are groups of graduate postdoctoral researchers that work with the departments of environmental health and safety on increasing safety awareness,
provide safety related skills and resources to assist researchers, and establish a network of communication. The graduate students offer workshops at the ACS National Meetings to engage with other young researchers. Often this new generation of chemists is
an important driving force for safety in their research unit!
Marta Gmurczyk
Marta U. Gmurczyk, Ph.D.
Safety Programs Manager| Scientific Advancement Division
1155 16th St., NW | Washington | DC 20036
T 202-452-2105 | F 202-872-8068
http://www.acs.org/">www.acs.org
--------------------
ACS Chemistry for Life
American Chemical Society
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
On Behalf Of Lucy Dillman
Sent: Saturday, August 3, 2019 1:24 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [EXT] Re: [DCHAS-L] Thoughts?
[Actual Sender is owner-dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**princeton.edu]
The renowned researcher probably does no real work in his lab. I would approach his staff. I would get them as much training time as possible and make them largely responsible for implementing safe practices (including PPE, waste disposal,
etc.) as you can, emphasizing their personal responsibility and possible penalties (monetary, loss of job, loss of life and limb, etc.) that come from not following "the rules." Safety practices supposedly come from the "top down," but with someone like "RR"
you will probably have better luck from the bottom up. Speaking of which, good luck.
Easier said than done in academia, and Tiffany has not even hinted at whether she has the clout to
do that. That is why she is receiving advise about developing allies, elevating the issue, etc.
Peter Zavon, CIH
Penfield, NY
PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health
and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU]
On Behalf Of Geoffrey Giarmo
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2019 4:36 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Thoughts?
Worst case: Shut them down until a plan is in place to remedy the unsafe situation. Waiting for an accident to happen is an unacceptable risk for any institution or corporation.
Turning a blind eye or overlooking violations will encourage them elsewhere and will leave your institution liable and may leave you personally liable in the event of an incident.
Good afternoon all!
I know as safety professionals we've all faced some very interesting situations, but I was curious as to everyone's thoughts on a situation similar to the one below.
How did you approach the situation? What did you try that worked? What did you try that maybe didn't work as well as you had hoped? Maybe the problem wasn't completely solved
but it improved? Did you have to reach out for assistance? I know we all have different environments and experiences and it's these differences that make our shared experiences invaluable.
Situation:
A renowned researcher is bringing in large sums of funding and greatly adding to the prestige of a facility/institution. This individual, however, has repeatedly demonstrated a
disregard for safety. Others in the group are aware of this but are reluctant to comment. They wonder how/why this individual can continue operating in this manner.
Thanks so much for your thoughts!
Regards,
Tiffany
Sent from
Mail for Windows 10
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
