NFPA culled laboratory fire data in the use from their database of fire reports and got the following:
177 fires/year from 2003-2006 or 44.3/year[NFPA data]
142 fires/year from 2009-2013 or 28.4/year [NFPA data]
These are fires large enough to generate a fire department report (which excludes a lot of smaller fires). It does not tell how many people were injured. Here is the same type info I culled from these and other public reports over the last few years for fires and explosions:
Year | Reported Fires and Explosions | Academia | Industry |
2016 | 40 | 27 | 13 |
2017 | 43 | 34 | 9 |
2018 | 48 | 35 | 13 |
2019 | 67 | 44 | 23 |
2020 | 20 | 11 | 9 |
The 2020 data is only through July. My assumption is that for every one I hear about there is at least one I never know about (probably more). The rise over the years worries me but it might be that I am getting better at ferreting these out.
Richard Palluzi
PE, CSP
Pilot plant and laboratory consulting, safety, design,reviews, and training
www.linkedin.com/in/richardppalluzillc/
Richard P Palluzi LLC
72 Summit Drive
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
rpalluzi**At_Symbol_Here**verizon.net
908-285-3782
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> On Behalf Of Jeffrey Lewin
Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 3:32 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Laboratory accident stats?
Someone might have more granular data, but for the big picture I use this in my slides. It is, certainly, an underestimation.
Jeff
- The Chemical Safety Board has collected chemical incidents that "occurred in public and private research laboratories, universities, high schools, middle schools elementary schools, the National Laboratories, state-run laboratories and educational demonstrations."
- From 1998-2018 (20 years) they recorded:
- 260 incidents, that caused
- 10 fatalities and
- 489 injuries
More details are available at:
Hello,
I have a faculty member who is looking for the following:
"Do you know if there are statistics available for how many (teaching) lab accidents are caused by instructors with a lack of experience/training? Another good statistic might be how many lab accidents occur in each kind of chem lab in a typical year. "
They would like to use this information to make a case for hiring more qualified instructors in general and organic chemistry laboratories. I do realize that near misses and smaller incidents/accidents may not be as readily reported by these less experienced instructors, so this data might be tricky to obtain.
I appreciate any help you can provide!
Chemical Hygiene Officer, Hudson Hall Science Complex Building Manager
Science Programs and Facilities Support Professional
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
plattsburgh.edu
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--
Jeff Lewin
Director of Chemical Laboratory Operations
Research Integrity Office
Michigan Technological University
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