My experience with this is mainly with the recent fashions of leaving ankles bare. I have to point out that this makes them vulnerable to splashes - and, to be honest, most people get this.

A more dicey area is in the decontamination protocols. As you likely know, people who don't remove contaminated clothing are three times more likely to die than those who don't. So we instituted a procedure that if someone needs to decontaminate, the rest of the lab is evacuated and the person has a same-sex chaperone during the procedure. We also have spare clothing (bulk tracksuits) in case. It's never been necessary, and I intend to make sure that it never is, but it's worth putting in place.

Due to cultural differences, we've had staff members who won't even shake a man's hand, so having to advise them on this is a matter of extreme delicacy. Anyone have any further tips?

Dr Hugo G. Schmidt
Lab Manager, Cambridge CARES
Tel.: +65 9018 2051

________________________________________
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety on behalf of Henry, Dwayne F
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2022 12:56 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Advice about laboratory attire

Good morning Wendy,
It?s so funny that this comes across my desk as I just had to deal with this issue, especially professors not wanting to speak to students about not wearing proper attire in labs as the weather is warming. One of the things that helped was I created signs with actual pictures of clothing and footwear with a big red X over it that is not permissible in lab, and placed them both inside and outside of all lab entrances and exits.. This allowed the professors the ability to actually point to a sign with a picture of the unacceptable clothing that took place, so it won?t seem like the professor is just picking on the student individually and making a judgement call.. This helped the professors then felt both supported and empowered. After also having a meeting with the professors to address this and let them know that the signs are there as a visual backup, I also placed these same signs in areas frequented by students on our chemistry and biology floor so they would see the!
m multiple times. I agree with Jessica as the need to specifically mention anyone?s body or body parts isn?t necessary when speaking of a lab infraction since it?s not the body part that is the issue, it?s the exposed skin. Hope this helps!

Dwayne F. Henry
Instructional Lab Manager of Chemical and Biological Sciences
Co-chair College-wide Biosafety and Infectious Materials Subcommittee
Montgomery College-Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus
Office: (240) 567-1418 / Fax: (240) 567-1410
Email: Dwayne.henry**At_Symbol_Here**montgomerycollege.edu

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety On Behalf Of Jessica Martin
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2022 10:28 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Advice about laboratory attire

Perhaps some role play with the female staff would be helpful for these men?

I tell students that they need to wear clothes that effectively cover their skin, even when reaching for items. I also mention the idea of having reasonably loose clothing that is easy to remove if a spill happens, but not so loose that it gets caught in lab work. I have also discussed more flammable and less flammable types of materials of which clothing is made. Finally, I tell them to tie back hair if there is a possibility that their hair is long enough to block their vision or interfere with their lab work.

I?ve never felt the need to specifically comment on anyone?s body in an inappropriate way when I have delivered those instructions. I simply go back to the rules above. Am I missing something here? Can an example be provided?

Best,
Jessica A. Martin, Ph.D.
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2018-2021)
Joint Safety Team, Founding Member (2018-2021)
Pinkhassik Group, Department of Chemistry (2016-2021)
University of Connecticut
323-327-3974
jessica.a.martin**At_Symbol_Here**uconn.edu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaannemartin/

"Anger is temporary - and often useful.
But the project is forever!
Seriously - this thing is never going to end is it??
-I said this

On Mar 10, 2022, at 10:17 AM, CHAS membership > wrote:

*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*

From: Wendy L Hom >
Re: Advice about laboratory attire

We had less of this before the pandemic but since coming back, there are students that have not been wearing appropriate lab attire and it has been challenging trying to get the instructors to enforce this. I was told by another female colleague that some male colleagues find it awkward to tell young ladies that they need to cover up as it goes against the societal rule that older men should not comment on the bodies of young women.

They know and we all know that it is important for safety and we have this in the lab safety guide that all students review and attest to, and we have posted signs on the outside of the lab doors.

Does the group have any advice or suggestions to address this? I always thought it was entirely appropriate to tell someone that they were not wearing appropriate attire for the lab and they could not continue since it was not directly commenting on one?s body.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

--

Without Wax,
Wendy Hom

Department of Chemistry Laboratory Director
Environmental Health & Safety Officer
319 Berliner Hall
151 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549
(516) 463-5541
Wendy.L.Hom**At_Symbol_Here**hofstra.edu

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