has established guidelines for ordering chemicals, has cleaned its chemical storerooms, and employs a contractor for waste disposal. In addition, it has offered a one-credithour c d e g e cuursr in lnhr,rarorv safety t o high ichool teachers. A result of these classes has heen an in,.reazed awreness of laboratory safety and, consequently, an increased number of calls to the school safety office for laboratory fume hood checks. of ~ -etc. With ~ the~introduction ~ ~ self-insurance ~ ~ this year, the school system is also looking toward the reduction of costlv insurance claims in hiah school laboratories. The Laboratory Safety ~ o ; k s h o pdirected by James A. Kaufman, a t Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts, has provided training since 1981 for more than 1000 teachers throuehout the eastern United States. The Workshop employsformer students and local teachers to discuss safety issues. A certificate or continuing education credit is given a t the end of the course. T o encourage the spread of such training, the Workshop along with the American Chemical Society (ACS) sponsors the training of interested local ACS ~
~
~~
~
.
section members who promise to hold similar workshops in their community. Private foundations and ACS grants support the efforts of the Workshop. In addition, the Workshop provides guidelines for laboratory safety, a bibliography of selected references, accident survey results, and a free lending library of audio-visual materials. With ACS support, some local sections have held laboratory safety programs throughout the country. For instance, the local Puget Sound section of the ACS, in cooperation with several other groups, held a Workshop on Chemical Safety a t the University of Puget Sound in Washington State. A new survey and a quarterly newsletter have been distributed for 1987. The dissemination of these preliminary findings, personal contacts with local science supervisors, and the restructuring of the survey form have encouraged greater participation. The results of these surveys will form a basis for an accident database for high schools and secondary schools.
Volume 65
Number 5
May 1988
449
