edited by
mfety tip/ Editor's Note: There is an interesting story behind "laboratory Safety G~idelinas." When asked haw he happened to develop the list Dr. Kaufman wrote: "Thirteen yews ago. I completed my graduate and postgraduate doctoral studies and began working for the Dow Chemical Company. i was horrified todiscover that Iwas taught more about laboratorysafety an my first day at Daw Man in the prior years of public and private education. The taliowing safety suggestions ares revision of a brochure Iwrote ten years ago at Dow. It was an anempt to share Dow's safety experience with academic institutions. Dow sent copies to 2.000 college and university chemistry departments and received requests for over % million copies. Since then, an additional % million have been reprinted and distributed." Readers of Safety Tips will certainly find these updated Guidelines valuable.
Laboratory Safety Guidelines: 40 Steps for a Safer Laboratory James A.
Kaufman
Curry College Milton. MA 02186
MlninM 152 Avon, Jun~per C. CTNAGEL 06001 Drive
Consider reducing the scale of the experiment, substituting less hazardous chem~cals,or eliminating the experiment. 15. Require all accidents (incidents) t o be reported, evaluated by the departmental safety committee, and discussed a t departmental safety meetings. 16. Extend the safety program beyond the lahoratory to the automobile and the home. 17. Allow only minimum amounts of flammahle liquids in each laboratory. 18. Forbid smoking, eating, and drinking in the laboratory. 19. Do not allow food to he stared in chemical refrieerators lease. 21. Display the phone numbers of the fire department, police department, and local ambulance immediately next t o every departmental phone. 22. Store acids and bases separately. Store fuelsand oxidizersseparately. 23. Maintain a chemical inventory to avoid purchasing unnecessary quantities of chemicals. 24. Use warning signs to designate particular hazards. 25. Require good housekeeping practices in all working areas. 26. Develop specific work practices for individual experiments, such as those that should be conducted only in aventilated hood or involve especially hazardous chemicals. S t e p s Requiring Moderate Expense 27. Allocate a portion of the departmental budget to safety. 28. Reauire the use of -eaeeles in all laboratories. 29. Provide adeauate suoolies of nersonal orotective eauioment. . goggles, face shields, gloves, lab coats, and bench top shields. When possible most hazardous experiments should hedone in a hood. 30. Provide fire extinguishers, safety showers, eyewash facilities, and ventilated hoods in each laboratory, and test or cheek monthly.
S t e p s Requiring Mlnlmal E x p e n s e 1. Organize a departmental safety and health committee of faculty members, support staff, and students. 2. Have the departmental safety and health committee meet regularly to discuss safety problems and seek solutions to them. 3. Develop a safety and health orientation program for all students and new staff members. 4. Encourage students and staff members to develop a concern for their own safety and that of others. 5. Involveevery staff member in some aspect ofthe safety program and give each specific responsibilities. 6. Provide incentives to students and staff for safety performance. 7. Require all staff members to read the appropriate safety manual. Require students t o read the school's laboratory safety rules. Have bothgroups sign a statement that they have done so and understand the contents. Keep these statements on file in the departmental office. 8. Conduct periodic, unannounced laboratory inspections to identifv and rorreet hazardous conditions and unsafe oractices. Involve r t ~ d ~i n~u~41mulated r * OSH.4 in~pection. 9 Schcd.~lrrr~~rlnrd~pnrtmenral~af~tymrrting.;f~,rstudrntsa~~d , r ~ t r r o dkct~s;the rerults uf inwerticms and nrprcr- uflaborntory safety. 10. Make learning how to be safe an integral and important part of the science education process. 11. Require every pre-lab discussion to include consideration of safety and health aspects. 12. Forbid working alone in any laboratory and working without prior knowledge of a staff member. 13. Don't allow experiments t o run unattended unless they are failsafe. 14. When conducting experiments with hazards or potential hazards, ask yourself these questions: What are the hazards? What are the worst ~ossiblethings that could go wrong? How will I deal with them? What are the prudent practices, protective facilities, and equipment necessary to minimize the risk of exposure to the hazards?
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Editor's Note: S o u r c e s for Safety Tralnlng Several safety workshops have been developed for teachers. A comprehensive 16-hour course was produced by the National institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Council of State Science Supervisors. James A. Kaufman, a laboratory safety consultant and Professor ot Chemistry at Curry College in Milton. MA 02186. has been an enthusiastic director of workshops on the East Coast. For more information write Kaufman or Jack A. Geriovich. President of the National Council of State Science Supervisors. State of Iowa Department of Public instruction. Grimes State Office Building. Des Moines, IA 50319. Kaufman also offers a five-hour safety workshop. Among the 13 topics presented in the five hours are sessions on legal aspects, emergency planningand organizinga safety program. Comments from participants include very strong recommendations for this program as informative, well organized, and containing many practical applications for the teacher. A new Chemical Handling Safety Seminar is being presented in Connecticut by Pfizer. Inc. This oneday program includes sessions on chemical labeling, flammable liquids, corrosive chemicals, toxic chemicals. and chemical spill control. Far more information about the Pfizer program write Daniel P. Brannegan. Supervisor Environmental Health and Safety. Central Research, Ptirer. Inc. Eastern Point Road. Groton. CT 06340.
Volume 64
Number 2
February 1987
161
31. Maintain a centrally located departmental safety library: Sofety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories (1 copy free) American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Fire Protection Guide on Horordous Materials ($32) National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269 Manual o f s a f e t yandHealth Hazards in the School Science Laboratory ($5.75) Safety in the School Science Laboratory ($13) Council of State Science Supervisors, Route 2, Box 637, Lancaster, VA 22503 Better Science Through Safety by Gerlovich and Dawns ($16) Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA 50010 Handbook of Laboratory Safety N. Steere,Ed. ($60) CRC Press, 2000 Corporate Blvd., N.W., B o a Raton, FL 33431 Prudent Practices for Handling Chemicak inLoborotaries ($16) Prudent Practices for Disposal of Chemicals from Laboratories (816) National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20418
162
Journal of Chemical Education
32. Provide guards on all vacuum pumps and secure all compressed eas cvlinders. n~ .Xi l'nwdr nn appropriate supply
