BOOKS
Teaching and Working in Safe Labs Reviewed by W. H. Breazeale Jr.
Chemical laboratory safety, like the Boy Scouts, could claim as its motto: Be prepared. It's not possible to place too much emphasis on safety. Everyone connected with a chemical laboratory, whether that lab is academic, industrial, or governmental, must be aware of the importance of laboratory safety, and practice how to use chemicals safely. An important addition to the literature of this field is "Improving Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: A Practical Guide," edited by Jay Young, a former chemistry professor at several universities, winner of national awards for teaching excellence, and past chairman of the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Health & Safety. Young's book is a comprehensive guide to keeping laboratories safe. Its five chapters and four appendices were prepared by 19 authors drawn from universities, chemical and drug companies, consulting firms, and government. The authors of "Improving Safety in the Chemical Laboratory" discuss many ways to anticipate, and thus prevent, possible problems. All of these ways involve preparation, training, and drills. Constant study and practice, they argue, can make us nearly perfect. For companies, where employees work in the same areas all the time, drills should be designed to prepare workers for all anticipated emergencies. These drills should include evacuation procedures, fire drills, rescue procedures, and specialized activities for specialized situations. Preparation and training should include labeling chemicals correctly, having material safety data sheets on hand and knowing how to use them, and learning the correct way to dispose of chemicals. An academic institution needs a somewhat different approach to safety. The institution must be certain that its faculty is both well 48
May 9. 1988 C&EN
must be automatically and fully considered during each step. ConAnticipating problems, cern for safety cannot be mandated; it has to be taught. learning how to deal Although this book refers in its with them, and constant title to the chemical laboratory, the information in it goes far beyond practice are keys to what is normally meant by that term. As the authors stress, all who making laboratories safe use chemicals in their work must be made aware of safety. This is especially true in nonscience areas of ac"Improving Safety in the Chemical ademic institutions, such as fine arts Laboratory: A Practical Guide/' Jay or public health departments, A. Young, editor, John Wiley & where the faculty traditionally has Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, had little education in chemistry or N.Y. 10158-0012, 1987, 350 pages. chemical safety. $45 The purpose of health and safety programs is to prevent accidents. As W. H. Breazeale Jr., professor of chemis- Young states, "All accidents are try and chairman of the department of caused; none are fortuitous." Attenchemistry and physics at Francis Mar- tion must always be given to identiion College, Florence, S.C., is an asso- fying the causes of accidents. Once ciate member of the American Chemical identified, these causes must be reSociety's Committee on Chemical Safety moved. Because the unknown is being explored in chemical research, however, it is sometimes difficult to anticipate every possible cause of trained and teaches the necessity of potential accidents. safety to students. For faculty and A study of Young's book will help teaching assistants, like workers in to identify many safety precautions chemical companies, training can that might not otherwise be considcome only through study and drill. ered. The precautions are as diverse The faculty, in turn, must ensure as finding toxic information on a that all students are aware of the material safety data sheet, identifysafety regulations of the depart- ing protective equipment, correctment. In both industry and acade- ing electrical hazards by procedures mia, any safety program rests on the such as connecting a bonding wire commitment of the organization to to large containers when transferbe a safe place for work or study. ring flammable liquids, or using An academic institution has a par- very-small-scale experiments to asticularly strong responsibility to its sess problems in a new experimenstudents concerning laboratory tal procedure. safety. Not only must the laboratory As further help in anticipating be a safe place for students to work, problems, the book includes an enbut students must be taught to view tire section, as an appendix, conlaboratory safety as an integral part cerning chemical structure, reactivof their knowledge. Their chemical ity, and instability. General struceducation includes exposure to t u r a l f e a t u r e s of chemical many diverse areas, such as inor- compounds that are associated with ganic, organic, analytical, and phys- high levels of reactivity and instaical chemistry; safety must be given bility are listed. Other areas to an importance equal to any of these. which attention is drawn include When students plan, set up, run, p y r o p h o r i c c o m p o u n d s , c o m and clean up an experiment, safety pounds containing a high percent-
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Books age of nitrogen in N-N bonds, and a discussion of those chemical struc tures that are susceptible to peroxi dation. One chapter is appropriately called "The 95 Percent Solution." If knowledge of chemical safety is used to anticipate problems, appro priate protection equipment and fa cilities are used, the hazards and reactivities of the substances in volved are known, disposal is han dled properly, and—most impor tant of all—workers assume person al responsibility for safety, the 95% solution to safety problems can come closer to 100%. Young and the other writers who assisted him in preparing this book are to be commended for their ef fort. No topic discussed is applicable to every chemist, but all chemists will find that this practical manual identifies areas in need of attention in their own laboratories. Of partic ular value are the very extensive ap pendices—almost five sixths of the book's pages—which give detailed information on topics such as the handling and management of haz ardous research chemicals, federal regulations, and designing safety into the laboratory. Also helpful are the reference lists on these topics, which give sources of further infor mation. From the first chapter of the text (Organization for Safety in Labora tories, which discusses the responsi bility of management for safety) to the last part of the last appendix (Laboratory Safety Library Hold ings, which presents an annotated bibliography for the safety library), the text is readable, clear, and right on target. "Improving Safety in the Chemical Laboratory" should be added to any list of books that should be found in every safety li brary. Indeed, any person using or having responsibility for chemicals should read it. •
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Hydrothermal Experimental Tech niques. Gene Carleton Ulmer, Hubert Lloyd Barnes, editors, xv + 523 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $41.95.
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Impedance Spectroscopy Emphasizing Solid Materials and Systems. J. Ross Macdonald, editor, xvi + 346 pages.
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Books John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $44.95. Introduction to Nondestructive Testing: a Training Guide. Paul E. Mix. xiv + 406 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $54.95. Introduction to Synthetic Electrical Conductors. John R. Ferraro, Jack M. Williams, xiii + 337 pages. Academic Press, 111 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10003.1987. $49.95. Inductively Coupled Plasmas in Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. Akbar Montaser, D. W. Golightly, editors, xxiii + 660 pages. VCH Publishers, Distribution Center, 303 N.W. 12th Ave., Deerfield Beach, Fla. 334421705. 1987. $95. Ion Plating Technology: Developments and Applications. N. A. G. Ahmed, xi + 171 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $51.95. Laboratory Robotics: a Guide to Planning, Programming, and Applications. W. Jeffrey Hurst, James W. Mortimer, xi + 129 pages. VCH Pub-
lishers, Distribution Center, 303 N.W. 12th Ave., Deerfield Beach, Fla. 33442-1705.1987. $24.95. Liquid Membranes: Theory and Applications. ACS Symposium Series 347. Richard D. Noble, J. Douglas Way, editors, ix + 196 pages. American Chemical Society, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 1987. $49.95. Methods of Hybridoma Formation. Arie H. Bartal, Yashar Hirshaut, editors, xxv + 480 pages. Humana Press, P.O. Box 2148, Clifton, N.J. 07015. 1987. $69.50. Neuromethods. Vol. 6: Peptides. Alan A. Boulton, Glen B. Baker, Quentin G. Pittman, editors, xx + 489 pages. Humana Press, P.O. Box 2148, Clifton, N.J. 07015. 1987. $69.50. Nuclear Environmental Chemical Analysis. Juraj Tolgyessy, Edwin H. Klehr. 185 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $64.95. Nutritional Bioavailability of Manganese. ACS Symposium Series 354.
Constance Kies, editor, ix + 155 pages. American Chemical Society, 1155— 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 1987. $39.95. Physical Methods of Chemistry. 2nd Ed. Vol. Ill A: Determination of Chemical Composition and Molecular Structure—Part A. Bryant W. Rossiter, John F. Hamilton editors, ix + 624 pages. 624 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1987. $110. Plant and Animal Cells: Process Possibilities. C. Webb, F. Mavituna, editors. 307 pages. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1987. $87.95. Plastics and Polymer Processing Automation. Plastics and Rubber Institute, xv + 251 pages. Noyes Publications, Mill Rd. at Grand Ave., Park Ridge, N.J. 07656. 1987. $39. Plastics Mold Engineering Handbook. 4th Ed. J. Harry DuBois, Wayne I. Pribble, editors, xv + 376 pages. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 115 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10003. 1987. $59.95.
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