Building and Promoting SMS in the Federal Government. R. Meidl
Safety training vs safety education N. Bharti
Challenges and Rewards in Enforcing Laboratory Safety – First Year on the Job. R. Malaisamy
Safety Guidelines for the Chemistry Professional. K.P. Fivizzani
Safety Culture Partnering Faculty S. Elwood, R.M. Izzo, K. Angjelo
Development and implementation of a researcher oriented program J.G. Palmer
Establishing a Sustainable Safety Culture in Academic Research Labs. K.A. Miller
Chemicals – The Good, Bad, and the Ugly S.B. Sigmann
Public Perception of the Chemical Enterprise The Good The Bad and the Uncertain. M.E. Jones
ACS role in Communicating chemical safety. J. Kemsley
Developing design principles for ‘lesson learned’ laboratory safety videos. H. Weizman
It’s no accident that many journalists don’t write clearly about lab safety incidents. B. Benderly
Hazmat event reporting in the media. R. Stuart
The Editor’s Spotlight for the July / August 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety is shining on:
By Cindy M. Lawton, Amelia M. Weaver, Martha K.Y. Chan, Michael E. Cournoyer
The abstract is:
Gloveboxes are essential to the pharmaceutical, semi-conductor, nuclear, and biochemical industries. While gloveboxes serve as effective containment systems, they are often difficult to work in and present a number of ergonomic hazards. One such hazard is injury to the rotator cuff, a group of tendons and muscles in the shoulder, connecting the upper arm to the shoulder blade. Rotator cuff integrity is critical to shoulder health. This study compared the rotator cuff muscle strength ratios of glovebox workers to the healthy norm. Descriptive statistics were collected using a short questionnaire. Handheld dynamometry was used to quantify the ratio of forces produced for shoulder internal and external rotation. Results showed this population to have shoulder strength ratios significantly different from the healthy norm. Strength ratios were found to be a sound predictor of symptom incidence. The deviation from the normal ratio demonstrates the need for solutions designed to reduce the workload on the rotator cuff musculature in order to improve health and safety. Assessment of strength ratios can be used to screen for risk of symptom development. This increases technical knowledge and augments operational safety.
Other articles in this issue are:
Whither CSB?
Harry J. Elston
A software for managing chemical processes in a multi-user laboratory
F.E. Camino
Rotator cuff strength balance in glovebox workers
Cindy M. Lawton, Amelia M. Weaver, Martha K.Y. Chan, Michael E. Cournoyer
Assessment of shooter’s task-based exposure to airborne lead and acidic gas at indoor and outdoor ranges
Jun Wang, Hailong Li, Marcio L.S. Bezerra
Make safety awareness a priority: Use a login software in your research facility
F.E. Camino
The Editor’s Spotlight for the May / June 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety is shining on:
Using bowtie methodology to support laboratory hazard identification, risk management, and incident analysis by Mary Beth Mulcahy, Chris Boylan,
Samuella Sigmann, and Ralph Stuart.
This is based on a technical program workshop which Mary Beth and Chris led at the 2016 San Diego ACS National Meeting and describes how a graphical tool for organized laboratory risk assessment and incident information can support a strong laboratory safety culture.
The abstract is:
Hazard prevention and control systems for specific laboratory processes must be readily shared between lab workers, their colleagues, and lab supervisors. In order for these control systems to be effective in a transferable and sustainable way, effective risk management communication tools must be present. These tools need to be adaptable and sustainable as research processes change in response to evolving scientific needs in discovery based laboratories.
In this manuscript, the application of a risk management tool developed in the oil and gas industry known as a ‘‘bowtie diagram’’ is assessed for application in the laboratory setting. The challenges of identifying laboratory hazards and managing associated risks as well as early experiences in adapting bowtie diagrams to the laboratory setting are described. Background information about the bowtie approach is provided and the technique illustrated using an academic laboratory research scenario. We also outline the role bowtie diagrams could play in a proactive safety culture program by facilitating hazard communication and maintaining hazard awareness across a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
Organizers: D. Decker, J. Palmer
Moving from compliance to safety in UC laboratories. C.A. Merlic
2700 Miles and a big step forward: The UC settlement and Princeton University.
Beyond compliance: Building safety culture at UCLA. C. Dimock, S. Hsieh
Moving on after the settlement – the approach of a small University of California campus. K. Smith
Establishing a student-enforced safety culture in academic research labs. K.A. Miller
Heavy lifting of compliance: A graduate student perspective. A. Manlove, B. Anderson, N. Nunez
Continuing to promote careful chemistry in the post-settlement era. J.G. Palmer, L.S. Wong
At the Spring, 2017 ACS national meeting, the Divisions of Chemical Information and Chemical Health and Safety co-sponsored a program on Information Flow in Environmental Health and Safety. The symposia presented a variety of use cases for chemical information tools that range from lab-specific to very general. Links to the PDF versions of the presentations are provided below.
A System, Not a Solution, R. Stuart
Chemical info needed to establish lab vent Control Bands, E. Sweet
Reaction Incident Information, C. Nitsche
Chemical Management Applications for the University of California, P. Painter
Grad Student Perspective on the ACS Risk Assessment Tool, K. Delinger
Explorit Everywhere for ACS Chem Safety, A. Lederman
EPA CompTox chemistry dashboard resource, A. Williams
Technical presentations from the March, 2017 national American Chemical Safety meeting.
Connecting safety culture to academic mission,
R. Stuart
Preliminary Results of Survey,
E. Sweet
Flipped Classroom Techniques in Lab Safety Training
R. Izzo
Safety Culture & Training
M. Wilhelm
Relevant content positive attitude memorable presentation,
K. Fivizzani
The Editor’s Spotlight for the January / February 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety is shining on:
Analysis of injury data to improve safety and training by Heather Simmons, Betsy Matos and Stephen Simpson of Iowa State University.
The article describes how they used injury data to evaluate trends in laboratory-related injuries there between 2001 and 2014. As a result, they are moving away from classroom-only training and are incorporating multiple learning methods into our training program. In addition, we are utilizing near misses, narratives, and anecdotes to enhance learning.
Their new approach focuses on moving from a compliance-centered culture to one in which we use data to drive the decision-making process and our communications with researchers.
Other technical articles in this issue include:
Low level noise analysis in laboratory fume hood
Kang Chen, Jinlong Yang, Hongbo Zhang, Wenjun Zhang
Evaluation of the ECETOC TRA model for workplace inhalation exposure to ethylbenzene in Japan
Satoko Ishii, Ritsuko Katagiri, Kimiyoshi Kitamura, Masaaki Shimojima, Takeharu Wada
Investigation of a light fixture fire
James D. Jurney, Michael E. Cournoyer, Stanley Trujillo, Stephen B. Schreiber
Exploding misconceptions: Developing a culture of safety through learner driven activities
Shayna Burchett, Annalise Pfaff, Jack Hayes, Klaus Woelk
At the September CSHEMA regional meeting, three DCHAS members (Gail Hall of Boston College, Zehra Schneider-Graham of the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Ralph Stuart of Keene State College) participated in a panel discussion about how Environmental Health and Safety Departments can best support laboratory safety culture through their safety training efforts. The presentations discussed the challenge of developing training programs that reflected the institutional culture while also addressing regulatory requirements.
Three key lessons from the Lab-XL project with the EPA were highlighted:
In addition to describing approaches to this issue in the undergraduate and graduate laboratory settings, the panel presented the results of a DCHAS/CSHEMA survey of safety education efforts. PDF versions of the presentations and the survey results are provided here:
Developing Safety Culture Education at a PUI Campus, Ralph Stuart
Naming the Dead Cat in the Middle of the Table, Gail Hall
Survey on Lab Safety Culture Education on Campus, Zehra Schneider-Graham
Safety Culture Education Survey Results Data (in PDF) (if you are interested in these data in Excel format for further exploration, contact Ralph Stuart at ralph.stuart@keene.edu).
Also note this related article from the Journal of Chemical Education on Using the Universal Design for Learning Approach in Science Laboratories To Minimize Student Stress
SCTY 18: Safe science: Promoting a culture of safety in academic research (link to report discussed in this presentation)
Holden Thorp
SCTY 19: Safety first culture in Australian laboratories
Angelica Vecchio-Sadus
SCTY 20: Comprehensive and effective program for environmental safety education in universities
Yoshiko Tsuji
SCTY 21: Laboratory safety in ChBE at Georgia Tech and the PALS collaboration with ExxonMobil
SCTY 22: International differences in laboratory safety preparation for chemistry graduate students
Russell Phifer
SCTY 23: Evolution of safety culture in University of California academic research laboratories
John Palmer, Lawrence Wong
SCTY 24: Laboratory Scale Risk Assessment
Neal Langerman
SCTY 25: Study of students’ engagement in various styles of safety videos
Haim Weizman
SCTY 46: From accident analysis to accident prevention at UCLA
Craig Merlin
SCTY 47: A student’s perspective on safety in the academic lab
Nils Persson
SCTY 48: Assessment and management of chemical risks in academic laboratories: (1) Important factors for risk assessment in chemical laboratories
Hitoshi Yamamoto
SCTY 49: Advancing safety culture in academic research laboratories: A case study (link to the study discussed in this presentation)
2:00pm-2:20pm Tue, Dec 15 Lawrence Gibbs
SCTY 50: Assessment and management of chemical risks in academic laboratories (2) Influence of laboratory layout on airflow in university laboratory
Yukiko Nezu
SCTY 51: Assessment and management of chemical risks in academic laboratories (3) Oshima et al – Observing behavior of experimenter and chemical
Yoshito Oshima
SCTY 52: Ensuring a safe and successful research laboratory for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students
Todd Pagano
SCTY 53: Supporting a prudent safety culture through job hazard analysis and information literacy skills
Ralph Stuart
SCTY 54: Critical role of public access to chemical data and information in supporting safety culture in academic research laboratories
Leah McEwen
SCTY 55: Leveraging academic safety culture as a value-added tool for maximizing the undergraduate research experience and Introducing general chemistry students to academic safety culture through participatory case study development Gregory Ferrence
