- Email: [email protected]
Strengthening safety education of chemistry undergraduates
FEATURE
Strengthening safety education of chemistry undergraduates Safety in the workplace is critical for the welfare of the workforce and the organization. Employees, including chemists, must have knowledge and skills in safety, and a strong safety ethic to work in a safe manner. Many of today’s chemistry undergraduates have not been fully prepared with appropriate attitude, skill, and knowledge in safety for jobs in industry, government, other public sectors, or for continuing education in academia. This paper proposes strengthening the undergraduate curriculum so that every new chemistry undergraduate will have a minimum competency in safety at the end of their four-year degree program in chemistry. All undergraduates should be able to recognize hazards in the laboratory, assess the risks of those hazards, and develop and implement a plan to manage, control or minimize the risks. Topics are suggested for each year of a four-year chemistry program to develop this competency. It is suggested that Committee for Professional Training strengthen their evaluation of American Chemical Society (ACS)approved Chemistry Departments with accountability for teaching safety. Evaluation of this competency is suggested for ACS Certification.
By Robert H. Hill Jr., David A. Nelson
INTRODUCTION
We are honored to be a part of this special edition of Chemical Health and Safety dedicated to the memory of Warren Kingsley, the Founding Editor. Warren was a friend and colleague who had an infectious smile, a quick wit that was always questioning, and a true devotion to chemical safety and its promotion. It is in this spirit that we Robert H. Hill, Jr., Ph.D. is affiliated with Office of Health and Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road (MS-F05), Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA (Tel.: 404 639 2453; fax: 404 639 1691; e-mail: [email protected]). David A. Nelson, Ph.D. is the Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, University of Wyoming, 1422 Ashley Street, Laramie, WY 82070, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). Note: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agency.
1074-9098/$30.00 doi:10.1016/j.chs.2005.07.012
dedicate this paper to his memory and his contributions to make this world a safer place. We welcome the opportunity to discuss a subject near and dear – the need to strengthen the safety education of chemists.1–8 Today’s and tomorrow’s chemists need to be fully prepared to enter the workplace armed with a strong drive for safety and with the skill and knowledge to ensure that all work is done safely. Safety should play an important part of our lives at home and leisure, and must be an integral part of our work. Many years ago one of us (R.H.), as a student, observed or experienced several incidents that could be attributed in large part to the lack of safety education of chemists. More than 20 years later, he visited a university where he delivered a lecture on safety. As he was leaving he was surrounded by a large group of students who complained that a lack of safety education and general lack of concern for safety were common in their institution. After this experience, further inquiry with other health and safety professionals and other academic professionals substantiated a broad concern about the lack of emphasis on safety education in many academic institutions. This concern has been discussed previously.1–8 It is possible to strengthen the safety education of undergraduates (and graduates), but it will require a concerted
effort to win over the chemistry educators to the idea that employers need to know that their new employees (new chemistry undergraduates or graduates) will be knowledgeable in this safety. It is valuable to illustrate why this is important and we have chosen to relate a short, true story to illustrate the point. ‘‘I can’t breathe’’
A new employee just joined the staff of this organization – young, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and skilled in science, but uneducated in chemical safety and in safety in general. Part of her assignment was to prepare a solution of formalin in a small carboy. She did this but spilled some of the formalin in the sink where she set the carboy of solution. She did not clean up the spill before she left the laboratory. Shortly thereafter another older longterm employee came to work in the laboratory. She worked for a while and began to develop a cough that got progressively worse in a short time period. Her condition continued to worsen and she told a colleague, ‘‘I can’t breathe!’’ She was immediately taken to the occupational health clinic that was on the premises very near to her laboratory. After examination and placing her on oxygen, the physician suspected an acute toxic exposure and sent someone back to investigate in the
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
19
laboratory. It was soon discovered that the formalin had been spilled in the sink and this was the likely cause of the problem. Subsequently the patient went on to develop a sensitization to formalin and eventually acquired lung disease that required daily oxygen. The employee and the employer were both losers here in large part because the young worker lacked a strong safety education.
EMPLOYING NEW CHEMISTS AND OTHER SCIENTISTS
Employers of chemists want new employees (undergraduates and graduates) who have a strong safety ethic, have solid safety knowledge and skills, and are not safety liabilities. These new chemists should know how to prevent accidents by recognizing and managing hazards – and they should be diligent in their quest to do so because they have acquired a positive attitude toward safety. The workforce is the principal driver in accomplishing the mission or business, and it is essential that a safe and healthy environment is maintained for them. While employers have control over the facilities, they have less control over their employees, so it is essential that employees value and understand safety. Many new employees are amazed at the emphasis on safety in the work environment since there is not this strong emphasis in many academic environments. Employers are equally amazed that chemistry undergraduates and graduates are coming to work with little safety skills and even less awareness of the corporate view of safety’s importance. Employers might ask a prospective employee about their knowledge and perspective about safety. They would likely ask if there are any limitations to handling hazardous materials and if the candidate has the skill and knowledge to do this effectively. Employers may ask about the candidate’s knowledge of safety regulations. Prospective employees should also ask questions about safety at the organization where they might work. ‘‘How does your safety department work and what types of hazards might I encounter?’’,
20
for example. Many new employees believe that their employers will adequately train them in the safety aspects of their job and that they will not put them in dangerous situations.5 While employers usually provide basic site specific safety training, they should not be expected to have to educate new employees in basic safety principles and practices. If new employees have any concern about the safety aspects of the job, they should talk about this so the employer can provide assurance that safety is the first consideration. The American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training (CPT) establishes guidelines for American Chemical Society (ACS)approved Chemistry Departments. CPT Guidelines provide a listing of requirements for safety including the following guidance.9 ‘‘Discussions of current health and safety issues must be an integral part of the chemistry curriculum. Students should develop a high degree of safety awareness, beginning early with discussions of the potential hazards associated with chemicals and laboratory equipment. Recognized safety practices should be stressed both in the classroom and laboratory discussions.’’9a Laboratory work in chemistry should ‘‘give students hands-on-experience with chemistry and the self-confidence and competence to anticipate, recognize, and respond properly to hazards of chemical manipulations.’’9b It is our opinion that these expectations are rarely met. Based upon our experience in safety, we have asked ourselves ‘‘What should new undergraduates in chemistry know about safety when they graduate?’’ Basically, we have concluded that all chemistry majors upon graduation must be able to recognize hazards, assess the risk of those hazards, manage the risks of those hazards, and perhaps most important that they have a strong safety ethic or positive attitude and awareness for safety. Furthermore the longer one works with chemicals, and chemicals are used in many operations, the more likely it will be that you will encounter an emergency of some sort – be it a fire, a chemical spill, a chemical exposure or splash on a
person, etc. Each chemist must have an understanding about what they must do in emergency situations before they happen. In the remainder of this paper, we have identified the core knowledge and skills needed in safety and formulated a proposed schema for safety elements disbursed throughout the chemistry curriculum, as CPT explained in their guidelines and safety supplement.9,10 In Table 1 we present our suggestions about the safety topics or elements that need to be taught during each year of study and have suggested the courses that should cover this safety material within their texts. The relative placement of safety topics over each year in a chemistry program is suggested, not fixed, and topics could be moved to other years and courses. Nevertheless, we believe that safety should be spread out throughout the curriculum and not be relegated to a single, one-time safety course. By spreading safety throughout the curriculum, the educators will accomplish the continual re-enforcement that is needed to drive home the importance of safety. To achieve the goal of properly preparing a chemist for a job in the private, government, or academic sector, we believe that educators must teach safety from freshman through senior years, and continuing into graduate school. It is only with this kind of emphasis that safety will become accepted as an important skill set needed to be a successful chemist. Educators should lead by example – following the safety rules and principles they are teaching. They must become strong proponents for safety – instilling the value of safety through continual safety education and reenforcement of safety principles. Students at the same time must understand that an integral part of their chemical education is the ability to find and interpret information and to recognize, assess, and manage chemicals and other hazards, particularly in the laboratory. The most essential safety element is to instill in every student a ‘‘high degree of safety awareness’’, according to CPT.9a Another way to express this element is that students must develop a strong safety ethic. How do you
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
Table 1. Safety Topics for Each Year of the Chemistry Curriculum
Year of Study
Courses
Safety Topics To Be Covered This Year
Freshman
General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis 1 w/laboratory General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis 2 w/laboratory
The Safety Ethic; basic laboratory rules; basic principles of safety; MSDSs; Chemical Hygiene Plans; basic hazard recognition – terms, labels, signs; basic emergency procedures – exit routes, incident reporting
Sophomore
Organic Chemistry 1 w/laboratory Organic Chemistry 2 w/laboratory Quantitative Analysis w/laboratory
Basic toxicology and its use in assessing risks – exposure routes, LD50’s, acute, chronic, types of toxic chemicals; exposure limits (TLVs, PELs, STELs) and use assessing risks; calculating airborne concentrations; information sources on hazards, chemical properties, safe practices
Junior
Physical Chemistry 1 Physical Chemistry 2 Physical Chemistry Laboratory Instrumental Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Research Laboratory
Assessing risks for laboratory work; knowledge of relationship between chemical properties and hazards – flammables, explosives, reactives, physical hazards; understands and selects containment, ventilation, personal protective equipment; knows prudent work practices, including chemical management, storage, disposal; emergency response – fire extinguishers, chemical spills; physical hazards – high pressure, vacuum, UV, visible, IR, microwave, magnetic, electrical
Senior
Biochemistry Introductory Inorganic Chemistry w/laboratory Undergraduate Research Laboratory Advanced Chemistry Electives
Recognizes and communicates lab hazards; assesses risk of lab hazards; devises safety plan to manage, control and minimize lab risks; handles emergency situations; knows regulations that impact laboratories, chemical safety; information sources including organizations for lab chemical safety; special safety topics, such as radiation safety, biological safety, lasers, contamination, decontamination, first aid kits, AEDs
define this intangible term? What is the safety ethic? The following is offered – The Safety Ethic: I value safety, work safely, prevent at-risk behavior, promote safety, and accept responsibility for safety.11 If this ethic is accepted and adopted by each student and educator, the learning of safety will become an easy and integral part of their education in chemistry. To value safety means that safety is always the first consideration before taking some action – remember the old adage ‘‘Safety First.’’ To work safely means that all hazards are recognized, assessed, and managed and the chemist uses appropriate controls such as ventilation, work practices, and personal protective equipment to safely accomplish the job. At-risk behavior is the leading cause of most accidents and incidents, so if we can prevent this undesired behavior, we can prevent most accidents. Promoting safety pro-
vides continual re-enforcement of safety and instills the need for safety in others which has the added benefit of protecting one’s self too. Lastly, all persons must accept personal responsibility for safety, and not rely on someone else to look out for their safety. All need to take steps to ensure their own safety. The Safety Ethic should not only be adopted by the students but by the faculty, instructors, and teachers who should emphasize safety throughout the curriculum and lead by example by being strong proponents of safety. To achieve safety competency, we suggest the focus of freshman and sophomore years should be on hazard recognition. This is probably the most difficult of all safety elements because sometimes we ourselves may not recognize all hazards. Nevertheless, we can recognize most hazards if we are taught what to look for and where to find the right kind of information.
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
The concept of risk and hazard assessment should be introduced in the sophomore year. The junior year should focus on risk management, control, and minimization, and begin to show the student how these skills can be used. The senior year should include application of the all the skills learned so that the student, after employment as a chemist, can develop safety plans for the job to be done. There are many references that provide the basis for the kind of safety education needed to develop skills in hazard recognition, risk assessment, and hazard/risk management and control.12–15 It is important that safety principles not only be taught in the laboratory, but also that basic safety education become part of the classroom lecture series too, as called for by the CPT. Because of the lack of coverage of safety concepts in essentially all 21
current chemistry lecture texts, integrating health and safety issues into the chemistry lecture curriculum is presently a major problem. We are hopeful that with increased encouragement by the ACS CPT, the ACS Division of Chemical Education, and other educational safety advocates that this situation will change. In anticipation of future additions of safety material to lecture texts, we offer the following suggestions of where more specific topics could be introduced. This outline may serve as a guide to textbook writers and chemistry educators who are motivated to follow the general CPT recommendations for incorporation of safety into the curriculum. In the freshman year, General Chemistry is taught and may be combined with Qualitative Analysis. This latter course may be a stand-alone course too. In the freshman year, students should learn about The Safety Ethic, basic laboratory rules, and the basic principles of safety (Table 1). If students understand the safety principles that require them to follow a safety rule, they will appreciate and will more likely follow those rules in the future.5,7 Freshman should learn about Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and be introduced to the concept of the chemical hygiene plan, including the specific plan of the institution where they are enrolled. They should learn basic hazard recognition including the definitions of various hazards, being able to effectively read chemical labels and signs to learn about the specifics of hazards being encountered or used. At the freshman level, emergency procedures should include identifying escape routes and incident reporting procedures – often this requires reporting to the teaching assistant. In the sophomore year, students will encounter the basic Organic Chemistry course and probably a Quantitative Analysis course with corresponding laboratories. There should be continued emphasis on hazard recognition (Table 1). To help the student understand toxic hazards it is essential that the basics of toxicology be presented along with an explanation of how to use this information in evaluating the relative risks of chemicals. Exposure limits should also be taught here and 22
how this information can be used in assessing risks. Discussions of exposure limits presents an opportunity to calculate air concentrations in mg/L or parts per million (ppm). This could be the basis of an experiment in quantitative analysis, with the principles discussed in lecture. Identifying sources of information on hazards and chemical properties is a critical skill that should be learned. Chemistry students will pick up more chemistry courses in the junior year and these courses can present opportunities to incorporate the management and control of hazards (Table 1). Physical Chemistry 1, Physical Chemistry 2, and Physical Chemistry Laboratory courses are usually covered here, as well as Instrumental Analysis. Undergraduate Research is usually started in the junior year by most chemistry majors and continued into the senior year. Part of the planning of a research project could include identifying the hazards and risks of a research project, conducting an assessment of the risks of the research, applying safety principles covered in the previous years, and adding new ones as appropriate. There could be a requirement that the student present a plan for management and control of the hazards involved in the research and that this plan be updated and modified as the research progressed into the senior year. The risk assessment plan could be evaluated by both the research advisor and the in-house Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) personnel. If the department has a Safety Committee, it could also have a role in this evaluation. The Physical Chemistry Laboratory can present opportunities for incorporation of more general aspects of the physical hazards mentioned. Students should learn about the relationship between certain chemical properties and the relative hazard of chemicals. This includes, for example, learning about flammables, the fire triangle, and key definitions. The principles of explosives and reactives could be covered to explain what makes a chemical explosive or reactive. Common physical hazards could be covered also, such as gases, high pressure, vacuum, extreme temperatures, and electrical hazards.
The senior year is often dominated by the Undergraduate Research project. Some schools require a senior thesis, or encourage the presentation of a paper at a regional or national meeting. Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Laboratory, and Advanced Chemistry electives usually taken in the senior year with the electives being in the area of student’s concentration. The application of all safety principles should be emphasized in all senior courses (Table 1). By the senior year, the student should have learned all the basics of hazard recognition, risk assessment, and risk management, and they should be able to apply all of this information independently to devise safety plans for their work on research projects or advanced laboratories. They should be able to handle common emergency situations and should be educated in basic regulations that have an effect on their work in the public or private sector. They should learn where to get the information they need, not only from printed sources but also from consultations with other sources. The senior undergraduates, as they prepare to graduate, should be able to apply all of the safety principles that were learned throughout the curriculum to ensure that they will be able to work safely in the future. The CPT Guidelines provide the basis for incorporating safety into the chemistry curriculum.9,10 Unfortunately CPT currently does not evaluate the incorporation of safety education into the lecture curriculum. It does ask departments about certain items of safety equipment. The CPT supplement provides an outline similar to that provided here of safety topics and areas that could be covered to ensure safety competence, but there are no requirements to actually incorporate these.10 CPT emphasizes the importance of safety equipment being available for laboratory work and expects that safety rules will be vigorously enforced. To achieve the goal of incorporating safety into the curriculum, it is imperative that this effort be fully supported by the department and its head or chair. There are resources available that have the necessary safety informa-
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
tion that should be taught throughout the curriculum.12–15 University Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) staff are often good resources for teaching safety and they could be used in this role. Since most laboratory-based classes are taught by teaching assistants, it is important that they learn The Safety Ethic to develop a strong positive attitude and awareness for safety. They too must be educated in the basic safety topics mentioned in this paper. Now that we have defined, in a general sense, what needs to be taught and where it should be taught in the curriculum, there are various approaches to move this process forward. We might begin by incorporating the necessary materials into the textbooks and laboratory manuals for each course. Some educators have commented that if safety is included in the textbooks, that it is more likely to be taught. ACSapproved Chemistry Departments should work to achieve CPT’s goal of incorporating safety throughout the chemistry curriculum.9,10 The American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS), the Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS), and the Division of Chemical Education (CHED) should work with CPT to help them strengthen accountability for this requirement in the evaluation of ACS certified courses. It is also important that students can demonstrate competency in safety through questions or essays in the courses presented by ACS certified departments. CHAS, CCS, and other experts in safety can provide expert guidance to help identify specific and appropriate safety elements for textbooks. This should also include assisting authors in incorporating safety elements into the textbooks. They can assist in devising test questions for evaluating competency of chemistry students in safety and devise criteria for evaluating safety incorporation in the curriculum. Many have recognized that the state of safety education for new chemistry graduates is not what it should be.
Improvement is needed and this paper provides suggestions on the desired level of safety education needed. The suggested placement of these topics is less important than ensuring that these topics be covered adequately. Nevertheless, the chemistry community must begin to move in the right direction to strengthen the safety education of our students in the chemistry profession, not only for the benefits to the individual and the employer, but also to the chemical enterprise in general, since it will highlight to the public the real importance that chemists place on safety. The authors believe a new added emphasis on safety will benefit the chemistry community in general and help build the trust it needs with the public. As chemists, our goal for the future should be to strengthen safety in the chemistry curriculum so that tomorrow’s chemists will have strong safety ethics, will be able to recognize hazards, will be able to assess the risks of those hazards, and will be able to devise plans to manage, control, and minimize those risks. In short we want to produce chemists who have strong skills in safety. Attaining this goal of a new emphasis on safety will strengthen the stature of chemistry in our own eyes, in the eyes of our fellow scientists, and in the eyes of our communities and fellow citizens.
REFERENCES 1. Utterback, P. J.; Nelson, D. A. Eds. Educating for OSHA Savvy Chemists. American Chemical Society Symposium Series #700; American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1998. 2. Nelson, D. A. Incorporating chemical health and safety topics into chemistry curricula. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(5), 43–48. 3. Hill, R. H. Getting safety into the chemistry curriculum. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 7–9. 4. Hill, R. H. Changing the way chemists think about safety. Chem. Health Safety, 2004, 11(3), 5–8. 5. Fivizzani, K. P. Transforming employees into safety partners. Chem. Health Safety, 2004, 11(3), 9–11.
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
6. Sarquis, M. Building student safety habits: barriers and recommendations. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 10– 12. 7. Foster, B. L. Principles of laboratory safety management in academia. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 13–16. 8. Hendershot, D. C.; Louvar, J. F.; Kubias, F. O. Add chemical safety process to the chemistry curriculum. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(1), 16– 22. 9. Committee on Professional Training, American Chemical Society. Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures, Spring 2003. (a) p. 15; (b) p. 10 [see http://www.chemistry.org/ portal/resources/ACS/ACSContent/ education/cpt/guidelines_spring2003. pdf] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 10. Committee on Professional Training, American Chemical Society. Safety and Safety Education. Supplement to Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures, Spring 2003 [see http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/ s/1/acsdisplay.html? DOC=education \cpt\ts_safety.html] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 11. Hill, R. H. The safety ethic: where can you get one? Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(3), 8–11. 12. National Research Council. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals; National Academy Press; Washington, DC, 1995, [Available on line at: http://www. nap.edu/books/0309052297/html/]. 13. Alaimo, R. J. Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety; Oxford University Press; New York, NY, 2001. 14. Committee on Chemical Safety, American Chemical Society. Safety in Academic Laboratories, 7th Edition, Volume 1: Accident Prevention for College and University Students; American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 2003 [see http://membership. acs.org/c/ccs/pub_3.htm] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 15. Committee on Chemical Safety, American Chemical Society. Safety in Academic Laboratories, 7th Edition, Volume 2: Accident Prevention for Faculty and Administrators; American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 2003 [see http://membership.acs.org/ c/ccs/pubs/SACL_faculty.htm] Accessed on April 8, 2005.
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Strengthening safety education of chemistry undergraduates Safety in the workplace is critical for the welfare of the workforce and the organization. Employees, including chemists, must have knowledge and skills in safety, and a strong safety ethic to work in a safe manner. Many of today’s chemistry undergraduates have not been fully prepared with appropriate attitude, skill, and knowledge in safety for jobs in industry, government, other public sectors, or for continuing education in academia. This paper proposes strengthening the undergraduate curriculum so that every new chemistry undergraduate will have a minimum competency in safety at the end of their four-year degree program in chemistry. All undergraduates should be able to recognize hazards in the laboratory, assess the risks of those hazards, and develop and implement a plan to manage, control or minimize the risks. Topics are suggested for each year of a four-year chemistry program to develop this competency. It is suggested that Committee for Professional Training strengthen their evaluation of American Chemical Society (ACS)approved Chemistry Departments with accountability for teaching safety. Evaluation of this competency is suggested for ACS Certification.
By Robert H. Hill Jr., David A. Nelson
INTRODUCTION
We are honored to be a part of this special edition of Chemical Health and Safety dedicated to the memory of Warren Kingsley, the Founding Editor. Warren was a friend and colleague who had an infectious smile, a quick wit that was always questioning, and a true devotion to chemical safety and its promotion. It is in this spirit that we Robert H. Hill, Jr., Ph.D. is affiliated with Office of Health and Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road (MS-F05), Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA (Tel.: 404 639 2453; fax: 404 639 1691; e-mail: [email protected]). David A. Nelson, Ph.D. is the Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, University of Wyoming, 1422 Ashley Street, Laramie, WY 82070, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). Note: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agency.
1074-9098/$30.00 doi:10.1016/j.chs.2005.07.012
dedicate this paper to his memory and his contributions to make this world a safer place. We welcome the opportunity to discuss a subject near and dear – the need to strengthen the safety education of chemists.1–8 Today’s and tomorrow’s chemists need to be fully prepared to enter the workplace armed with a strong drive for safety and with the skill and knowledge to ensure that all work is done safely. Safety should play an important part of our lives at home and leisure, and must be an integral part of our work. Many years ago one of us (R.H.), as a student, observed or experienced several incidents that could be attributed in large part to the lack of safety education of chemists. More than 20 years later, he visited a university where he delivered a lecture on safety. As he was leaving he was surrounded by a large group of students who complained that a lack of safety education and general lack of concern for safety were common in their institution. After this experience, further inquiry with other health and safety professionals and other academic professionals substantiated a broad concern about the lack of emphasis on safety education in many academic institutions. This concern has been discussed previously.1–8 It is possible to strengthen the safety education of undergraduates (and graduates), but it will require a concerted
effort to win over the chemistry educators to the idea that employers need to know that their new employees (new chemistry undergraduates or graduates) will be knowledgeable in this safety. It is valuable to illustrate why this is important and we have chosen to relate a short, true story to illustrate the point. ‘‘I can’t breathe’’
A new employee just joined the staff of this organization – young, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and skilled in science, but uneducated in chemical safety and in safety in general. Part of her assignment was to prepare a solution of formalin in a small carboy. She did this but spilled some of the formalin in the sink where she set the carboy of solution. She did not clean up the spill before she left the laboratory. Shortly thereafter another older longterm employee came to work in the laboratory. She worked for a while and began to develop a cough that got progressively worse in a short time period. Her condition continued to worsen and she told a colleague, ‘‘I can’t breathe!’’ She was immediately taken to the occupational health clinic that was on the premises very near to her laboratory. After examination and placing her on oxygen, the physician suspected an acute toxic exposure and sent someone back to investigate in the
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
19
laboratory. It was soon discovered that the formalin had been spilled in the sink and this was the likely cause of the problem. Subsequently the patient went on to develop a sensitization to formalin and eventually acquired lung disease that required daily oxygen. The employee and the employer were both losers here in large part because the young worker lacked a strong safety education.
EMPLOYING NEW CHEMISTS AND OTHER SCIENTISTS
Employers of chemists want new employees (undergraduates and graduates) who have a strong safety ethic, have solid safety knowledge and skills, and are not safety liabilities. These new chemists should know how to prevent accidents by recognizing and managing hazards – and they should be diligent in their quest to do so because they have acquired a positive attitude toward safety. The workforce is the principal driver in accomplishing the mission or business, and it is essential that a safe and healthy environment is maintained for them. While employers have control over the facilities, they have less control over their employees, so it is essential that employees value and understand safety. Many new employees are amazed at the emphasis on safety in the work environment since there is not this strong emphasis in many academic environments. Employers are equally amazed that chemistry undergraduates and graduates are coming to work with little safety skills and even less awareness of the corporate view of safety’s importance. Employers might ask a prospective employee about their knowledge and perspective about safety. They would likely ask if there are any limitations to handling hazardous materials and if the candidate has the skill and knowledge to do this effectively. Employers may ask about the candidate’s knowledge of safety regulations. Prospective employees should also ask questions about safety at the organization where they might work. ‘‘How does your safety department work and what types of hazards might I encounter?’’,
20
for example. Many new employees believe that their employers will adequately train them in the safety aspects of their job and that they will not put them in dangerous situations.5 While employers usually provide basic site specific safety training, they should not be expected to have to educate new employees in basic safety principles and practices. If new employees have any concern about the safety aspects of the job, they should talk about this so the employer can provide assurance that safety is the first consideration. The American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training (CPT) establishes guidelines for American Chemical Society (ACS)approved Chemistry Departments. CPT Guidelines provide a listing of requirements for safety including the following guidance.9 ‘‘Discussions of current health and safety issues must be an integral part of the chemistry curriculum. Students should develop a high degree of safety awareness, beginning early with discussions of the potential hazards associated with chemicals and laboratory equipment. Recognized safety practices should be stressed both in the classroom and laboratory discussions.’’9a Laboratory work in chemistry should ‘‘give students hands-on-experience with chemistry and the self-confidence and competence to anticipate, recognize, and respond properly to hazards of chemical manipulations.’’9b It is our opinion that these expectations are rarely met. Based upon our experience in safety, we have asked ourselves ‘‘What should new undergraduates in chemistry know about safety when they graduate?’’ Basically, we have concluded that all chemistry majors upon graduation must be able to recognize hazards, assess the risk of those hazards, manage the risks of those hazards, and perhaps most important that they have a strong safety ethic or positive attitude and awareness for safety. Furthermore the longer one works with chemicals, and chemicals are used in many operations, the more likely it will be that you will encounter an emergency of some sort – be it a fire, a chemical spill, a chemical exposure or splash on a
person, etc. Each chemist must have an understanding about what they must do in emergency situations before they happen. In the remainder of this paper, we have identified the core knowledge and skills needed in safety and formulated a proposed schema for safety elements disbursed throughout the chemistry curriculum, as CPT explained in their guidelines and safety supplement.9,10 In Table 1 we present our suggestions about the safety topics or elements that need to be taught during each year of study and have suggested the courses that should cover this safety material within their texts. The relative placement of safety topics over each year in a chemistry program is suggested, not fixed, and topics could be moved to other years and courses. Nevertheless, we believe that safety should be spread out throughout the curriculum and not be relegated to a single, one-time safety course. By spreading safety throughout the curriculum, the educators will accomplish the continual re-enforcement that is needed to drive home the importance of safety. To achieve the goal of properly preparing a chemist for a job in the private, government, or academic sector, we believe that educators must teach safety from freshman through senior years, and continuing into graduate school. It is only with this kind of emphasis that safety will become accepted as an important skill set needed to be a successful chemist. Educators should lead by example – following the safety rules and principles they are teaching. They must become strong proponents for safety – instilling the value of safety through continual safety education and reenforcement of safety principles. Students at the same time must understand that an integral part of their chemical education is the ability to find and interpret information and to recognize, assess, and manage chemicals and other hazards, particularly in the laboratory. The most essential safety element is to instill in every student a ‘‘high degree of safety awareness’’, according to CPT.9a Another way to express this element is that students must develop a strong safety ethic. How do you
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
Table 1. Safety Topics for Each Year of the Chemistry Curriculum
Year of Study
Courses
Safety Topics To Be Covered This Year
Freshman
General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis 1 w/laboratory General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis 2 w/laboratory
The Safety Ethic; basic laboratory rules; basic principles of safety; MSDSs; Chemical Hygiene Plans; basic hazard recognition – terms, labels, signs; basic emergency procedures – exit routes, incident reporting
Sophomore
Organic Chemistry 1 w/laboratory Organic Chemistry 2 w/laboratory Quantitative Analysis w/laboratory
Basic toxicology and its use in assessing risks – exposure routes, LD50’s, acute, chronic, types of toxic chemicals; exposure limits (TLVs, PELs, STELs) and use assessing risks; calculating airborne concentrations; information sources on hazards, chemical properties, safe practices
Junior
Physical Chemistry 1 Physical Chemistry 2 Physical Chemistry Laboratory Instrumental Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Research Laboratory
Assessing risks for laboratory work; knowledge of relationship between chemical properties and hazards – flammables, explosives, reactives, physical hazards; understands and selects containment, ventilation, personal protective equipment; knows prudent work practices, including chemical management, storage, disposal; emergency response – fire extinguishers, chemical spills; physical hazards – high pressure, vacuum, UV, visible, IR, microwave, magnetic, electrical
Senior
Biochemistry Introductory Inorganic Chemistry w/laboratory Undergraduate Research Laboratory Advanced Chemistry Electives
Recognizes and communicates lab hazards; assesses risk of lab hazards; devises safety plan to manage, control and minimize lab risks; handles emergency situations; knows regulations that impact laboratories, chemical safety; information sources including organizations for lab chemical safety; special safety topics, such as radiation safety, biological safety, lasers, contamination, decontamination, first aid kits, AEDs
define this intangible term? What is the safety ethic? The following is offered – The Safety Ethic: I value safety, work safely, prevent at-risk behavior, promote safety, and accept responsibility for safety.11 If this ethic is accepted and adopted by each student and educator, the learning of safety will become an easy and integral part of their education in chemistry. To value safety means that safety is always the first consideration before taking some action – remember the old adage ‘‘Safety First.’’ To work safely means that all hazards are recognized, assessed, and managed and the chemist uses appropriate controls such as ventilation, work practices, and personal protective equipment to safely accomplish the job. At-risk behavior is the leading cause of most accidents and incidents, so if we can prevent this undesired behavior, we can prevent most accidents. Promoting safety pro-
vides continual re-enforcement of safety and instills the need for safety in others which has the added benefit of protecting one’s self too. Lastly, all persons must accept personal responsibility for safety, and not rely on someone else to look out for their safety. All need to take steps to ensure their own safety. The Safety Ethic should not only be adopted by the students but by the faculty, instructors, and teachers who should emphasize safety throughout the curriculum and lead by example by being strong proponents of safety. To achieve safety competency, we suggest the focus of freshman and sophomore years should be on hazard recognition. This is probably the most difficult of all safety elements because sometimes we ourselves may not recognize all hazards. Nevertheless, we can recognize most hazards if we are taught what to look for and where to find the right kind of information.
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The concept of risk and hazard assessment should be introduced in the sophomore year. The junior year should focus on risk management, control, and minimization, and begin to show the student how these skills can be used. The senior year should include application of the all the skills learned so that the student, after employment as a chemist, can develop safety plans for the job to be done. There are many references that provide the basis for the kind of safety education needed to develop skills in hazard recognition, risk assessment, and hazard/risk management and control.12–15 It is important that safety principles not only be taught in the laboratory, but also that basic safety education become part of the classroom lecture series too, as called for by the CPT. Because of the lack of coverage of safety concepts in essentially all 21
current chemistry lecture texts, integrating health and safety issues into the chemistry lecture curriculum is presently a major problem. We are hopeful that with increased encouragement by the ACS CPT, the ACS Division of Chemical Education, and other educational safety advocates that this situation will change. In anticipation of future additions of safety material to lecture texts, we offer the following suggestions of where more specific topics could be introduced. This outline may serve as a guide to textbook writers and chemistry educators who are motivated to follow the general CPT recommendations for incorporation of safety into the curriculum. In the freshman year, General Chemistry is taught and may be combined with Qualitative Analysis. This latter course may be a stand-alone course too. In the freshman year, students should learn about The Safety Ethic, basic laboratory rules, and the basic principles of safety (Table 1). If students understand the safety principles that require them to follow a safety rule, they will appreciate and will more likely follow those rules in the future.5,7 Freshman should learn about Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and be introduced to the concept of the chemical hygiene plan, including the specific plan of the institution where they are enrolled. They should learn basic hazard recognition including the definitions of various hazards, being able to effectively read chemical labels and signs to learn about the specifics of hazards being encountered or used. At the freshman level, emergency procedures should include identifying escape routes and incident reporting procedures – often this requires reporting to the teaching assistant. In the sophomore year, students will encounter the basic Organic Chemistry course and probably a Quantitative Analysis course with corresponding laboratories. There should be continued emphasis on hazard recognition (Table 1). To help the student understand toxic hazards it is essential that the basics of toxicology be presented along with an explanation of how to use this information in evaluating the relative risks of chemicals. Exposure limits should also be taught here and 22
how this information can be used in assessing risks. Discussions of exposure limits presents an opportunity to calculate air concentrations in mg/L or parts per million (ppm). This could be the basis of an experiment in quantitative analysis, with the principles discussed in lecture. Identifying sources of information on hazards and chemical properties is a critical skill that should be learned. Chemistry students will pick up more chemistry courses in the junior year and these courses can present opportunities to incorporate the management and control of hazards (Table 1). Physical Chemistry 1, Physical Chemistry 2, and Physical Chemistry Laboratory courses are usually covered here, as well as Instrumental Analysis. Undergraduate Research is usually started in the junior year by most chemistry majors and continued into the senior year. Part of the planning of a research project could include identifying the hazards and risks of a research project, conducting an assessment of the risks of the research, applying safety principles covered in the previous years, and adding new ones as appropriate. There could be a requirement that the student present a plan for management and control of the hazards involved in the research and that this plan be updated and modified as the research progressed into the senior year. The risk assessment plan could be evaluated by both the research advisor and the in-house Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) personnel. If the department has a Safety Committee, it could also have a role in this evaluation. The Physical Chemistry Laboratory can present opportunities for incorporation of more general aspects of the physical hazards mentioned. Students should learn about the relationship between certain chemical properties and the relative hazard of chemicals. This includes, for example, learning about flammables, the fire triangle, and key definitions. The principles of explosives and reactives could be covered to explain what makes a chemical explosive or reactive. Common physical hazards could be covered also, such as gases, high pressure, vacuum, extreme temperatures, and electrical hazards.
The senior year is often dominated by the Undergraduate Research project. Some schools require a senior thesis, or encourage the presentation of a paper at a regional or national meeting. Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Laboratory, and Advanced Chemistry electives usually taken in the senior year with the electives being in the area of student’s concentration. The application of all safety principles should be emphasized in all senior courses (Table 1). By the senior year, the student should have learned all the basics of hazard recognition, risk assessment, and risk management, and they should be able to apply all of this information independently to devise safety plans for their work on research projects or advanced laboratories. They should be able to handle common emergency situations and should be educated in basic regulations that have an effect on their work in the public or private sector. They should learn where to get the information they need, not only from printed sources but also from consultations with other sources. The senior undergraduates, as they prepare to graduate, should be able to apply all of the safety principles that were learned throughout the curriculum to ensure that they will be able to work safely in the future. The CPT Guidelines provide the basis for incorporating safety into the chemistry curriculum.9,10 Unfortunately CPT currently does not evaluate the incorporation of safety education into the lecture curriculum. It does ask departments about certain items of safety equipment. The CPT supplement provides an outline similar to that provided here of safety topics and areas that could be covered to ensure safety competence, but there are no requirements to actually incorporate these.10 CPT emphasizes the importance of safety equipment being available for laboratory work and expects that safety rules will be vigorously enforced. To achieve the goal of incorporating safety into the curriculum, it is imperative that this effort be fully supported by the department and its head or chair. There are resources available that have the necessary safety informa-
Chemical Health & Safety, November/December 2005
tion that should be taught throughout the curriculum.12–15 University Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) staff are often good resources for teaching safety and they could be used in this role. Since most laboratory-based classes are taught by teaching assistants, it is important that they learn The Safety Ethic to develop a strong positive attitude and awareness for safety. They too must be educated in the basic safety topics mentioned in this paper. Now that we have defined, in a general sense, what needs to be taught and where it should be taught in the curriculum, there are various approaches to move this process forward. We might begin by incorporating the necessary materials into the textbooks and laboratory manuals for each course. Some educators have commented that if safety is included in the textbooks, that it is more likely to be taught. ACSapproved Chemistry Departments should work to achieve CPT’s goal of incorporating safety throughout the chemistry curriculum.9,10 The American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS), the Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS), and the Division of Chemical Education (CHED) should work with CPT to help them strengthen accountability for this requirement in the evaluation of ACS certified courses. It is also important that students can demonstrate competency in safety through questions or essays in the courses presented by ACS certified departments. CHAS, CCS, and other experts in safety can provide expert guidance to help identify specific and appropriate safety elements for textbooks. This should also include assisting authors in incorporating safety elements into the textbooks. They can assist in devising test questions for evaluating competency of chemistry students in safety and devise criteria for evaluating safety incorporation in the curriculum. Many have recognized that the state of safety education for new chemistry graduates is not what it should be.
Improvement is needed and this paper provides suggestions on the desired level of safety education needed. The suggested placement of these topics is less important than ensuring that these topics be covered adequately. Nevertheless, the chemistry community must begin to move in the right direction to strengthen the safety education of our students in the chemistry profession, not only for the benefits to the individual and the employer, but also to the chemical enterprise in general, since it will highlight to the public the real importance that chemists place on safety. The authors believe a new added emphasis on safety will benefit the chemistry community in general and help build the trust it needs with the public. As chemists, our goal for the future should be to strengthen safety in the chemistry curriculum so that tomorrow’s chemists will have strong safety ethics, will be able to recognize hazards, will be able to assess the risks of those hazards, and will be able to devise plans to manage, control, and minimize those risks. In short we want to produce chemists who have strong skills in safety. Attaining this goal of a new emphasis on safety will strengthen the stature of chemistry in our own eyes, in the eyes of our fellow scientists, and in the eyes of our communities and fellow citizens.
REFERENCES 1. Utterback, P. J.; Nelson, D. A. Eds. Educating for OSHA Savvy Chemists. American Chemical Society Symposium Series #700; American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1998. 2. Nelson, D. A. Incorporating chemical health and safety topics into chemistry curricula. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(5), 43–48. 3. Hill, R. H. Getting safety into the chemistry curriculum. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 7–9. 4. Hill, R. H. Changing the way chemists think about safety. Chem. Health Safety, 2004, 11(3), 5–8. 5. Fivizzani, K. P. Transforming employees into safety partners. Chem. Health Safety, 2004, 11(3), 9–11.
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6. Sarquis, M. Building student safety habits: barriers and recommendations. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 10– 12. 7. Foster, B. L. Principles of laboratory safety management in academia. Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(2), 13–16. 8. Hendershot, D. C.; Louvar, J. F.; Kubias, F. O. Add chemical safety process to the chemistry curriculum. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(1), 16– 22. 9. Committee on Professional Training, American Chemical Society. Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures, Spring 2003. (a) p. 15; (b) p. 10 [see http://www.chemistry.org/ portal/resources/ACS/ACSContent/ education/cpt/guidelines_spring2003. pdf] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 10. Committee on Professional Training, American Chemical Society. Safety and Safety Education. Supplement to Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures, Spring 2003 [see http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/ s/1/acsdisplay.html? DOC=education \cpt\ts_safety.html] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 11. Hill, R. H. The safety ethic: where can you get one? Chem. Health Safety, 2003, 10(3), 8–11. 12. National Research Council. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals; National Academy Press; Washington, DC, 1995, [Available on line at: http://www. nap.edu/books/0309052297/html/]. 13. Alaimo, R. J. Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety; Oxford University Press; New York, NY, 2001. 14. Committee on Chemical Safety, American Chemical Society. Safety in Academic Laboratories, 7th Edition, Volume 1: Accident Prevention for College and University Students; American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 2003 [see http://membership. acs.org/c/ccs/pub_3.htm] Accessed on April 8, 2005. 15. Committee on Chemical Safety, American Chemical Society. Safety in Academic Laboratories, 7th Edition, Volume 2: Accident Prevention for Faculty and Administrators; American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 2003 [see http://membership.acs.org/ c/ccs/pubs/SACL_faculty.htm] Accessed on April 8, 2005.
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