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A View from the masthead
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! That hurts!!! By Robert Hill
N
ot long ago I read a ``report card'' on our nation's collegiate educational system with respect to teaching chemical health and safety.1 It essentially said that college educators do a good job at the lowest levels of undergraduate curricula (i.e. general and organic chemistry) teaching some elements of basic chemical safety. However, for the most part they did not teach safety beyond this minimal effort and had not incorporated safety into their curricula. This lack of safety education has a real impact when these new graduates move into the working sector, lacking notonly a safety ethic but not even knowing the basic elements of safety. OUCH #1
This essentially leaves the new student unprepared to walk into a job and commence work. Not having been taught basic safety or some basic understanding of laws and regulations governing safety, they are prone to make mistakes, which sometimes mean accidents and injuries. Perhaps even worse, their mistakes can and sometimes do result in injury to others working around them. These might be prevented or minimized by including a strong safety program into the college curricula of science majors. OUCH #2
Employers, such as the CDC and others in industry, are ®nding that a disproportionate number of these new employees are having accidents and injuries, due in part to their lack of experience and safety education. Thus, employers are being forced to spend more time and money providing the safety education that was not provided at the college level. While it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that employees are fully trained in safety, it is dif®cult to overcome poor habits learned elsewhere. Potential employers would like to hire graduates who have a stronger knowledge and skill base in safety. OUCH #3
While many college and university professors have the desire to teach safety in their educational institutions, there are several obstacles. First, the curricula is fullÐthere is no place to put safety, and there appears to be no room for a stand alone course or requirement for safety. In short safety has taken a back seat. Second, 42
there is little or no safety educational material in today's college texts. Although a few college educators have managed to work safety into their course work,2,3 others have ignored or discounted safety as a less important topic. At least some would be willing to incorporate safety if they knew what should be taught and had a textbook with the necessary information. That hurts! But there is a way to relieve our collective pain. The ACS's Division of Chemical Health and Safety has a deep interest in this opportunity for improving safety and has begun working with other partners in the ACS to begin to ®nd a way to address this challenge. Ours is a ®rst step to address chemical safety, but other sciences, such as microbiology, are likewise in need of similar efforts in safety education. To ®nd a solution will be a grassroots effort. We must ®nd ways to get our educators, industrial leaders, and others to work together toward the common goal of teaching our graduates that ``Safety comes ®rst'' and ``Safety is good business.'' Perhaps we can re-evaluate the possibility for a one-semester course in safety for science students. Another important approach would be to get the most important safety information included in tomorrow's textbooks. This will require a considerable effort since many authors need to know what should be included. Fortunately, there are some good resources for educators and textbook authors to draw upon if they want to include safety in their curricula.4±7 While this is a long-term project and requires changing our system, it is not only needed, but it is in our best interest to do so.
References
1. Nelson, D. A. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(5), 4. 2. Hankinson, B. L.; Ragsdale, T. W. Chem. Health Safety, 2000, 7(2), 10. 3. VernonClark, R.; Palmer, J. G. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(6), 27. 4. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals; National Research Council; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1995. 5. Luxon, S. G., Ed., Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory, 5th ed.; Royal Society of Chemistry: London, UK, 1992. 6. Alaimo, R. J., Ed., Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety; Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 2001. 7. Elston, H. J.; Young, J. A., Board of Editors. Chem. Health Safety, 2001, 8(1), 6.
1074-9098/02/$22.00 PII S1074-9098(02)00325-8
N
ot long ago I read a ``report card'' on our nation's collegiate educational system with respect to teaching chemical health and safety.1 It essentially said that college educators do a good job at the lowest levels of undergraduate curricula (i.e. general and organic chemistry) teaching some elements of basic chemical safety. However, for the most part they did not teach safety beyond this minimal effort and had not incorporated safety into their curricula. This lack of safety education has a real impact when these new graduates move into the working sector, lacking notonly a safety ethic but not even knowing the basic elements of safety. OUCH #1
This essentially leaves the new student unprepared to walk into a job and commence work. Not having been taught basic safety or some basic understanding of laws and regulations governing safety, they are prone to make mistakes, which sometimes mean accidents and injuries. Perhaps even worse, their mistakes can and sometimes do result in injury to others working around them. These might be prevented or minimized by including a strong safety program into the college curricula of science majors. OUCH #2
Employers, such as the CDC and others in industry, are ®nding that a disproportionate number of these new employees are having accidents and injuries, due in part to their lack of experience and safety education. Thus, employers are being forced to spend more time and money providing the safety education that was not provided at the college level. While it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that employees are fully trained in safety, it is dif®cult to overcome poor habits learned elsewhere. Potential employers would like to hire graduates who have a stronger knowledge and skill base in safety. OUCH #3
While many college and university professors have the desire to teach safety in their educational institutions, there are several obstacles. First, the curricula is fullÐthere is no place to put safety, and there appears to be no room for a stand alone course or requirement for safety. In short safety has taken a back seat. Second, 42
there is little or no safety educational material in today's college texts. Although a few college educators have managed to work safety into their course work,2,3 others have ignored or discounted safety as a less important topic. At least some would be willing to incorporate safety if they knew what should be taught and had a textbook with the necessary information. That hurts! But there is a way to relieve our collective pain. The ACS's Division of Chemical Health and Safety has a deep interest in this opportunity for improving safety and has begun working with other partners in the ACS to begin to ®nd a way to address this challenge. Ours is a ®rst step to address chemical safety, but other sciences, such as microbiology, are likewise in need of similar efforts in safety education. To ®nd a solution will be a grassroots effort. We must ®nd ways to get our educators, industrial leaders, and others to work together toward the common goal of teaching our graduates that ``Safety comes ®rst'' and ``Safety is good business.'' Perhaps we can re-evaluate the possibility for a one-semester course in safety for science students. Another important approach would be to get the most important safety information included in tomorrow's textbooks. This will require a considerable effort since many authors need to know what should be included. Fortunately, there are some good resources for educators and textbook authors to draw upon if they want to include safety in their curricula.4±7 While this is a long-term project and requires changing our system, it is not only needed, but it is in our best interest to do so.
References
1. Nelson, D. A. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(5), 4. 2. Hankinson, B. L.; Ragsdale, T. W. Chem. Health Safety, 2000, 7(2), 10. 3. VernonClark, R.; Palmer, J. G. Chem. Health Safety, 1999, 6(6), 27. 4. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals; National Research Council; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1995. 5. Luxon, S. G., Ed., Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory, 5th ed.; Royal Society of Chemistry: London, UK, 1992. 6. Alaimo, R. J., Ed., Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety; Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 2001. 7. Elston, H. J.; Young, J. A., Board of Editors. Chem. Health Safety, 2001, 8(1), 6.
1074-9098/02/$22.00 PII S1074-9098(02)00325-8