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Little safety hazards
Little safety hazards Laboratory Safety in Academia
O
ne of the things that I am often asked is to focus on the most significant hazards in our campus laboratories—questions like, ‘‘Where are the most hazardous laboratories?’’ or ‘‘What are the most hazardous chemicals used on campus?’’ These questions have their place, but the ‘‘little’’ hazards are also significant and can be responsible for injury or property damage if they are ignored. You know the little things: Do you check your fire extinguishers monthly and run your eyewashes weekly? Is the emergency contact sign on the entrance to your laboratory up to date? Is everyone in the laboratory up to date with refresher training? What about the electrical cord that is in use ‘‘temporarily’’ across an aisle and creates a trip hazard? Did you label the Erlenmeyer flask with the chemical contents even though you only plan on using it for a couple hours? Are you wearing your safety glasses in the lab even when you are just making notes in your laboratory notebook? Have you cleaned up at the end of each day to minimize clutter? Did you store that 2.5 L glass container of sulfuric acid on a high shelf because there was not any available space on a lower shelf? You get the idea—there are a lot of little safety issues that we know we should address immediately, but put off because of the inconvenience and ‘‘we’ll be careful.’’ If you can’t think of at least another dozen small issues, you’re just not trying. When accidents happen, they almost always happen very quickly. We rarely have time to correct an imminent hazard, such as an explosion about to occur, a fall about to happen, or a container about to break. In those few
1871-5532 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchas.2015.04.003
instances where we do have time to correct an imminent hazard, we usually just think briefly about the close call (near miss) and move on with our work with little further thought about safety. The problem with the ‘‘little hazards’’ is the insidious effect that they have on the safety culture when they are ignored. ‘‘It’s okay this one time’’ is perhaps okay if it really is only one time. But let’s be real—is it really going to be only one time? Taking shortcuts to bypass safety once makes it easier to do the next time. It does not take much imagination to see that one shortcut leads to another and another and another, resulting in a deterioration of a laboratory’s commitment to safety. Let’s look at the issue from another angle. Is it necessary to wear a lab coat at all times while in a laboratory? From a hazard point of the view, the answer is probably ‘‘no.’’ However, always wearing a lab coat helps create a mindset in the individual and others in the laboratory that safety is important. We are less likely to cut safety corners if there is a strong safety culture; following good safety practices at all times is fundamental to having a strong safety culture. Perhaps you do not consider some of the issues I have portrayed as ‘‘little.’’ That’s a good thing. Safety demands that we be ever vigilant because accidents can happen at any time. To have a good safety culture, all laboratory staff must make safety an integral part of all activities every day of the year, and not make exceptions by neglecting safety issues that are ‘‘no big deal.’’ Every issue is a big deal; the sooner everyone in a laboratory recognizes this fact, the safer the laboratory will be.
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
43
O
ne of the things that I am often asked is to focus on the most significant hazards in our campus laboratories—questions like, ‘‘Where are the most hazardous laboratories?’’ or ‘‘What are the most hazardous chemicals used on campus?’’ These questions have their place, but the ‘‘little’’ hazards are also significant and can be responsible for injury or property damage if they are ignored. You know the little things: Do you check your fire extinguishers monthly and run your eyewashes weekly? Is the emergency contact sign on the entrance to your laboratory up to date? Is everyone in the laboratory up to date with refresher training? What about the electrical cord that is in use ‘‘temporarily’’ across an aisle and creates a trip hazard? Did you label the Erlenmeyer flask with the chemical contents even though you only plan on using it for a couple hours? Are you wearing your safety glasses in the lab even when you are just making notes in your laboratory notebook? Have you cleaned up at the end of each day to minimize clutter? Did you store that 2.5 L glass container of sulfuric acid on a high shelf because there was not any available space on a lower shelf? You get the idea—there are a lot of little safety issues that we know we should address immediately, but put off because of the inconvenience and ‘‘we’ll be careful.’’ If you can’t think of at least another dozen small issues, you’re just not trying. When accidents happen, they almost always happen very quickly. We rarely have time to correct an imminent hazard, such as an explosion about to occur, a fall about to happen, or a container about to break. In those few
1871-5532 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchas.2015.04.003
instances where we do have time to correct an imminent hazard, we usually just think briefly about the close call (near miss) and move on with our work with little further thought about safety. The problem with the ‘‘little hazards’’ is the insidious effect that they have on the safety culture when they are ignored. ‘‘It’s okay this one time’’ is perhaps okay if it really is only one time. But let’s be real—is it really going to be only one time? Taking shortcuts to bypass safety once makes it easier to do the next time. It does not take much imagination to see that one shortcut leads to another and another and another, resulting in a deterioration of a laboratory’s commitment to safety. Let’s look at the issue from another angle. Is it necessary to wear a lab coat at all times while in a laboratory? From a hazard point of the view, the answer is probably ‘‘no.’’ However, always wearing a lab coat helps create a mindset in the individual and others in the laboratory that safety is important. We are less likely to cut safety corners if there is a strong safety culture; following good safety practices at all times is fundamental to having a strong safety culture. Perhaps you do not consider some of the issues I have portrayed as ‘‘little.’’ That’s a good thing. Safety demands that we be ever vigilant because accidents can happen at any time. To have a good safety culture, all laboratory staff must make safety an integral part of all activities every day of the year, and not make exceptions by neglecting safety issues that are ‘‘no big deal.’’ Every issue is a big deal; the sooner everyone in a laboratory recognizes this fact, the safer the laboratory will be.
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
43