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Risk communication toolbox
Retooling laboratory safety with new solutions Christopher Pitoscia Columbia University, Health SciencesMorningside Campus, United States Lab safety challenges colleges and universities face can be daunting. These challenges affect institutions, small and large, and can pose an impediment to program advancement, however commonalities are shared in the realm of lab compliance and safety that we all endeavor to improve. Columbia University will share some unique solutions to perennial issues, developed through campus collaborations. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.463 Review of five types of laboratory incidents Markus Schaufele Evanston Campus, Northwestern University, United States When chemicals in a reaction explode or an unexpected pressure release or fire causes damage it is at times difficult for the safety professional to figure out root causes. The wider distribution of lessons learned is often restricted to a small circle due to liability concerns and other restrictions. The presentation will cover lessons learned from an organic peroxide explosion, oil bath fires, and cryogenic vessel and chemical reactor vessel ruptures. Suggested changes in training, procedures, procurement and engineering may prevent similar incidents at peer institutions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.464 Risk communication toolbox Dennis Elmore University of Missouri, United States Do you ever find yourself attempting to increase people’s perception of risk or do you spend more time trying to calm them down? Does your job require you to communicate risk information in times of crisis? Simply being a subject matter expert is not enough. The key to effective risk communication is to first understand the circumstances. This includes the knowledge level and emotional state of your audience. This session will focus on three modes of risk communication. We will also examine
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a number of issues that cause people to care too little about some risks and care too much about others. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.465 Safety challenges in interdisciplinary labs Deborah Wolfe-Lopez Georgia Institute of Technology, Environmental Health and Safety, United States Interdisciplinary research labs present challenges to safety professionals due to their unconventional approach to research which sometimes combines laboratorians with dangerous materials or processes beyond their training or experience. Finding a balance between best safety practices and creative research can be a daunting task. Georgia Tech EHS has been working to develop strategies to address these issues without impeding research. We will share examples of what has worked well for us – and what hasn’t. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.466 Safety cuture – The backstory Peter Reinhardt Yale University, United States We all want to improve campus safety culture, but how? We first need to understand some things. What is safety culture? How does it relate to compliance? Where does it fit among all the other safety things we do? Can we influence attitudes? How do we raise awareness? If someone asked how they can improve campus safety culture, what would you tell them? This presentation explores these questions and suggests some answers. The presenter will propose a simple way to raise people s awareness, steps individuals can take to grow campus safety culture, and tools you will need to make it happen. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.467 Sharepoint – What’s new Suzanne Howard Wellesley College, United States The EHS Office at Wellesley College has employed EH&E’s design solution using the Microsoft Word Sharepoint
application. Many other campuses across the country are using the Sharepoint template as well. This will be a panel discussion with several Sharepoint users on how the software is used on their campus to manage EHS functions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.468 Sharepoint – What’s new Karie-Ann Myer Environmental Health & Engineering, United States The EHS Office at Wellesley College has employed EH&E’s design solution using the Microsoft Word Sharepoint application. Many other campuses across the country are using the Sharepoint template as well. This will be a panel discussion with several Sharepoint users on how the software is used on their campus to manage EHS functions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.469 Shifting safety cultural divide on PPE compliance James Gibson University of California, Los Angeles, United States Creating a more positive safety culture in the academic research safety environment continues to be a major challenge for universities and research institutions throughout the world. This session describes the process by which UCLA created the infrastructure to develop and promulgate laboratory safety policies on PPE compliance and how UCLA EH&S implemented procedures to ensure laboratories complied with the policies. This presentation will present 3 years of quantitative data that support the effectiveness of this effort. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.470 Small colleges and university discussion Kristine Rossmiller Drake University, United States Members of the Small Colleges and Universities Committee would like to discuss issues facing small EHS staffs. This will be an open discussion where
Journal of Chemical Health & Safety, May/June 2013
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a number of issues that cause people to care too little about some risks and care too much about others. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.465 Safety challenges in interdisciplinary labs Deborah Wolfe-Lopez Georgia Institute of Technology, Environmental Health and Safety, United States Interdisciplinary research labs present challenges to safety professionals due to their unconventional approach to research which sometimes combines laboratorians with dangerous materials or processes beyond their training or experience. Finding a balance between best safety practices and creative research can be a daunting task. Georgia Tech EHS has been working to develop strategies to address these issues without impeding research. We will share examples of what has worked well for us – and what hasn’t. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.466 Safety cuture – The backstory Peter Reinhardt Yale University, United States We all want to improve campus safety culture, but how? We first need to understand some things. What is safety culture? How does it relate to compliance? Where does it fit among all the other safety things we do? Can we influence attitudes? How do we raise awareness? If someone asked how they can improve campus safety culture, what would you tell them? This presentation explores these questions and suggests some answers. The presenter will propose a simple way to raise people s awareness, steps individuals can take to grow campus safety culture, and tools you will need to make it happen. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.467 Sharepoint – What’s new Suzanne Howard Wellesley College, United States The EHS Office at Wellesley College has employed EH&E’s design solution using the Microsoft Word Sharepoint
application. Many other campuses across the country are using the Sharepoint template as well. This will be a panel discussion with several Sharepoint users on how the software is used on their campus to manage EHS functions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.468 Sharepoint – What’s new Karie-Ann Myer Environmental Health & Engineering, United States The EHS Office at Wellesley College has employed EH&E’s design solution using the Microsoft Word Sharepoint application. Many other campuses across the country are using the Sharepoint template as well. This will be a panel discussion with several Sharepoint users on how the software is used on their campus to manage EHS functions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.469 Shifting safety cultural divide on PPE compliance James Gibson University of California, Los Angeles, United States Creating a more positive safety culture in the academic research safety environment continues to be a major challenge for universities and research institutions throughout the world. This session describes the process by which UCLA created the infrastructure to develop and promulgate laboratory safety policies on PPE compliance and how UCLA EH&S implemented procedures to ensure laboratories complied with the policies. This presentation will present 3 years of quantitative data that support the effectiveness of this effort. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jchas.2013.03.470 Small colleges and university discussion Kristine Rossmiller Drake University, United States Members of the Small Colleges and Universities Committee would like to discuss issues facing small EHS staffs. This will be an open discussion where
Journal of Chemical Health & Safety, May/June 2013