Download Chapter 1 Culture of Lab Safety

Chapter 1
 Define
safety, risk, and risk assessment.
 List all entities that are responsible for
developing and carrying out regulations and
standards related to safety.
 Describe how the “Right to Know” law and
Chemical Hygiene Plan impact safety in the
lab.
 Describe the process by which companies and
individuals can go about creating a “total safety
culture” in the lab.
 Safety
• elimination of potential threats to human health
and well-being
 Can
a completely safe environment be
established in the laboratory?
• No

Most lab accidents occur while
performing routine tasks
 All labs have hazards.
• equipment, chemicals, and conditions that can
cause harm
 Most
accidents in a lab are minor in
nature
• trips, slips, and falls
• slamming fingers in doors or drawers
• minor cuts
 Since
it is impossible to eliminate all
hazards in a lab, safety is measured in
terms of risk.
• probability that a hazard will cause harm
• risk assessment attempts to estimate the
potential for human injury or damage to
property from an activity – “measurement of
safety”
 Industry
standards and practices for
health, safety and environmental issues
are more stringent than laboratories
 Safety
is a condition of employment
 Required
to understand and practice safe
behaviors
 Safety is everyone’s business.
• Federal Agencies
 Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA)
 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
 Department of Transportation (DOT)
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
• Institutions
• Laboratories
• Individuals
 Additional
sources for information
related to safety in the laboratory:
•
•
•
•
Prudent Practices in the Laboratory
Handling and Disposal of Chemicals
www.osha.gov
www.epa.gov
 Professional organizations
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• National Safety Council
 Number
of federal, state, and local
regulations along with industry
standards.
• regulations
 operating principles required by law
 CFR’s
• standards
 operating principles or requirements related to many
areas, including safety
 Regulations
and standards that apply to lab
technicians can be categorized.
• Worker safety
 Ex. require lab chemicals be labeled
• Environmental protection
 Ex. disposal of chemicals is regulated to minimize impact on
environment
• Use and handling of animals
 Ex. type of cages that can be used to house animals
• Regulation of radioisotopes
 Ex. how radioisotopes should be handled and stored
 Federal
Hazard Communication Standard
(HCS) of 1983
• regulates hazardous materials in industrial
settings
• “Right to Know” law
 Employer must provide:




workplace hazard identification
written hazard communication plan
MSDS on file for all hazardous chemicals
training for workers on how to safely use all chemicals
 CHP
outlines the policies and procedures
for working safely with hazardous
materials.
 Requirement
by federal law – most labs
 1990
Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories Standards (29 CFR
Part 1910)
• expands HCS to include academic, industrial, and
clinical laboratories
• requires a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) be
developed to include specific information and
procedures to protect workers from hazardous
chemicals
• all work-related injuries and health problems must
be reported to OSHA
 Today
it is recommended that a
laboratory create a “total safety
culture”.
• everyone feels responsible
• people go beyond what is normally expected of
them to identify and correct unsafe conditions
• clear written descriptions of safe attitudes and
practices (ex. CHP)
• Safety should not be considered as a priority but
as an immovable value
A
number of businesses & industries have
implemented the use of a critical behavior
checklist (CBC).

See checklist pg. 7
 Usually
a “safety coach” or someone from the
safety committee will be charged with
• looks at behaviors that:
 have caused or could cause a large number of injuries or near
misses
 have caused or could cause a serious injury or fatality
 Care: truly
care about health and safety
of their co-workers
 Observe: take permission to observe
behavior of others systematically and
objectively
 Analyze: must understand risky
behaviors can occur because of work
demands, inconsistent messages from
management, etc
 Communicate: must
be active listener
and a persuasive speaker
• Separate behavioral feedback from personal
attitudes and feelings
 Help: coworkers
work more safely
 Even
with all of the regulations and
standards that exist, it still falls on the
individual to be responsible and use
good judgment.
 Define
 What
safety.
is CHP?
 Explain
 How
the work of a safety coach?
can you keep yourself safe in any
work place?



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
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