Laboratory safety attitudes and practices: A comparison of academic, government, and industry researchers

Schröder, Imke; Huang, Debbie; Ellis, Olivia; Gibson, John W.; Wayne, Nancy L.

doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2015.03.001

Cited by 95 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…The majority considered their laboratory a safe place, whereas one fifth an unsafe one. This figure is higher compared to the 8% that reported to feel unsafe in a study conducted in academic, government and industry researchers in USA [23]. Reasons perceived to be involved in risk of injury were inexperience and inadequate training in safe handling of chemicals, as well as high workload.…”

Section: Perceptions and Practices On Chemical Hazards And On Safety mentioning

confidence: 74%

Chemical risk and safety awareness, perception, and practices among research laboratories workers in Italy

Papadopoli

Nobile

Trovato

et al. 2020

J Occup Med Toxicol

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Introduction: Exposure to chemical compounds occurs in numerous occupational settings, among which the research and healthcare laboratories have not been adequately investigated. These settings are characterized by an extreme variability of the used compounds and by the frequent turnover of young researchers. The main objectives of the study were to explore the occupational exposure to hazardous chemical substances among research laboratory workers; to assess their awareness and perceptions regarding chemical hazards; to investigate adherence to guidelines on safe handling of chemical compounds; and to analyze the effects of several factors on these outcomes of interest. Methods: The survey was conducted among research laboratories workers who were exposed to chemical substances during their activity. Subjects completed a questionnaire exploring knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to chemical hazards involved in research activities. Results: Enrolled subjects were 237, for an 81.7% response rate. More than 90 hazardous chemical substances were used in the surveyed laboratories. A correct knowledge on hazardous chemicals was significantly more likely in younger researchers, in those manipulating a higher number of hazardous chemicals, and in those with a higher number of years of training in the attended laboratory; 54.4% of the workers said they felt very exposed to chemical risk. Correct practices in the laboratories were significantly more likely in researchers who perceived to have a low exposure to chemicals, but a high exposure to biological risk, who agreed with the statement that colleagues handle chemicals following safety procedures and who perceived to have received an adequate training in the management of accidents and first aid. Conclusions: Our results showed significant gaps in knowledge and scarce preparedness in the adherence to safety processes to prevent and contain risks related to use of chemical compounds in research laboratories.

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Section: Perceptions and Practices On Chemical Hazards And On Safety mentioning

confidence: 74%

Chemical risk and safety awareness, perception, and practices among research laboratories workers in Italy

Papadopoli

Nobile

Trovato

et al. 2020

J Occup Med Toxicol

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“…However, most of the operators in industrial laboratories are highly qualified professionals who are more familiar with the experiments and experimental environment. As a result, they have a higher risk perception and a stronger safety awareness [ 55 ]. Therefore, when students ignore these precautions and teachers do not remind students about them, they become likely to engage in unsafe operation behaviors, thus resulting in increased risks [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When man’s safety awareness is not strong, individual protection will be ignored [ 25 ], and the compliance of individual protection equipment will generally decrease with the drop of safety awareness. If protective measures are not in place, the injury of operators will be worse [ 55 ]. In addition, compared with chemical laboratories where operators are required to wear appropriate laboratory coats, operators in civil engineering laboratories do not have special clothing [ 66 , 67 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pressure related to safety of doing experiments in university laboratories is different from that of industrial laboratories, and it is impossible to have the same level of understanding of the issue [ 54 ]. In the current laboratory-related research, industrial laboratories were found to more emphasize the safety of employees while the safety management in the academic laboratory in universities is not mature [ 41 , 55 ], not to mention civil engineering laboratories. The work of the industrial laboratories is a standardized operation process while the experiments conducted by the students in academic laboratories, and the laboratory environment in which they are located frequently change.…”

Section: Identification Of Risk Factors and Research Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Safety Risks of Civil Engineering Laboratories Based on Lab Criticity Index: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province

Zhang

Peng

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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With the rapid development of the construction industry, an increasing amount of attention were paid by universities to the development of civil engineering experiment courses so as to improve the practical research abilities of students. In recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of civil engineering laboratory accidents, it has become an urgent issue regarding on what factors influencing safety risks and how to assess and reduce the safety risks in civil engineering laboratories. Based on the lab criticity index (LCI) model, the research specificities of civil engineering laboratories were analyzed through literature review and expert interviews and 13 risk factors of civil engineering laboratories, from the four aspects of man, object, management, and environment, identified. The data for each parameter in the LCI model was obtained through a questionnaire survey, and finally the LCI value was calculated to evaluate priority. Among them, insufficient safety awareness of operators, danger due to equipment failure, imperfect management policies, and complex floor conditions were listed as the most common risk factors. Based on the LCI model, the worsening factors of these four risk factors were further analyzed. The LCI model is applied to the new research field of safety risk assessment in civil engineering laboratories that few researchers have studied before and a risk list for civil engineering laboratories was created. We revealed the safety status of civil engineering laboratories in Jiangsu Province and provided feasible suggestions for improving the management and supervision of civil engineering laboratories at universities. It can strengthen operator awareness of the risks in civil engineering laboratories and improve the social group’s attention to the safety risks of the laboratories, thus reducing the accidents’ possibility and seriousness of civil engineering laboratories.

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“…Reviewing the reality of these fundamental aspects of education illustrates that they receive less attention than it should be. For example, Schroder et al (2015) conclude that the rate of compliance with the rules and safety requirements in academic laboratories is lower than industrial and governmental laboratories and that (25%) of the users of the academic laboratories do not receive any training on safety measures. Other studies show that safety precautions are few and below expectations in some aspects (Almodifer, 2005;Julius & Thomas, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Level of Awareness of Safety Measures Practiced in School Laboratories among Pre-Service Science Teachers at Najran University

Fagihi

2018

JEI

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This study is an attempt to identify the level of awareness of safety measures practiced in school laboratories among pre-service Science teachers at Najran University. It also aims to identify the sources of safety measures awareness and the statistically significant differences among the sample responses due to specialization and grade variables. To achieve the study objectives, a scale of (43) questions prepared and applied to a sample of (49) students. The scale covers the following aspects: Laboratory risk management, proper laboratory practices and first aid for laboratory injuries, in addition to a question about the sources of safety measures awareness. Results concluded that the awareness level of safety measures among pre-service Science teachers was low. There were statistically significant differences among the sample responses due to specialization, in favor of chemistry, and grade in favor of higher grades. The sources of safety measures awareness include undergraduate courses, faculty members, the laboratory safety manual, and websites.

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Laboratory safety attitudes and practices: A comparison of academic, government, and industry researchers

Abstract: Please cite this article in press as: Schröder, I., et al., Laboratory safety attitudes and practices: A comparison of academic, government, and industry researchers, J. Chem. Health Safety (2015), http://dx.

Cited by 95 publications

References 37 publications

Chemical risk and safety awareness, perception, and practices among research laboratories workers in Italy

Chemical risk and safety awareness, perception, and practices among research laboratories workers in Italy

Assessing the Safety Risks of Civil Engineering Laboratories Based on Lab Criticity Index: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province

The Level of Awareness of Safety Measures Practiced in School Laboratories among Pre-Service Science Teachers at Najran University

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