White coats. Safety goggles. Bunsen burners. For some, these items merely stir memories of high school science labs but for others they are daily essentials. In the world of laboratory research, chemists and lab technicians are surrounded by hazardous chemicals and dangerous elements daily. At times, there are lapses in safety protocols furthering the dangers they face. Here is a brief look into the common risks researchers encounter with standard methods to address them and improve safety.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Laboratory Standard defines certain chemicals as Particularly Hazardous Substances (PHS) when they are known to have immediate or long-term toxic health effects. Such dangerous chemicals — which can be acids, sulfides, flammable liquids, etc. — present physical and health threats to clinical, industrial and academic laboratory workers.
What kind of health threats? From known carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) to neurotoxins and corrosives, PHSs pose many dangers to human health and wellness. A recent survey of lab workers with positions exposing them to chemical substances uncovered 89.4% of subjects handled chemicals classified as “lethal if in contact with systems of the human body.” The workers were assessed on their perceptions and awareness of chemical hazards and were found to have significant gaps in knowledge as well as poor observance of safety processes.
Currently, OSHA maintains numerous rules limiting exposures to approximately 400 substances workers may encounter. However, errors and accidents happen. Such accidents, or their resulting injuries, often go unreported. In fact, a recent survey of lab personnel found 25% to 38% of participants have been involved in an accident inside the lab that w…
