Impact of laboratory accidents on chemical management policies at academic institutions

Background

Accidents in academic laboratories can be tragic in terms of loss of life and devastating in terms of damage to the university facilities. Several high profile accidents took place within 2010 which has brought attention to the issues of laboratory safety. This investigation will examine root causes of three academic laboratory accidents and the changes that came about at the universities as a result of the accidents. Regulatory structures supposed to oversee university laboratories will be examined and their precautionary effectiveness assessed.

Too often, university responses to lab accidents involve changes in management and training with less attention to the root causes of the incident. I propose a typology of responses and demonstrate how responses rank in terms of ameliorative to fundamental changes and why root cause changes are so difficult to achieve.

Methodology I will investigate three academic institutions where laboratory accidents have occurred using interviews with stakeholders who have key roles in minimizing laboratory risks. Questions will be in the following categories: A. Accident causes B. Effectiveness of existing regulations mandating safe practices in university laboratories C. Changes made in laboratory practices because of accidents D. Policy changes needed to mandate safe practices in university laboratories Results Determine whether changes made by the institutions are sufficient to prevent future accidents, why more fundamental changes are avoided and address what makes changes lasting and sustainable. Conclusions Conventional responses to laboratory accidents often involve inadequate chemical management, weak lab safety culture and regulatory inadequacy.