Safe Science Promoting a Culture of Safety in Academic Chemical Research (2014) / Chapter Skim
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These incidents have triggered a broader discussion of how serious incidents can be prevented in the future and how best to train researchers and emergency personnel to respond appropriately when incidents do occur. As the priority placed on safety increases, many institutions have expressed a desire to go beyond simple compliance with regulations to work toward fostering a strong, positive safety culture: affirming a constant commitment to safety throughout their institutions, while integrating safety as an essential element in the daily work of laboratory researchers (Box S-1)
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Interest in promoting safety in academic research laboratories has grown in recent years, following high-profile incidents in which researchers were injured or killed. Many colleges and universities are interested in fostering a safety culture that goes beyond compliance with regulations: affirming a constant, institution-wide commitment to safety and integrating safety as an essential element in the daily work of researchers.
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Principal investigators operate autonomously, exercising significant authority over the research and the research personnel in their individual laboratories, and in some cases may regard good safety practices, such as inspections by outsiders or following established safety procedures, as a barrier to research progress and a violation of their academic freedom. The very character of academic research and its pursuit of new knowledge engenders an entrepreneurial spirit, an aspect of which can be resistant to central dictates or "one-size-fits-all" mandates.
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Finally, environmental health and safety personnel should work collaboratively with all of these parties, assisting their efforts to establish a strong, positive safety culture. RECOMMENDATIONS Institution-Wide Dynamics and Resources The broad institutional setting in which research takes place can strongly influence whether university laboratories develop and sustain a strong, positive safety culture.
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Department chairs and principal investigators should take steps to change these dynamics, creating mechanisms that empower laboratory researchers to communicate freely about safety and take an active role in establishing and promoting a strong, positive safety culture and in sustaining a safe research enterprise. Recommendation 5: Department chairs and principal inves tigators should make greater use of teams, groups, and other engagement strategies and institutional support organizations (e.g., environmental health and safety, facilities)
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Recommendation 8: The researcher and principal investiga tor should incorporate hazard analysis into laboratory note books prior to experiments, integrate hazard analysis into the research process, and ensure that it is specific to the laboratory and research topic area. Training and Learning Training in safety practices -- both initial training and ongoing mentoring and support -- is an essential element in developing and sustaining a strong, positive safety culture.
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They should deploy university resources in ways that support safety and reduce existing disincentives to safety practice -- for example, by paying for personal protective equipment and hazardous waste disposal, so that PIs do not have to pay for such measures out of grant funding. Each institution should have a comprehensive risk management plan for laboratory safety that addresses prevention, mitigation, and emergency response.
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These professionals have an important role and the interactions between them and the rest of the research community is an important aspect of a strong, positive safety culture. Researchers have responsibility for supporting safety culture in the labs where they work, and have the most at stake in doing so.
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