Laboratory Safety

Management

Mr W C HO
Science Education Section, EMB
 Outline

 Discussion
 Laboratory Safety Management
 Responsibility
 Safety awareness
 Risk assessments
 Staff training
 Monitoring and review
 Laboratory Accidents (2002/03)

Phy Chem Bio IS ES

Chemical on skin 0 34 3 10 0
Eye accidents 0 14 1 18 0
Chemical spillage 2 18 4 6 0
Heat Burns 2 53 13 109 1
Inhalation of gas 0 2 0 0 0
Cuts 6 24 62 73 0
Substances catching fire 0 5 1 2 0
Bites by animals 0 0 0 1 0
Others 2 2 1 6 0

12 152 85 225 1
 Accident Rates (02/03)
 422 Schools responded
 475 cases in 148 schools (35%)
 about 72% cases due to cuts and burns
 1.46 cases per 1,000 students
 In 2002,
 Road traffic accident rate: 2.3 cases per 1,000
population (Transport Dept)
 Industrial accident rate: 37.4 cases per 1,000
workers (OSHC)
 3.61 cases per 10,000 practical periods
 Survey on School Laboratory
Accidents (2005/06)

 CM No.193/2006
 http://cd.emb.gov.hk/sc_survey
 input the data on or before 30 Nov 2006
 Why accidents happen?

Careless Inadequate Inadequate

Safety Training Instructions

Unsafe Over crowding

Experiments

Inadequate Facilities
Inadequate Equipment

Inadequate
Misbehavior Preparation
Ignorance

Poor Teaching
Laboratory Experiences
Management
 Education Regulation 279A (21)

 The responsible person shall ensure that all

necessary safety precautions are adopted in
school workshops and science laboratories and
shall modify or extend those precautions as
the Permanent Secretary may require.
 負責人須確保學校工場及科學實驗室內採
取一切所需的安全措施，並且須按照常任
秘書長的規定修改或擴展該等措施。
 Science Teacher’s Legal Liability

If an accident and injury occurs during a science class, a

science teacher’s legal liability for that injury will be
judged by considering some of the following criteria:
 Did he/she use appropriate activities for the grade level?
 Did he/she give careful instruction of all aspects of the
activity?
 Did he/she teach safety rules, and satisfy himself/herself
that the students understood the activity and safety
requirements ( safety tests are helpful)?
 Did he/she carefully supervise the activity?
 Did he/she strictly enforce safety rules?
British Columbia
 Managing Laboratory Safety
Effectively

 Ensure objectives are met and to seek improvement

 Safety Policy
 Commitment of management in improving safety
 Defines procedures and areas of responsibility in
order to promote safe working for students and staff
 Reviewed and revised regularly
 Responsibilities in maintaining a safe
learning and working environment

 Who should be responsible?

 Students
 Teachers
 Laboratory Technicians
 Panel Chairpersons Accident Case
 School Authority 10/2001
 …
 Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility
 Have you perform your duties? (有否盡一己之本分)
 Students
 Know and follow all safety rules
 Be alert in the laboratory
 Do not attempt unauthorised activities
 Exercise proper experimental techniques
 Consider the safety of oneself and the
others
 Read and study lab manual before coming
to class
 Report lab accidents to teacher
immediately
 Keep area clean. Accident Case
 Proper disposal of biological and
chemical waste. 5/2000
 Do not enter preparation or store rooms
 … Safety Rules
 Teachers

 Ensure the safety of all practical activities and must be thorough in

preparation
 Try out experiments in advance
 Check that technicians know how to carry out safely the requested
hazardous operations
 Issue students with safety rules and explain what they mean and why they
are necessary
 Give clear instructions to students and remind them of the potential
hazards and safety precautions
 Provide sufficient supervision and guidance to students during experiments
 Insist students to use proper PPE
 Never leave students unsupervised in the lab
 Familarise with the operation of safety facilities and emergency procedures
 …
 Panel Chairpersons

 Set and model high standards of safety

 Raise everyone’s concern on safety
 Ensure all panel members provide adequate safety instructions and
equipment to students
 Be well informed of laws, rules and regulations concerning safety,
assist school principal in formulating and implementation of safety
policy
 Co-ordinate the provision of safety resources / facilities
 Organize/co-ordinate professional development on safety
 Access and disseminate up-to-date safety information to teaching
and technical staff
 Keep a record of all accidents and details of treatment given
 Develop and implement a regular schedule for safety inspection …
 Laboratory Technicians

 Have responsibilities for each other’s safety and should warning each other
of hazardous situations
 Co-operate with safety policies of panel, school and EMB, etc.
 Prepare, operate and maintain apparatus and equipment
 Procurement of stores and equipment
 Tryout experiments
 Provide assistance in class demonstrations
 Assist teachers in supervising students performing experiments
 Observe all the normal safeguard in a laboratory
 Familarise with the operation of safety facilities and emergency procedures
 Check regularly to ensure all safety measures are in place
 Supervise the work of other LTs / laboratory attendants
 …
 School Authority

 Ensure school complies with the Education Ordinance

 Builds up an effective management system
 Draw up safety policies, administrative and operational
procedures
 Set up an accountability mechanism for such policies and
procedures including how to handling emergencies
 Provide necessary safety facilities and equipment
 Support professional development on safety
 …
 Safety Procedures/Plans

 Includes:
 Emergency procedures
 How new staff are to be inducted?
 How students are to be trained in safety awareness?
 How should safety equipment be kept?
 How new safety information are disseminated?
 In what circumstances non-scientists may use laboratories?
 How safety matters get onto the agenda of departmental
meetings?
 What procedures for risk assessment are to be adopted in
open-ended investigations or project?
 …
 Event → Procedure → Effective result
 Online Laboratory Information
Management System

 Accidents occurred
 Experiments in different levels and subjects,
 Booking of laboratories, inventory of relevant
documents and equipment
Reporting of Laboratory Accidents
 Promoting Safety Awareness

 The most effective way to eliminate accidents

 Develop and maintain safety and health awareness among all
students and personnel
 Recognize and promote safe work practices and reinforce
positive attitudes towards safety
 General and specific safety rules
Designing Safety Poster
 Safety Demonstrations

Pie in the Face Holey Socks Acid in the Eye

It doesn’t look hot!

When Wig Head Go Bad
Lab Safety Challenge Flaming Vapour Ramp
 Safety in Exploring Science

 Interactive learning
package
 On-line and CD-
ROM versions
 http://resources.em
b.gov.hk/~ses
 Learning and Teaching Resources
on Safety in Science Laboratories

 Laboratory Safety Rules

 Eye Protection
 Safety Information on
Chemicals
 Risk Assessment
 What if a Laboratory Accident
Happens? (discussion activities)
 http://cd.emb.gov.hk/sci
 Are your experiments safe?

 Teachers must be careful when

selecting experiments from various
sources, especially older books and
laboratory manuals prepared by others,
etc.
 As needed, teachers should consult
science journals and publications to
keep current on safety techniques
 Discuss with your colleagues including
science teachers and laboratory
technicians
 Microscale Version

Pins

Shampoo
solution
0.4 M NaOH
 Risk Assessment

 No experiment is completely safe and without

risk
 Any experiment worth doing is worth doing
safely
 “Do it this way”, rarely say “Don't do this”
 Risk Assessment

 An analysis of a practical activity to identify

hazards and to take precautions to minimise the
risk
 Procedures:
 Identifying hazards
(Materials / Procedures / Equipment)
 Assessing how likely the hazard will actually cause harm (risk)
 Deciding what control measures to reduce risk to acceptable level
 Finding how to dispose of hazardous residues
 Review
 Reducing the Risks

 Using safer alternatives

 Modifying experimental procedures
 Reducing the scale of experiments
 Reducing the concentrations of solutions
 Using protective measures
 Wearing appropriate PPE

Alasdair Thorpe, Chemistry Review, Sept 2000

 Thermometer

 Digital thermometer
 No-roll thermometer sleeve
 Break-safe thermometer
(encased in a PVC coating,
10-100oC)
 Low toxicity non-mercury
filled thermometer, max 110
/ 330oC
Hand Protector 隔熱護手墊
 Monitoring and Review

 See whether management system and practices is

working as planned and risk control measures are
effective and maintained
 Enquiries at departmental meetings
 Discussions with teachers/LTs/students
 Schemes of work, student worksheets, laboratory
request forms, accident records, etc.
 Occasional lesson observations
 Safety Inspection /Audits
 Keep record of monitoring e.g. inspection checklists
 Standing Committee on Laboratory Safety
 Self-learning Programme, SEPO,
HKUST

 http://www.ab.ust.hk/sepo/training/
 Good Laboratory Practices

Distribution of
Spectacle Cabinet
Equipment

Flexicam “Bunsen Burner

Screen” “Yellow Line”
Manage a Safe L&T Environment

Good Bye!