One of the themes I heard through many presentations at the national meetings this week was the need to develop a consistent approach to risk assessment in the chemistry lab that informs the balance of protective strategies that are selected in the lab. Each type of protective equipment has a balance of advantages and challenges (often ergonomic challenges) associated with it.. For example, fume hoods provide specific forms of protection, but come with a lot of ergonomic costs. Similarly, some PPE is good protection for specific situations but presents specific challenges in similar ones. Developing a protection strategy process that accounts for both sides of this coin is a key issue for chemical health and safety professionals to work on to help support the prudent laboratory work.

- Ralph