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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] NSTA Science Safety blog: Safer Science Labs
Date: Sep 3, 2019 11:28 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
In-Reply-To:
http://blog.nsta.org/2019/08/30/safer-science-labs/
Safer Science Labs
A Manhattan jury recently awarded nearly $60 million in damages to a former Beacon High School student who was badly burned by a teacherâ??s botched chemistry experiment more than five years ago. The student suffered third-degree burns over 30% of his body, including his face, neck, arms, and hand. This happened when his teacher accidentally ignited a fireball during a â??Rainbow Experimentâ?? to show the colored flames produced by various salts. The teacher seemingly ignored many safety protocols while performing the experiment, including pouring highly flammable methanol directly from a gallon jug instead of using a beaker and pipette to dispense it.
During the flame jetting of the methanol from the jug, students were seated too close to the demonstration and were burned. This took place in a classroom without a ventilated hood to remove fumes. Several safety deficiencies have often been identified in lab accident reports and warnings for this type of lab demo over several decades:
â?¢ students sitting too close to the demonstration;
â?¢ limited, inappropriate, or no personal protective equipment in use;
â?¢ no safety shield present or fume hood use;
â?¢ alcohol stock bottles sometimes used to refill hot ceramic dishes or surfaces;
â?¢ limited or non-existent teacher training in the hazards and risks of using flammable liquids with resultant safety actions.
more at URL above...
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