Jeff

Another approach if it’s determined that the safety risk is low relative to other common headdress is this, no one in industry is going to tell the CEO or CSO they can’t wear a cowboy hat in their own lab. As long as he’s on pace for exceptional performance in the class maybe the hat can stay??

 

I’m quibbling a bit, lab safety is paramount and your lab conditions may be unique. But students can respond well to low risk challenges like this, and it could serve as a valuable authentic experience he remembers long after leaving your class. 

 

Regards,

Shawn Helmueller

 

On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 8:58 AM Gilman, Lisa <00001730fb194cb8-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**lists.princeton.edu> wrote:

Hi Nora:

 

 I agree with Richard. Peripheral vision is not likely to be blocked by a cowboy hat. Laboratory work with Hard Hats/Full Face shields/Baseball caps have never been an issue in our laboratory here in Montana. If students are in such close proximity that the hat is an issue, in my opinion, you have a class density that is more of a safety concern and much more important to address than a cowboy hat.

 

I would simply ask the student in a private conversation to remove his hat during the laboratory class. Keep it simple. Your concern about knocking over glassware or reagents is an appropriate reason if he asks for one.

 

Lisa Gilman Silver Bow Montana IND - Environment Rehabilitation T (406) 782-1215   |  www.solvay.com   Mailing Address: PO Box 3146 Butte MT 59702-3146   Physical Location: 119130 German Gulch Road Silver Bow MT 59750-9732

 

On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 6:35 AM Richard Palluzi <000006c59248530b-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**lists.princeton.edu> wrote:

Hats, mostly baseball caps or knit caps, are very common in industry in my experience. Hard hats are also very common in plant labs both for visitors and often for folks who are in and about a lot. Cowboy hats are pretty rare. I have never heard of an accident. 

 

On Aug 30, 2022 2:09 PM, Nora Dunkel <noradunkel51**At_Symbol_Here**WEBSTER.EDU> wrote:

Does anyone have guidance on wearing hats in lab?  An instructor for sophomore organic chemistry at my institution reports that a student has repeatedly come to lab wearing a cowboy hat.  The student is otherwise appropriately dressed, but we wonder about visibility (will the student's peripheral vision be obstructed?), whether people might bump into the hat, and whether the hat might knock over glassware.  (It's a pretty crowded room when everybody is setting up their apparatus.)

 

Is this something others have encountered?  Are hats in lab acceptable from a safety perspective?   

 

Nora Dunkel, CHMM

Chemical Safety Officer--Webster University

ISB/Browning Hall 314

314-246-2244 (desk)

661-348-1445 (cell)

noradunkel51**At_Symbol_Here**webster.edu

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