This went out earlier today to all DCHAS members, but experience has shown it can end up on some people’s spam folders, so I will share the e-mail vis this list as well.

- Ralph

News from ACS Division of Chemical Health & Safety
September 2022

In this issue:

CHAS Workshops, Fall 2022
Report on August Technical Program
Encouraging Open Discussions of Chemical Incidents - Shifting Blame to Gain

CHAS Workshops Fall, 2022

The Division is organizing 4 on line workshops at the end of September and beginning of October. These include:

Wednesday, September 28:
Lab Safety – Beyond the Fundamentals, $300
Thursday, September 29:
Laboratory Waste Management, $300
Friday, September 30:
How to be a More Effective Chemical Hygiene Officer, $300
Sunday, October 9, 2022:
Empowering Academic Researchers to Strengthen Safety Culture, $25

More information about these events and registration links can be found at https://dchas.org/2022/05/11/workshops2022/

National Meeting CHAS Sessions

This August, the Division presented an active technical program at the ACS Fall meeting in Chicago. There were two and a half days of safety symposia, along with 2 days of technical programming by the Cannabis subdivision. This is an overview of the safety papers presented at this national meeting:

The first CHAS symposium of the meeting was entitled Safety Across the Chemical Disciplines. Papers presented provided a variety of perspectives on how safety programs are implemented in both industrial and academic lab settings. That afternoon, the CHAS Awards Symposium included four papers from 2022 award winners. The work discussed involved collaborations in safety education between the Chemistry and EHS departments at the University of Nevada, Reno, intra- and inter-mural safety work at the University of North Carolina Raleigh, and an update on the work Dr. Susan Silbey has been doing to investigate the factors that impact the success of EHS programs in higher education. Presentations and references for several of these papers are provided at http://dchas.org/2022/08/25/presentations-aug-22-day1/

The second day of the meeting included a symposium on Indicators of Success in Laboratory Safety Cultures and a General Papers symposium. The first of these included 5 papers that discussed both organizational and practical aspects of safety culture programs in the research setting. The afternoon’s general papers included discussions of first person experiences in lab safety; administrative roles in lab safety operations and design, and outreach efforts by the University of Minnesota Lab Safety Team’s to other campuses. Presentations for these papers can be found at http://dchas.org/2022/08/28/august-2020-chas-technical-program-2-2-2/

The last safety symposium of the meeting centered on the theme of “EHS Leadership and Diversity”. Papers discussed the evolution of both personal careers and workshops toward more active involvement in laboratory safety programs as their professional development advanced. The papers from this symposium can be found at http://dchas.org/2022/08/31/august-2020-chas-technical-program-2-2/

- Ralph Stuart

Encouraging Open Discussions of Chemical Incidents

Creating a workplace where recognized hazards are proactively managed, rather than the focus is on no one getting hurt, involves shifting discussions of incidents and near misses from “blame to gain.” While many people both within and without an organization can benefit from a public discussion of lab incidents, this can be a challenging practice to develop. Moving a safety culture in this new direction can be like turning a large ship; it takes a lot of commitment, energy, and patience to achieve the benefits. However, there will be a big payoff when workers actively seek to understand the hazards around them and habitually take a proactive approach to risk management as they learn from their peers about safety challenges they all face.

Part of moving in this new direction lies in adopting a new way of thinking. It takes committed workplace leadership to develop systematic empathy that supports the emotional vulnerability that accompanies reporting errors to others, particularly your supervisor. This approach can be unfamiliar and requires rethinking the workplace's structure, applying ongoing, intentional effort, and engaging in regular practice. One example of this process was described in the ACS CH&S article Positive Feedback via Descriptive Comments for Improved Safety Inspection Responsiveness and Compliance in 2021.

Another step in that process was recently undertaken by this Journal with the publication of its first article of the ACS Chemical Health & Safety journal’s Virtual Special Issue (VSI) highlighting chemical incidents. The article, titled “A Laboratory Accident of Acryloyl Chloride, Its Consequences, Treatment, and Safety Measures: An Arduous Lesson to All Researchers” describes how researchers sought to understand and address root causes of an incident that involved some very serious health effects. They reveal the details of their incident, their response, the health care provided, and their investigation to benefit not only their own workplace but the broader chemistry community, as well.

Do you have an incident that you would like to share with other chemists and safety professionals? You can find guidance about how to do that at the ACS Chemical Health & Safety Author Information page. Need some inspiration? Additional examples of incidents shared in the journal include these articles: “Organic Peroxide Incident,” “Lessons Learned from Laboratory Vacuum Pump Exhaust Explosion: Discussion and Preventative Strategies,” and “Case study: Reaction scale-up leads to incident involving bromine and acetone.”

Remember it’s not easy for anyone to say they’ve fallen short so it’s very important to respond with gratitude and appreciation for the risk that this person takes. Since openness about mistakes and concerns provides a pathway to insights that benefit others, it is essential to respond non-judgementally toward these admissions. And while that can seem difficult, a commitment to maintaining a curious mindset is the first step to success in moving from“blame to gain”.

- Melinda Box

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