Hi David - I am retired now but we did not have an institutional policy at our institution. On a case by case basis, we would provide the student with the list of chemicals and their SDSs so the student could take the information to their doctor to make a decision about continuing in the laboratory. In almost all instances, the student would drop the course.

If the student decided to remain in Organic lab, there were some experiments where they were using chemicals known to be reprotoxic and we would offer to provide data to the student rather than have them in the lab environment if they were okay with this. In this way, their health was protected, but they were not set back academically.

In addition to SDSs (which can vary in their usefulness), Pubchem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries (LCSSs) are a good resource for chemical specific information about reprotoxicity. At Pubchem search for the chemical and the link to the LCSS is below the pictograms.

You should be able to find lists of known reprotoxicants with some searching. Standford has some lists. Note that most lists are always provided with the caveat "non exhaustive". https://ehs.stanford.edu/?s=reproductive&category=site_search&cb=1757519322878

Sammye

Dear DCHAS Colleagues,

I'm a part time adjunct lab instructor at a community college. I would appreciate your advice on a situation in my organic chemistry teaching lab today.

One of my students confided last semester (in general chemistry II) that she has experienced multiple early pregnancy losses over the years and how heartbreaking that was for her. Now today, a brand new semester, in organic chemistry, she shared the joyful news that she is expecting and asked if there are concerns with her working with or handling today's lab materials.

I reached out to a nearby more experienced colleague just down the hall but received little direction beyond the idea that she should avoid handling chemicals directly and instead contribute through documentation and observations while her partner does the manipulations.

Today’s experiment was a simple extraction using naphthalene and benzoic acid, but the naphthalene odor became more noticeable as the first hour progressed even with good ventilation and fume hood use. Out of caution, I excused her from the lab after reviewing information that indicates naphthalene fumes can be problematic during pregnancy.

I would like to know from this group:

• Do your institutions have written policies or guidelines for mothers-to-be in teaching labs?

• Are there specific substances (like naphthalene or common solvents) you flag as higher-risk during pregnancy?

• How do you balance protecting health while still supporting a student’s educational progress?

Given her personal history, I want to be proactive in safeguarding her well-being while keeping her on track academically. Any perspectives, examples, or resources would be very helpful.

David EldrEdge

Co-Owner

NALTIC Industrials, LLC

de**At_Symbol_Here**naltic.com

www.naltic.com

888.891.0077 Main

435.503.4972 Cell

435.767.7714 Google Voice & Text

435.654.2727 Fax

ᐧ

--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org