A Code to Call for Your Lab Co-Worker
The lab employee felt faint in the middle of her shift and she sat down quickly on the lab stool. She asked to be taken to the Emergency Department, so her co-worker rolled her down [...]
Four Motivators Every Lab Safety Professional Should Know
If you search for top motivational movie speeches, you will see things that might work in real life. The President’s speech from Independence Day (1996), for example, might influence you to never be oppressed by [...]
3 Unwritten Safety Rules Every Lab Should Follow
Many years ago, a woman purchased a cup of coffee in a restaurant drive-through. Not having a cup holder available in her car, she placed the cup between her legs to hold the coffee while [...]
From Ant-Men to Giant-Men
In January of 1962, Tales to Astonish #27, a comic book, featured a scientist who had created a special chemical. This chemical, when put in contact with an object, would shrink it! When the scientist [...]
Pandemic Fatigue: Feels Like Starting Over
In discussions with laboratory safety professionals across the country this year, some of the same safety issues seemed to crop up over and over. Lab staff are tired, they’re fatigued about dealing with COVID-19, and [...]
The Power of the Pause
The majority of laboratory injuries and exposures are preventable, and most of them occur because people are not paying close attention to the situation. They lose their situational awareness or were never paying attention to [...]
A New Year in Lab Safety
As we prepare to say good-bye and good riddance to the year 2020, we hesitatingly welcome 2021. What will the new year bring? Can it be worse than last year? Are we prepared to deal [...]
Becoming a “COVID Captain”
The year 2020 is roaring quickly to a close, and COVID-19 is (unfortunately) still around. We have made changes to our lives at home, in public, and at work. Healthcare workers, in particular, made several [...]
The Three Laws: Sharps Safety
In Isaac Asimov’s writings about science, he created “the three laws,” a set of rules designed by humans that robots must follow in that fictional society. Robots cannot harm human beings, they must obey humans [...]
Is it Worth the Risk Assessment?
As a safety professional, we know performing risk assessments is worth it- it is an integral piece of managing a safety program. Assessing risks and identifying hazards are considered the beginning steps that must be [...]