Asking The Wrong Safety Questions
Many years ago, I was hired to perform a safety audit for a laboratory. As I walked through one department, an employee asked what I was doing. When I remarked that I was finding safety [...]
The Safety Reaction
The toddler’s father let her hand go so he could pay for their dinner at the busy airport. The little girl quickly wandered away and suddenly found herself at the top of a long escalator [...]
Imagined or Real? Super Villain Origin Stories
In the latest Marvel superhero movie, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a new villain is introduced to fans not familiar with the comic books. Older readers know, however, that Shang-Chi’s father [...]
Leading Safety in the Lab
The number of medical laboratory scientists (now clinical lab scientists) is dwindling. Baby Boomers have begun to retire, and even before that, there were more job openings than people to fill them. That means more [...]
Designed for Safety: Safety Showers and Floods
Whenever Jacob, the histology lab employee, poured the waste chemicals into the large barrel in the lab’s Central Accumulation Area, he always wore a face shield as well as a lab coat and gloves. He [...]
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 [...]