This textbook is unique! While it can be used as textbook for a stand-alone course, it's principal design is to allow for the discussion of safety across the chemistry curriculum and over the course of four years. Thus, the various topics are "layered" with the expectation that various sections are targeted towards first-year students, while others are written for intermediate or advanced courses. More about this below.
The essay below is divided into the sections:
Purpose
Audience
Scope
Unique Approach and Organization.
How This Book Can be Used
Reading the first four sections will better set the context for "How This Book Can Be Used."
Purpose
The principal purpose of this textbook is to provide a resource that can be used to help teach undergraduate chemistry students the basics of laboratory and chemical safety. This textbook is not designed for a single course (although it can be used that way) but rather its concept is to use short sections in laboratory sessions (or perhaps some lecture sessions) over the four years of undergraduate study. It can be used as a companion text for each laboratory chemistry course throughout the curriculum, including research, using specific sections that fit the topics and hazards of the laboratory experiments. Repeat emphasis on safety during the educational process. in each and every laboratory session throughout the entire four years of undergraduate study, builds the kind of safety caring (safety ethic) that is needed in a strong safety culture.
It is the vision and hope of the authors that if the chemistry academic community has a textbook about laboratory and chemical safety that they will use parts or all of it in the laboratory or classroom curriculum. This book was written from the heart as a result of a passion for laboratory and chemical safety. The authors recognize, as do many others, that there is a need to improve the knowledge and skill levels regarding laboratory and chemical safety of chemistry and other science students who will one day work in laboratories and handle chemicals and other hazardous materials in their operations. For example, the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training strengthened its requirements for safety instruction considerably in the 2015 revision of the ACS Guidelines and Evaluations Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs.
We believe that laboratory and chemical safety should be integral parts of the entire chemistry educational process, touching virtually all fields of chemistry, since we see laboratory and chemical safety as a sub-disciplines of the field of chemistry that cross-cuts virtually all areas of chemistry. Thus, teaching safety is a long-term effort that requires attention as each area of chemistry is introduced and advances so that a thorough knowledge of and positive attitude toward laboratory and chemical safety can be developed. Our approach is to teach laboratory and chemical safety in small sections throughout the chemical education process. This iterative process is practical from a learning point of view and sends the message to students that safety is always important. This also establishes the notion of a “safety culture” that should permeate all lab activities.
Audience
This textbook is written primarily for undergraduate chemistry students, but we believe other laboratory science students, scientists, technicians, and investigators may also find it useful. Since we believe that most undergraduate chemistry program are wanting with regard to safety education, many current graduates and working chemists will also find this book useful since it is likely that they are unfamiliar with the level of laboratory and chemical safety education found in this book. Although designed as a teaching tool and not a resource text, it can serve in the latter capacity and contains many references to other resources.
Scope
This book is broad in scope since it introduces most areas of laboratory and chemical safety. This book is not a comprehensive treatise on laboratory and chemical safety and it does not go into great detail with specific procedures or methods. It presents various topics on a “need to know” basis, targeting different levels of instruction throughout a chemistry curriculum.
A recent report, “Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories”
Identifies four stages of learning:
1. Unconscious incompetence: You don’t know what you don’t know.
2. Conscious incompetence: You realize you don’t have adequate knowledge.
3. Conscious competence: You are able to function safely and effectively.
4. Unconscious competence: You are very knowledgeable and experienced regarding the subject at hand.
We recognize that students enter the college chemistry curriculum largely at level 1. This book can move them out of level 1, through level 2, and into level 3. (Only years of experience in the lab likely gets anyone to level 4.)
This book will help chemists and other scientists use four simple principles of laboratory and chemical safety to:
1. Recognize hazards;
2. Assess the risks of those hazards;
3. Minimize the risks of those hazards; and
4. Prepare to respond to emergencies.
We use the acronym RAMP to remind the student of these principles—RAMP up for safety.
Unique Approach and Organization
This is a unique textbook designed to be used throughout the four years of undergraduate study. Topics are targeted toward each level (year) of study by the students over their undergraduate experience. Topically, it is divided into eight chapters and further into 73 sections for introductory (year 1) intermediate (year 2) and advanced topics (years 3 and 4).
• Chapter 1 Safety Culture
• Chapter 2 Preparing for Emergency Response
• Chapter 3 Understanding and Communicating Laboratory Hazards
• Chapter 4 Recognizing Laboratory Hazards: Toxic Substances and Biological Agents
• Chapter 5 Recognizing Laboratory Hazards: Physical Hazards
• Chapter 6 Risk Assessment
• Chapter 7 Minimizing the Risks from Hazards
• Chapter 8 Chemical Management: Inspections, Storage, Wastes, and Security
Each section begins with a preview, a quote, and one or more laboratory incidents that lead to the question, “What lessons can be learned from this incident?” This is followed by the text that is relevant to the topic and incident with references that often contain links to the Internet. Dispersed through out the book are Chemical Connections that seek to demonstrate how safety uses chemical principles and Special Topics that present relevant topics of interest to a particular section. Each section also concludes with a series of multiple choice questions about the topic and a list of citations.
Safety, like other disciplines, is principle-driven. The student must be encouraged to use critical thinking in applying safety principles and practices to conduct chemical work safely and to identify the need for additional information about the safety in operations handling chemicals or other hazardous agents.
How This Book Can Be Used
As noted above, the textbook is designed as a collection of short sections each of which is devoted to a particular topic. Most topics can tie directly to the variety of experiments distributed across the four-year curriculum. Thus, we hope that a chemistry department can assign the sections to the various lab experiments and courses as the content matches the topic of the experiment. The book can be used on a “need to know” basis. Some topics appear multiple times (eg, gloves, eye protection) since, for example, first-year students need learn only a little about gloves and advanced students need to learn additional information. The numbering of the section in the book is used as a guide: the second digit (eg, 3.2.1) indicates the “level” of the instruction where:
1 = topics targeted at first-year students,
2 = topics targeted at intermediate-level students, and
3 = topics for advanced and research students.
These levels are only guides; each program can be determined how to best incorporate the topics in their curriculum. The level of the section also indicates what chemical background is assume in the section. Thus, very little chemical knowledge is assumed for level 1 sections while level 3 sections are written with an assumption of a background in general chemistry and organic chemistry.
The recommended protocol is for an instructor to assign a reading, and perhaps the quiz, and follow this up in a pre-lab session with discussion of the topic, probably making specific reference to the experiment of the day, which is likely to be related to the safety topic. The degree to which the instructor elaborates on the topic can be considerable. Discussion questions and “what if” scenarios are easy to develop. The value of the book is that precious lab time is not spent on “covering the basics” and “information transfer.” Students will come to the lab with some background knowledge, which allows for a more productive, and likely more sophisticated, discussion of a particular safety topic.
Ultimately, our goal in providing this resource is to minimize the activation energy barrier that prevents many faculty from discussing safety more in their classes and labs. The excuse that “there’s not enough time” is reduced considerably when little class or lab time is used for information transfer. The excuse that “I’m not trained in safety” is eliminated since the book provides the expertise and thoughtful presentation of the safety topics. The American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (CPT) requires (as stated in the Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs 1) the “approved programs need to promote a safety-conscious culture in which students demonstrate and apply their understanding of the concepts of safe laboratory practices.” Further CPT notes that “Programs should provide students with training that allows them to: recognize chemical and physical hazards in laboratories, assess the risks from these hazards, know how to minimize the risks, and prepare for emergencies.” Use of this book meets these learning goals.
Ideally, this book would be purchased in the first year for chemistry majors and used as a supplementary text throughout the entire undergraduate chemistry curriculum. (Other science majors may also take 2-5 chemistry courses.) However, the authors recognize that many students in introductory courses are not chemistry majors and will not continue in the chemistry curriculum. Using the Wiley Custom Select option, there is also the opportunity to make single sections of the book available for clustering in faculty-designed packets that are individually suited to particular teachers, courses, and/or campuses. This is at an attractive price that makes use of the packets reasonable as a supplementary purchase for students. The strategy can be pursued throughout the curriculum, although at some point the purchase of the entire book, particularly for chemistry majors, seems prudent and cost-effective.
To see how the chemistry faculty at Wittenberg use the entire book over the course of four years, this spreadsheet shows how the sections are assigned to the various courses.
The authors welcome feedback on the content and use of the book. We can be contacted at: [email protected] and [email protected].
The essay below is divided into the sections:
Purpose
Audience
Scope
Unique Approach and Organization.
How This Book Can be Used
Reading the first four sections will better set the context for "How This Book Can Be Used."
Purpose
The principal purpose of this textbook is to provide a resource that can be used to help teach undergraduate chemistry students the basics of laboratory and chemical safety. This textbook is not designed for a single course (although it can be used that way) but rather its concept is to use short sections in laboratory sessions (or perhaps some lecture sessions) over the four years of undergraduate study. It can be used as a companion text for each laboratory chemistry course throughout the curriculum, including research, using specific sections that fit the topics and hazards of the laboratory experiments. Repeat emphasis on safety during the educational process. in each and every laboratory session throughout the entire four years of undergraduate study, builds the kind of safety caring (safety ethic) that is needed in a strong safety culture.
It is the vision and hope of the authors that if the chemistry academic community has a textbook about laboratory and chemical safety that they will use parts or all of it in the laboratory or classroom curriculum. This book was written from the heart as a result of a passion for laboratory and chemical safety. The authors recognize, as do many others, that there is a need to improve the knowledge and skill levels regarding laboratory and chemical safety of chemistry and other science students who will one day work in laboratories and handle chemicals and other hazardous materials in their operations. For example, the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training strengthened its requirements for safety instruction considerably in the 2015 revision of the ACS Guidelines and Evaluations Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs.
We believe that laboratory and chemical safety should be integral parts of the entire chemistry educational process, touching virtually all fields of chemistry, since we see laboratory and chemical safety as a sub-disciplines of the field of chemistry that cross-cuts virtually all areas of chemistry. Thus, teaching safety is a long-term effort that requires attention as each area of chemistry is introduced and advances so that a thorough knowledge of and positive attitude toward laboratory and chemical safety can be developed. Our approach is to teach laboratory and chemical safety in small sections throughout the chemical education process. This iterative process is practical from a learning point of view and sends the message to students that safety is always important. This also establishes the notion of a “safety culture” that should permeate all lab activities.
Audience
This textbook is written primarily for undergraduate chemistry students, but we believe other laboratory science students, scientists, technicians, and investigators may also find it useful. Since we believe that most undergraduate chemistry program are wanting with regard to safety education, many current graduates and working chemists will also find this book useful since it is likely that they are unfamiliar with the level of laboratory and chemical safety education found in this book. Although designed as a teaching tool and not a resource text, it can serve in the latter capacity and contains many references to other resources.
Scope
This book is broad in scope since it introduces most areas of laboratory and chemical safety. This book is not a comprehensive treatise on laboratory and chemical safety and it does not go into great detail with specific procedures or methods. It presents various topics on a “need to know” basis, targeting different levels of instruction throughout a chemistry curriculum.
A recent report, “Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories”
Identifies four stages of learning:
1. Unconscious incompetence: You don’t know what you don’t know.
2. Conscious incompetence: You realize you don’t have adequate knowledge.
3. Conscious competence: You are able to function safely and effectively.
4. Unconscious competence: You are very knowledgeable and experienced regarding the subject at hand.
We recognize that students enter the college chemistry curriculum largely at level 1. This book can move them out of level 1, through level 2, and into level 3. (Only years of experience in the lab likely gets anyone to level 4.)
This book will help chemists and other scientists use four simple principles of laboratory and chemical safety to:
1. Recognize hazards;
2. Assess the risks of those hazards;
3. Minimize the risks of those hazards; and
4. Prepare to respond to emergencies.
We use the acronym RAMP to remind the student of these principles—RAMP up for safety.
Unique Approach and Organization
This is a unique textbook designed to be used throughout the four years of undergraduate study. Topics are targeted toward each level (year) of study by the students over their undergraduate experience. Topically, it is divided into eight chapters and further into 73 sections for introductory (year 1) intermediate (year 2) and advanced topics (years 3 and 4).
• Chapter 1 Safety Culture
• Chapter 2 Preparing for Emergency Response
• Chapter 3 Understanding and Communicating Laboratory Hazards
• Chapter 4 Recognizing Laboratory Hazards: Toxic Substances and Biological Agents
• Chapter 5 Recognizing Laboratory Hazards: Physical Hazards
• Chapter 6 Risk Assessment
• Chapter 7 Minimizing the Risks from Hazards
• Chapter 8 Chemical Management: Inspections, Storage, Wastes, and Security
Each section begins with a preview, a quote, and one or more laboratory incidents that lead to the question, “What lessons can be learned from this incident?” This is followed by the text that is relevant to the topic and incident with references that often contain links to the Internet. Dispersed through out the book are Chemical Connections that seek to demonstrate how safety uses chemical principles and Special Topics that present relevant topics of interest to a particular section. Each section also concludes with a series of multiple choice questions about the topic and a list of citations.
Safety, like other disciplines, is principle-driven. The student must be encouraged to use critical thinking in applying safety principles and practices to conduct chemical work safely and to identify the need for additional information about the safety in operations handling chemicals or other hazardous agents.
How This Book Can Be Used
As noted above, the textbook is designed as a collection of short sections each of which is devoted to a particular topic. Most topics can tie directly to the variety of experiments distributed across the four-year curriculum. Thus, we hope that a chemistry department can assign the sections to the various lab experiments and courses as the content matches the topic of the experiment. The book can be used on a “need to know” basis. Some topics appear multiple times (eg, gloves, eye protection) since, for example, first-year students need learn only a little about gloves and advanced students need to learn additional information. The numbering of the section in the book is used as a guide: the second digit (eg, 3.2.1) indicates the “level” of the instruction where:
1 = topics targeted at first-year students,
2 = topics targeted at intermediate-level students, and
3 = topics for advanced and research students.
These levels are only guides; each program can be determined how to best incorporate the topics in their curriculum. The level of the section also indicates what chemical background is assume in the section. Thus, very little chemical knowledge is assumed for level 1 sections while level 3 sections are written with an assumption of a background in general chemistry and organic chemistry.
The recommended protocol is for an instructor to assign a reading, and perhaps the quiz, and follow this up in a pre-lab session with discussion of the topic, probably making specific reference to the experiment of the day, which is likely to be related to the safety topic. The degree to which the instructor elaborates on the topic can be considerable. Discussion questions and “what if” scenarios are easy to develop. The value of the book is that precious lab time is not spent on “covering the basics” and “information transfer.” Students will come to the lab with some background knowledge, which allows for a more productive, and likely more sophisticated, discussion of a particular safety topic.
Ultimately, our goal in providing this resource is to minimize the activation energy barrier that prevents many faculty from discussing safety more in their classes and labs. The excuse that “there’s not enough time” is reduced considerably when little class or lab time is used for information transfer. The excuse that “I’m not trained in safety” is eliminated since the book provides the expertise and thoughtful presentation of the safety topics. The American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (CPT) requires (as stated in the Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs 1) the “approved programs need to promote a safety-conscious culture in which students demonstrate and apply their understanding of the concepts of safe laboratory practices.” Further CPT notes that “Programs should provide students with training that allows them to: recognize chemical and physical hazards in laboratories, assess the risks from these hazards, know how to minimize the risks, and prepare for emergencies.” Use of this book meets these learning goals.
Ideally, this book would be purchased in the first year for chemistry majors and used as a supplementary text throughout the entire undergraduate chemistry curriculum. (Other science majors may also take 2-5 chemistry courses.) However, the authors recognize that many students in introductory courses are not chemistry majors and will not continue in the chemistry curriculum. Using the Wiley Custom Select option, there is also the opportunity to make single sections of the book available for clustering in faculty-designed packets that are individually suited to particular teachers, courses, and/or campuses. This is at an attractive price that makes use of the packets reasonable as a supplementary purchase for students. The strategy can be pursued throughout the curriculum, although at some point the purchase of the entire book, particularly for chemistry majors, seems prudent and cost-effective.
To see how the chemistry faculty at Wittenberg use the entire book over the course of four years, this spreadsheet shows how the sections are assigned to the various courses.
The authors welcome feedback on the content and use of the book. We can be contacted at: [email protected] and [email protected].