Chem labs now stricter to prevent accidents

After a small explosion injured two students during a routine chemistry lab procedure in September, chemistry officials crafted more stringent lab safety guidelines for this semester.

To prevent accidents and better protect students should they occur, students are now required to wear a lab coat — they no longer have the option of wearing a lab apron, which does not protect their arms — cannot wear shorts and must wear closed shoes. Any student who violates any of these policies will be not be permitted to participate in the lab — which was true of old policies as well — officials said.

Though the explosion was investigated and labeled an accident with no individual at fault, updating safety guidelines can only help prevent future incidents, chemistry department Chairman Michael Doyle said.

"There's been an enhancement in all aspects of safety training, from graduate students to stockroom personnel, making possible a sense of advanced understanding of what kind of problems could happen," he said.

The explosion in September occurred during a CHEM242: Organic Chemistry Laboratory II procedure involving a reaction between nitric and sulfuric acid. After pouring the solution into a waste container underneath a fume hood, a violent explosion occurred. Two students were treated for first- and second-degree burns and the chemistry building was evacuated for the rest of that day.

While labs for this semester have not yet begun, Doyle said they will be more organized, with particular attention given to the handling of chemical waste. Simple measures such as color-coding, labeling containers with large block letters and putting them in specified places can help prevent accidents, making it nearly impossible to be careless, he added.

With the new regulations, "you can't make a mistake unless you do it with malicious forethought," he said.

Doyle said a meeting was held Friday to brief all faculty and graduate students working in the labs on the new policies.

"Everyone was represented," he said. "All of that was taking place in a manner that I think our faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, are committed to keeping the University of Maryland a very safe environment for the conduct of chemical sciences."

Some students said while the new lab policies are reasonable, the new rules will not make much of a difference if they are not enforced.

"The dress code seems reasonable," said sophomore physical sciences major Troy Thomas. "The problem isn't changing the dress code or lab policies; I think it's that the TAs need to enforce those policies. I took [general chemistry] last semester and people wouldn't be wearing goggles or would just dump stuff down the sink, so I think the TAs need to enforce the policies more."

Others said last semester's incident was a rare occasion, and the new policies are unnecessary.

"It's not really that comforting [that they're updating the policies] because stuff happens, and I don't think people really care all that much," sophomore biochemistry major Greg Lobe said. "Some people may be nervous or shaking during labs, so I guess it's good for them, but for me I could care less."

kirkwood@umdbk.com