The chemical hygiene office at St. Norbert College seeks to create a laboratory experience where students learn how to work safely, by recognizing physical and health hazards, assessing the actual risk of any hazards, minimizing the risk of hazards, and by preparing for emergencies.
Read the latest Comprehensive St. Norbert College Chemical Hygiene Plan. (72 pages)
We maintain an archive of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for hazardous chemicals in use at SNC. Members of the campus community can access these here.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) publication: Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories 8th Edition (76 pages). This is a highly recommended study guide for everyone working with chemicals and/or using laboratory equipment.
Read Chapter 5 "Safety Equipment and Emergency Response" of Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories 8th Edition to learn how to respond to emergency situations in the laboratory.
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Produced by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.
"Your instructor is requiring you to read this booklet so that you can work safely in laboratories with chemicals. Conducting chemistry experiments can be fun, intellectually satisfying, and productive – but only if these experiments are conducted as safely as possible. At the end of each day in the laboratory, the goal is for you to go home just as you came– with no injuries or illnesses as a result of your laboratory experience." Statement from page 11.
"Events, Incidents, and Accidents - Unexpected and unwanted events sometimes occur in laboratories. In this booklet, the term "incident" is used instead of "accident" so as not to imply that these events occur randomly or inevitably. Virtually all incidents are preventable if the guidelines and safety principles presented in this booklet are followed." Note from page 14 sidebar.
"The fact that a chemical might have an inherent hazard does not mean that we cannot use it in the laboratory. However, an uncontrolled hazard presents increased risks, which may be dangerous. Interestingly, the very properties that make a chemical useful are often those that make it risky to use, so chemists must learn how to safely use chemicals that have significant inherent hazards, by using the principles of RAMP. So, although many chemicals have hazards, most do not present risk in our daily lives with normal use, because we have learned how to recognize hazards and minimize their risks." Statement from page 26.
"The focus of this chapter is on how to safely perform common laboratory techniques and safely handle the most common equipment in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. The techniques and advice in this booklet focus on those topics most commonly encountered in first- and second-year courses in college." Statement from page 46.
"This chapter covers how to prevent incidents from occurring and prepare to respond to unexpected emergencies. You are more likely to remain calm and respond appropriately to an emergency if you have put some effort into thinking about potential incidents and your response. In introductory laboratories, the most common emergencies that you may need to respond to involve spills, fires, cuts, and/or burns." Statement from page 59.
