1 of 22

Implementation of Lab Safety Teams at Colorado State University to increase graduate student participation in developing a safety culture

Drew M Schlink, Skyler M. Markham, Debbie C. Crans*

Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University

2 of 22

Lab Safety Teams (LST) Expansion Plan

2

150 LSTs by ACS 150 Anniversary (2026)

    • Requirement: 1 student leader, 1 faculty advisor, 1 EHS rep or champion
    • Hosting December Local Section Webinar

Recruit programs to vouch as an LST

Send LST starter packs to vouched programs

    • Bi-monthly meetings to check-in

Pair established LST with 2 starting LST

2025 “new” LSTs will become sibling programs for 2nd generation

3 of 22

LST Starter Kit

  • Currently 23+ established LSTs
  • Diversity of teams set up
    • Interdepartmental vs. Chemistry only
    • Varying sizes, funding, and support levels
  • Keys to Launch: Recruit, Identify, Set management structure, Start an initiative
  • Register the LST with the ACS GSO
    • Must have 6+ active ACS members

3

4 of 22

LST Starter Kit

  • Example initiatives to increase the visibility of the LST
    • High impact/Low resource

​

  • Helps build outreach possibilities for new LSTs

​

  • Helpful resources from established LSTs

​

4

5 of 22

What brings you the most joy?

5

6 of 22

What brings me the most joy?

  • Lykos
  • Australian Cattle Dog/ German Shepherd/ Mixed breed

6

7 of 22

Why safety is important to us all

  • Chemistry is dangerous
  • Union Carbide pesticide plant
  • Release of methyl isocyanate
  • Over 500,000 people affected with at least 2000 fatalities

​

7

8 of 22

Why safety is important to us all

8

Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji

Fatal accident at UCLA

Transferring 160 mL tert-butyllithium

9 of 22

Why safety is important to me?

9

To stay healthy and go home safely to my dog

Lab safety officer

High turnover of graduate students and post-docs

Interdisciplinary group with a variety of hazards

10 of 22

1st Year near miss – Hg exposure

  • Small spherical metallic balls

​

  • Found upon cleanup of an ex-lab members hood

​

  • Broken thermometer that was never cleaned properly

10

11 of 22

1st Year near-miss – Communication Issues

  • Lab-mates undergraduate required assistance

​

  • Attempting to reactivate used molecular sieves

​

  • DMSO-soaked molecular sieves are flammable

​

11

12 of 22

1st Year near-miss – Explosion

  • Waste from biological collaborators
  • Triflyl chloride
  • H314 – causes severe skin burns and eye damage
  • ~ 0.5 mL
  • Screw-top vial stuck

​

​

​

​

12

13 of 22

Near miss takeaways

13

MOSTLY NOT SELF-INFLICTED

BIOLOGICAL LABS CAN CONTAIN HARMFUL SAMPLES

CLEAR COMMUNICATION HELPS PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND LOWER THEIR SEVERITY

14 of 22

Current Safety Program @ CSU

14

General safety training from EHS

Group specific training after joining

Lab safety officers program

15 of 22

Incoming Safety Training at CSU

  • ACS Foundations of Chemical Safety and Risk Management

​

  • Chemical Management & Hazardous Waste Training

​

  • Group specific safety training after joining

​

15

16 of 22

CSU’s Lab Safety Officer program

16

Main contact between group and EHS

Attendance at department-wide safety meetings

Safety onboarding of new lab members

Maintains hazardous waste storage site

Ensures lab safety and hygiene practices are followed

17 of 22

Why should we further improve the safety culture at CSU?

  • Always room for improvement
  • Diverging safety records between lab groups
  • Overall low graduate student engagement in the safety process
  • Safety officer engagement doesn’t lead to broad uptake by group members
  • Constant turnover of graduate students

​

17

18 of 22

How can we further improve safety culture at CSU?

  • Improve the level of buy-in from researchers at all levels

​

  • Start the LST program to complement the LSO program

​

  • Convince more people that safety is important

​

18

19 of 22

Starting an LST @ CSU

19

Main steps to starting an LST

    • Gather researchers interested in improving safety
    • Identify a faculty champion
    • Identify a departmental/EHS champion
    • Set up a project management structure
    • Launch initiatives

20 of 22

Benefits of starting an LST

  • Enhance communication among researchers at all levels
  • Enrich the professional development of new researchers
  • Improve the safety culture across institutions
  • Prepares members for industry safety standards
  • Connections with LSTs across the country

​

Martin, J. A. ACS Chem. Health Saf. 2020, 27 (3), 170–182. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.0c00016.

​

20

21 of 22

Acknowledgements

  • CSU Mentors
    • Dr. Debbie Crans, Skyler Markham
  • Undergraduate Mentor
    • Dr. Ambre Shailesh
  • CHAS and MPPG
  • Symposium Mentors
    • Caroline Donaghy, Amanda Chung, Emily Robinson, Rachel Nixon, Monica Nyansa, Carolina Hernandez

​

​

21

22 of 22

Questions?

22