Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry
The January 2021 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Modern chemistry programs must include the skills and techniques that enable their graduates to perform experiments safely, and, in response to a call for papers, scientists and educators from around the world have contributed articles to a special issue on Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry. The articles in the issue are broadly distributed among topics covering resources, green chemistry, safety culture, and pedagogy. This issue is a resource for ideas and discussion to encourage "a new way to look at safety", with a focus on assessing hazards, minimizing risk, and valuing a strong chemical safety culture.
Introduction to the Chemical Safety Education Special Issue
Scott R. Goode (University of South Carolina), Jane E. Wissinger (University of Minnesota), and Frankie Wood-Black (Northern Oklahoma College) acted as the guest editors for this special issue. In their Editorial, they introduce this collection of 38 peer-reviewed papers on the topic of chemical safety education and situate the content in the categories of resources, green chemistry, safety culture, and pedagogy.
Resources
Basic Resources
Background information on basic chemical safety education
RAMP: A Safety Tool for Chemists and Chemistry Students ~ David C. Finster
ACS Safety Resources: How a Community of ACS Volunteers Shapes Safety ~ Kirk P. Hunter, Robert H. Hill, and Marta Gmurczyk
Safety Education in the Context of the ACS Guidelines, “Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: ACS Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Programs” ~ Richard W. Schwenz
Safety Instruction
Different approaches to instruction, ranging from curricula, to specific courses, to hazard analysis and risk assessment
Comprehensive Undergraduate Safety Instruction ~ David C. Finster and Paul Jackson
Course Outline for Teaching Undergraduates about Toxicology and the Safe Handling of Chemicals ~ Harry E. Pence
Developing Risk Assessment Competencies in Preservice K–12 Teachers ~ Samuella B. Sigmann
Open Digital Educational Resources for Self-Training Chemistry Lab Safety Rules ~ Valérie Camel, Marie-Noëlle Maillard, Nicolas Descharles, Even Le Roux, Mathieu Cladière, and Isabelle Billault (available to non-subscribers)
Fire Hazards of Flammable Liquids—What Undergraduates Need to Know ~ Robert H. Hill
Assessment
Assessment of chemical safety knowledge
Writing the 2019 ACS Exam for Chemical Health and Safety ~ David C. Finster and Kristen L. Murphy
Online Safety Quiz for Interactive Revision Reveals Areas for Laboratory Safety Development in Second-Year Undergraduate Chemistry ~ Wendy A. Loughlin and Sarah L. Cresswell (available to non-subscribers)
Chemical Incident Investigations
Authoritative investigations of real-life chemical incidents for teaching chemical safety
Chemical Spillage as a Model for Accident Causation ~ Moray S. Stark, Aimilia M. Tsokou, and Alix Howells
Compressed Gas Safety at the University ~ Eugene Ngai and Courtney Ngai
Additional Chemical Safety Education Topics
Using Virtual Reality to Demonstrate Glove Hygiene in Introductory Chemistry Laboratories ~ Rebecca M. Broyer, Kenny Miller, Shalini Ramachandran, Sheree Fu, Karen Howell, and Steven Cutchin (available to non-subscribers)
Service Dogs and Safety in Academic Laboratories ~ Patricia Ann Redden
Comment on “Service Dogs and Safety in Academic Laboratories” ~ Joey Ramp, Coltan G. Parker, Justin S. Rhodes, and Pat Malik
Reply to “Comment on ‘Service Dogs and Safety in Academic Laboratories’” ~ Patricia Ann Redden
Green Chemistry
Modeling the strong synergy between the goals of green chemistry and chemical safety
Safe and Sustainable Chemistry Activities: Fostering a Culture of Safety in K–12 and Community Outreach Programs ~ Amy S. Cannon, Amy E. Keirstead, Reuben Hudson, Irvin J. Levy, Jennifer MacKellar, Mollie Enright, Kate R. Anderson, and Elizabeth M. Howson
Integration of Laboratory Safety and Green Chemistry: Implementation in a Sophomore Seminar and an Advanced Organic Laboratory ~ Caroline Sheppard
Approaches to Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture ~ Natalie J. O’Neil, Star Scott, Rachael Relph, and Ettigounder Ponnusamy (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice program)
Integrating Green Chemistry into Teaching Laboratories: Aqueous Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling Reaction Using a Recyclable Fluorous Precatalyst ~ Jayden Wei Jie Ang
Safety Culture
Illustrations of the worldwide trend for academic institutions and industry to recognize the value in moving from compliance-driven safety mandates to those founded in knowledge, awareness, and self-responsibility
Conducting Content Analysis for Chemistry Safety Education Terms and Topics in Chinese Secondary School Curriculum Standards, Textbooks, and Lesson Plans Shows Increased Safety Awareness ~ Kai Chen, Jingming Zhou, Jiayi Lin, Jing Yang, Jiamin Xiang, and Yizhou Ling
Investigating Chemical Safety Awareness and Practices in Nigerian Schools ~ Peter A. Okebukola, Adekunle Oladejo, Franklin Onowugbeda, Fred Awaah, Ibukunolu Ademola, Tokunbo Odekeye, Michael Adewusi, Olasunkanmi Gbeleyi, Deborah Agbanimu, Esther Peter, Aderonke Ebisin, Francis Onyewuchi, and Oluseyi Abike Ajayi
Building Strong Cultures with Chemical Safety Education ~ Robert H. Hill, Jr
Creating a Strong Safety Culture in an Undergraduate Engineering Program ~ Trine Thomsen and Stefan Borre-Gude
Fostering a Chemistry Safety Culture Despite Limited Resources: A Successful Example from Academic Research Laboratories in Argentina ~ Alejandro M. Fracaroli and Daniel A. Caminos
Pedagogy
The concepts behind chemical health and safety need to be included as part of the overall education by mainstreaming or embedding them into the overall curriculum
Using a Case Study to Teach Hazard Analysis and Risk Minimization ~ Scott R. Goode
An Engaging and Fun Breakout Activity for Educators and Students about Laboratory Safety ~ Shannon Nephew and Rajesh Sunasee
Reinterpreting Popular Demonstrations for Use in a Laboratory Safety Session That Engages Students in Observation, Prediction, Record Keeping, and Problem Solving ~ Taweetham Limpanuparb, Dulyarat Sathainthammanee, Pooh Pakwilaikiat, Chatchapong Kaewpichit, Warangkana Yimkosol, and Athikhun Suwannakhan
Safe Handling of Gas Generating Experiments Using Disposable Plastic Syringes ~ Enoch Ming Wei Ng, Zhixiong Song, Chin Doong Yau, Oi Wah Liew, and Tuck Wah Ng
Developing and Implementing a Laboratory Safety Course Focusing on Biodiesel and Biolubricants to Train Student Researchers and Promote Safety Culture ~ Sergio Nogales Delgado, José María Encinar Martín, and Silvia Román Suero
The Unsafe Lab Practical ~ Matthew J. Mio and Mark A. Benvenuto
Handling of Air-Sensitive and Moisture-Sensitive Reagents in an Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: The Importance of the Syringe ~ Erich Scott Von Nehring and Veljko Dragojlovic
Safety Moments in Chemical Safety Education ~ Jeffrey M. Ting
Chemical Hygiene and Safety Badge for an Upper-Level Laboratory Course ~ Andrea Roberts, Alison L. O’Neil, Rachael Barlow, Camille Keeler, William S. Nelligan, and T. David Westmoreland
Learning Experience Reports Improve Academic Research Safety ~ Yangming Kou, Xiayu Peng, Claire E. Dingwell, Spencer A. Reisbick, Ian A. Tonks, and Anna A. Sitek
The Joint Safety Team at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: A Model for Student-Led Safety ~ Adeline Espinasse, Ashish Jayaraman, Spencer A. Reisbick, Celina M. Harris, Yangming Kou, Hongyun Xu, Constance B. Anderson, Taysir K. Bader, and Anna A. Sitek
The Research Storyboard: Ideas for Cultivating Safe, Engaged, and Empowered Undergraduate Research Students ~ Nicholas N. Shaw, Samuella B. Sigmann, and Lyndsay B. Richard
Process Safety in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Selection of Illustrative Case Studies ~ Anna L. Dunn, Andrew Payne, Peter R. Clark, Christopher McKay, Glynn D. Williams, Katherine Wheelhouse, Kevin Arendt, Frank Dixon, and Susan Shilcrat
Mock Chemical Safety Sort to Engage with Storage and Inventory ~ Susan D. Wiediger
Extracurricular Student Groups: The Final Frontier of Undergraduate Safety ~ David J. Goldfeld and Jeffrey H. Schott
From the Archives: JCE Special Issues
Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry is the seventh special issue published by the Journal. Special issues featured in past issues of JCE include:
Advanced Placement Chemistry (September 2014 issue; discussed on ChemEdX)
Chemical Information (March 2016 issue; discussed on ChemEdX)
Polymer Concepts across the Curriculum (November 2017 issue; discussed on ChemEdX)
Reimagining Chemistry Education: Systems Thinking, and Green and Sustainable Chemistry (December 2019 issue; discussed on ChemEdX)
Chemical Security (July 2020 issue)
Insights Gained While Teaching Chemistry in the Time of COVID-19 (September 2020 issue)
Every Issue of JCE Is Special
Even in these times of disruption, there are always ideas for teaching and learning chemistry available in the Journal of Chemical Education —including the January 2021 issue described above. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available. (For more information on how to access the articles cited above, see Deanna Cullen’s post on Accessing Cited Articles.)
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! In particular, consider submitting to the special issue of JCE on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect in Chemistry Education Research and Practice (deadline is April 12, 2021).
Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary continues to provide excellent advice about becoming an author. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS website, including the revised Author Guidelines and Document Templates. The ACS Publishing Center also has resources for preparing and reviewing manuscripts for ACS journals.