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> >I suspect that fundamental change in safety culture is sorely > needed in the majority of academic labs and their inhabitants - and > this is just not supported by many academic administrations who see > safety as just an add-on rather than an integrated part of learning > and research involving human beings. > > >I would be interested to hear what others think about this aspect > of safety culture and accountability. > I agree that there is a cultural disconnect between the academic laboratory culture and external expectations of safety culture and accountability. I think that one reason for this is the major increase in the amount and diversity of research labs over the last 20 years without a concomitant increase in administrative support (although there has been a significant increase in, for example, EHS support for labs, I don't believe that it has kept up with extent of lab work and the increase in regulation of hazardous materials and other oversight issues that affect labs). As the UCLA report pointed out, information about the kind of work that's going on in these labs is not well organized centrally, so the support needs of the laboratory workers, whether in terms of facility capabilities, or regulatory compliance assistance, or management of common equipment, is often lacking. And when these needs are not met, I suspect that it's easier to accept the accountability gaps that others have pointed to. Add to this the scientific tradition of independent research within academia and the history of scientific heros who have suffered health- wise for their work and there are many cultural messages that confuse the safety attitude of laboratory workers. In this respect, I'm heartened to hear that the UK seems to have made progress through its mandated risk assessment process at the lab level. - Ralph Ralph Stuart, CIH Environmental Safety Manager University of Vermont Environmental Safety Facility 667 Spear St. Burlington, VT 05405 rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**uvm.edu fax: (802)656-5407
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