DCHAS-L Archives, Aug 15 2016 - Re: [DCHAS-L] Source of the OSHA statement

Thank you Jyllian,

That makes a lot more sense.

Imke

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Jyllian Kemsley
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2016 11:16 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Source of the OSHA statement

Hi all--I didn't check list emails last week and only saw this thread now. Unfortunately, I did not see that letter before we printed it, and I immediately questioned the statistics:

"The '11 times more likely' statistic is inaccurately framed. I followed up on it with the letter authors and Lori Seiler, Dow's associate director for environmental health and safety in research and development. The numbers actually compare the overall injury and illness rate for academic institutions (including those that might occur, for example, in grounds keeping or a dining hall as well as in laboratories) to Dow's overall rate. Seiler adds that the injury and illness rate for Dow's research laboratories is consistent with the company's overall rate, when calculated per employee."

http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2013/05/on-the-importance-of-teaching-safety/

I'm going to ask now if we can add an editor's note or something else to the page to prevent the statistic from being used further. The reality is that there are no publicly available, reputable statistics available specific to incidents in research (or teaching) laboratories.

Jyllian

Jyllian Kemsley, Ph.D.

Senior Editor, West Coast

Chemical & Engineering News

cen.acs.org/

www.cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/

On Tue, Aug 9, 2016 at 7:19 PM, ILPI Support <info**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com> wrote:

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i27/Interpreting-Accident-Data.html and http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i18/Importance-Teaching-Safety.html I suggest contacting the authors of that article to inquire about their statistics.

And from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2009/05/explosions_in_the_lab.html, Jim Kaufman is attributed to the sentence "...accidents and injuries occur hundreds of times more frequently in academic labs than in industrial ones."

Rob Toreki

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Safety Emporium - Lab & Safety Supplies featuring brand names

you know and trust. Visit us at http://www.SafetyEmporium.com

esales**At_Symbol_Here**safetyemporium.com or toll-free: (866) 326-5412

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On Aug 9, 2016, at 8:08 PM, Melissa Charlton-Smith <melissafcsmith**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM> wrote:

Hi everybody,

ok I have been trying to find the original source for the following statement:

"...Occupational Safety & Health Administration statistics demonstrate that researchers are 11 times more likely to get hurt in an academic lab than in an industrial lab."

I have seen this statement referenced many times in articles. In fact in one of the articles I read it was said to be quote from an interview. Sometimes it is referenced, and then when I track down the reference, it just refers to another article that uses the exact same wording, without a reference. No matter who said it first...where is the research? Where are the statistics? Where is the report? What journal do I find it in?

Thanks everybody, just trying to track down the paper, or the OSHA stats or what have you. I want to USE that information in a report I am working on, but I want a real reference to go by.

Mel Charlton-Smith

NRCC-CHO

melissafcsmith**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com

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