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Welcome
to the Committee on Chemical Safety’s website. In these times of an
economic downturn, we cannot abandon our commitment to protecting
chemists, students, society and the environment. Pressure will be placed
on us to make cutbacks and some may be justified. These cutbacks can
take many forms including reduction of positions, combining
responsibilities, and facility operations. However, when making cutbacks
we should explore approaches that do not increase risks and add greater
costs that are linked to those decisions. Safety professionals should
view these times as opportunities. Examine options that at first thought
may be detrimental but in fact have little or no reduction to health and
safety. Explore, energy saving relating to HVAC, hood use and lighting,
chemical inventory, disposal, incineration, etc. Work closely with
management and facilities personnel and explore opportunities to save
money. Consider programs that improve the health of the employee and
therefore reduce medical cost. I am sure that there are many
opportunities and that your imagination and knowledge will help your
employer or your company weathers this economic downturn.
While you are visiting the website, please check the safety resources
that may help your organization. The Committee’s newest online
publication is Security Vulnerability Checklist for Academic and Small
Chemical Laboratory Facilities. This is designed to help laboratories
identify security weaknesses they may have in order to protect
facilities from terrorism and vandalism. Our pre-eminent publication is
the 7th Edition of "Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories"
(SACL) edited by Jay Young of Committee. The 7th Edition comes in two
volumes: Volume 1 is for college and university
undergraduate students; and
Volume 2 is for faculty and
administrators. Both the brochure and SACL can be downloaded from the
publications section of this site. View the Committee’s most recent
addition to this two-volume document “Eye Protection.” We are
continually updating and adding information and free publication
downloads to the site, so visit us again and check our progress. Your
comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you for your interest
in chemical safety!
Laurence Doemeny
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