Danger in School Labs: Accidents Haunt Experimental Science

Scientific American Magazine -  August 2010

Several headline-grabbing accidents have shone light on chronically poor safety records

By: Beryl Lieff Benderly

The day Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji, a 23-year-old technician at the University of California, Los Angeles, undertook what would be her last task, she wore a sweatshirt and no lab coat. That late December afternoon in 2008, she started working with a liquid called t-butyl lithium. The chemical requires careful handling, because as a pyrophoric, it catches fire when exposed to air. But equipment malfunctioned, and the fluid spilled, setting the synthetic fibers of her clothing ablaze. Two postdocs ran to help douse the fire engulfing Sangji, but they failed to get her to the nearby shower. Emergency personnel raced to the scene, but they arrived too late. She spent 18 days in a hospital burn unit before she died.

Sangji’s catastrophe highlights widely unsuspected risks in many schools. “Most academic laboratories are

Lab safety is a focus of Appalachian’s Department of Chemistry

Posted July 26, 2010 

ASU News

BOONE—We all know what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar, or drop Mentos candy in a carbonated drink – a chemical reaction that’s fun to watch, but messy to clean up.

Mixing or spilling chemicals in a laboratory, however, can have dangerous consequences.

Samuella B. Sigmann, a lecturer and chemical hygiene officer in Appalachian State University’s Department of Chemistry, educates students and faculty about chemical safety to reduce the risk of personal injury or property damage.

Her course on lab safety was highlighted in an article on expanding chemical safety training for undergraduate students that was published in Chemical and Engineering News, an international publication of the American Chemical Society.

“We have always had safety protocols,” Sigmann said, “but as the department and university have become more research oriented