Commentary: Educating the Public on Food Safety

Journal Article | September 2004

In 1993, the Pacific Northwest witnessed an outbreak of the pathogen Escherichia coli (E. coli) 0157:H7 from undercooked, contaminated hamburgers served at Seattle-area Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants (Golan et…

Scope on Safety: When is a classroom a laboratory?

Journal Article | February 2007

What are the bare bones that must exist for a room to be considered safe for teaching laboratory science? This month’s issue of Scope on Safety addresses this question by first defining when a laboratory is really…

Scope on Safety: Clearing the air on ventilation

Journal Article | November 2008

Poor ventilation is often a topic of conversation relative to safety concerns in school science laboratories. Too often, school science laboratories have ventilation systems that are inappropriate and ineffective for…

Scope on Safety: Greener is cleaner, and safer

Journal Article | February 2005

Indigenous people of many continents have practiced the concept of going"green" for centuries--you should too! Green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry, substitutes nonhazardous chemicals for those that pose high risks…

Scope on Safety: Allergies—Nothing to sneeze at

Journal Article | December 2008

The list from the nurse’s office of students with known allergies seems to get longer each year. Allergy symptoms can range from a simple red rash or itch to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Interestingly enough,…

Idea Bank: Emphasizing Safety in the Classroom

Journal Article | August 2008

With the popularization of inquiry-based learning in science classes at all levels, laboratory instructors must be proficient in the proper handling of hazardous substances. This care in dealing with potentially harmful…

Safer Science: Safety in the Eye of the Beholder

Journal Article | January 2012

This column provides best safety practices for the science classroom and laboratory. This month’s issue discusses types of eye protection.

Scope on Safety: Avoid surprise packages

Journal Article | March 2008

The Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), parts 171—180 explain what is required of a shipper to transport hazardous materials safely. The regulations cover classification, packaging, incident reporting, and handling…

Scope on Safety: Plant the seeds of knowledge

Journal Article | August 2005

Why use plants in your science laboratory? First of all, they are an excellent way to implement hands-on, inquiry-based science at the middle school level. Second, plants help students better understand the role of…