Trying to make your lab greener? Here are some practical examples of how to reduce your lab’s carbon footprint and increase sustainability. Since China stopped accepting certain types of plastic waste from the United States and Europe in 2017, the need to dispose of hundreds of single-use plastic vials and other materials (per researcher, each year!) has created an avalanche of … [Read more...] about Make Your Lab Greener
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Incidentally … Reporting Lab Incidents
Exploding refrigerator? Chemical splash on the face? These are not just personally devastating lab incidents, they are also expensive. For instance, awhile back, the University of Hawaii faced a total $115,500 fine for 15 workplace safety violations after a laboratory explosion where a postdoctoral researcher lost one of her arms. Beryl Lieff Benderly wrote in Science … [Read more...] about Incidentally … Reporting Lab Incidents
Walk This Way: Shoes To Wear In the Lab
Special shoes are almost always required for working in a lab. Unlike Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that you would leave in the lab, the shoes you wear are a decision you make before you head to work. It’s something many employers even reimburse cost-wise for their research employees. Shoes as barriers “Closed-toe shoes are mandated by the CDC through the Biosafety … [Read more...] about Walk This Way: Shoes To Wear In the Lab
Hey, Don’t Eat That! Food in the Research Lab
Your university doesn’t just discourage eating in the research or computer lab – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) actually prohibits food and beverages from being stored or consumed in the same environment where hazardous materials are found. You’re actually not allowed to put on cosmetics, take or apply medicines or handle contact lenses in labs, … [Read more...] about Hey, Don’t Eat That! Food in the Research Lab