Interest in chemical safety training seems to diminish as researchers get older and more experienced. At the same time, many familiar topics need to be reviewed on a regular basis; regulations may determine the frequency of training for some specific hazards. Training sessions must be planned to appeal to a wide range of experience levels in a laboratory. One way to customize content is to use the researchers' expertise in both chemistry and lab safety. Asking staff members to relate personal experiences or relevant stories they have heard will broaden any resulting discussion. Relating sanitized versions of past incidents in the organization's laboratories will emphasize that the hazards being discussed can result in accidents in the existing lab environment. Experienced researchers have accumulated knowledge and developed skills during their careers. But like employees in any field, research staff members suffer a gradual decline in physical and cognitive capabilities over time. Some researchers may do lab work less frequently as they assume non-lab duties in their jobs. If the safety trainer has at least a few years of experience working in a laboratory, he or she can use their personal experience with the aging process to discuss potential limitations in physical and mental agility. It should not be presumed that every staff member will experience the challenges of aging to the same extent. Discussions related to aging must be discrete and informative rather than discouraging and appearing to disparage older researchers.

Old hazards don't change, but older researchers do

240th National Meeting (2010)

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