Professional chemists are scientists who utilize laboratories for their work, study, and research. Yet there is a gap in their current educational process – education in chemical and laboratory safety is missing. While new graduates are well educated in other aspects of chemistry, they have not been educated in safety. But they are expected to apply their chemistry knowledge in the laboratory for which they have not been adequately prepared. While there have been many calls to address this shortcoming, the academic chemistry community has continued the status quo established decades ago of not including safety education in the chemist’s preparation to become a professional. A renowned sociologist, Diane Vaughn of Columbia University, developed the Normalization of Deviance theory to explain the infamous NASA Challenger and Columbia catastrophes. The theory’s essence is that the organization recognized deviations from expected standards (with increased risks) but explained and accepted these deviations as normal, and when further deviations occurred, it again explained these deviations (with even more risks) as normal. Thus deviance with greater risks became normalized. While the academic chemical education system is far larger than the NASA organization, this theory seems to apply in explaining why safety has been and continues to be left out of the curriculum. This paper examines the Normalization of Deviance in understanding the absence of safety education and its impact on safety cultures. Ideas for addressing this serious shortcoming in the chemical education community will be offered.

Absence of safety education in chemistry curriculum, and Normalization of Deviance

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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