The 2012 ACS Presidential Commission's report on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences recommended that academic chemical laboratories adopt “best safety practices”. An emerging strategy for moving this recommendation forward is to connect undergraduate and graduate chemical safety education efforts using a "virtuous cycle" based on spiral learning that supports continuous improvement of laboratory safety conditions and practices. Since the 2012 report was published, ACS committees (CCS, CPT and the CHED Safety Committee), technical divisions (CHAS, CHED and CINF) and other organizations have been exploring what improved safety practices, both technical and cultural, look like when implemented in academic research laboratories. This paper will review these resources and describe chemical safety education experiences that can be used to not only better prepare an undergraduate for graduate work, but facilitate continued improvement in best safety practices in graduate research. Specific examples of the added value of this strategy will be provided.

Supporting improved safety practices in graduate chemistry education

254th National Meeting (2017)

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