<br/>At the University of South Dakota (USD), the Environmental Health and Safety program is managed by two Chemistry Graduate students. USD is a very small quantity generator of hazardous waste, with fewer than 100 labs. Nonetheless, we have the same issues that larger schools have, such as out-of-date chemical inventories, training and documentation gaps, high turnover of students, lack of funds, etc. We feel strongly that we are not a “Safety Police” force, but a resource for the other graduate students and researchers at our school. Last Fall I began a program aimed at training all Chemistry graduate students in the fundamentals of laboratory safety. These consist of weekly sessions, typically about 30 – 45 minutes that immediately follow a class we are all required to attend. We cover one topic each week: SDSs, SOPs, hazardous waste management, OSHA Lab Standard, etc. The program has been well received, and many students plan to take the CHO exam at the end of the spring semester. These students will all leave to go to their next job or school with a better understanding of lab safety than if we were just police officers writing tickets.

GAs are EHS @ USD

2019 Fall National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.