Carbon dioxide laser cutters are used to cut and engrave on various types of materials, including metals, wood, and plastics. Although many are equipped with fume extractors for removing airborne substances generated during laser cutting, gases and particulate matter can be released upon opening the lid after completion. This study focused on investigating laser cutting acrylic sheets and associated emissions. Real-time instruments were utilized to monitor both particulate concentrations and size distributions, while the patented Tsai diffusion sampler was used to collect particulate samples on a polycarbonate membrane and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid. Identification of released gases consisted of the use of gas sampling with Teflon gas bags followed by analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A portable ambient infrared air analyzer was used to quantify the concentrations of the chemicals released by laser cutting activities. The results of the study found that a significant concentration of particulate matter, including nanoplastic particles ranging 15.4–86 nm in particle sizes, and microplastics with agglomerates were released each time the laser cutter lid was opened and were observed to gradually increase in concentration for a period of at least 20 min after the completion of a cut. The GC-MS gaseous samples primarily contained methyl methacrylate at a low level close to the detection limit of the infrared air analyzer.

This paper presents the development of directive emergency evacuation procedures for occupants of academic buildings. The development has four steps: determining a location as a starting point for evacuation, identifying the number of occupants in the building, referring to regulations and guidelines of emergency evacuation procedures, and designing an algorithm to be programmed in MATLAB software for desktop application. One academic building of the chemical and energy engineering faculty in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia is chosen to demonstrate the evacuation simulation. The algorithm is developed to direct occupants from any room in the building to a nearby assembly point. Occupants must provide inputs to the evacuation simulation, particularly the room’s number and level. Based on the inputs, occupants will get a word-based direction to the assembly point within an estimated time. Fifty students demonstrated the use of an emergency evacuation simulation in MATLAB. They are provided feedback concerning their awareness of emergency evacuation and the interaction with the simulation. Half of them responded that the evacuation simulation in MATLAB and their satisfaction was good and excellent. However, the algorithm is for one potential hazard and its location at a time, making it incapable of having inputs for many hazards. It is recommended that the algorithm is programmed to be used on a smartphone, allowing much easier dynamic emergency calling.

Researchers have the potential to be exposed to a wide variety of hazards inherent to the equipment they use and maintain. When equipment does not function as expected, researchers sometimes reach out to their vendors for assistance. Early diagnostic or troubleshooting interactions between researcher and vendor are often conducted over the telephone and can lead to researchers performing work outside of their area of expertise and exposure to unknown hazards. This type of interaction significantly contributed to an incident where during diagnostic activities a researcher accidentally contacted, and discharged, a capacitor in an X-ray diffraction instrument. While this incident did not produce a serious injury, if the capacitor discharge path had occurred hand-to-hand across the heart, a serious injury may have been possible.

A simple and inexpensive method is proposed for the measurement of the evaporation rate of liquid mixtures and further estimation of the flash point. These two pieces of information are important for the appraisal of fire or explosion risks related to their handling, storage, and use, as well as for occupational health matters. The overall mass-time profiles for the isothermal evaporation of liquid mixtures show an initial constant-rate kinetic phase [revap(initial)] that can be interpreted as the arrival of volatile molecules at the liquid–gas interface as fast as evaporation takes place, thus ensuring a nearly constant surface composition. The extent of this constant kinetic phase is dependent on the fraction of the more volatile components in the liquid bulk. Besides a mechanistic interpretation of the experimental results, a regression equation was obtained between flash-point temperatures [Tf] and the corresponding logarithm of revap(initial) that is like a previously published relationship between the Tf of pure liquids and mixtures and their log revap(AcOBu = 1) values. This finding is of utility for the appropriate usage of liquid materials in the absence of these physical data in commercial safety data sheets.

In collaboration with C&EN

Safety showers and eyewash stations are some of the most important and most recognizable safety features in laboratories, and their regular maintenance is necessary to ensure that they operate as expected in the event of an incident. In this case study, the improper installation of a safety shower in a high school chemistry laboratory led to failure of the shower during in-class activation. This case study ultimately describes a positive outcome as the activation revealed the fault prior to an emergency. Several recommendations for ensuring proper installation and encouraging regular assessment of safety equipment are made.

Laboratory safety education is an important part of basic chemistry laboratory teaching. The lack of chemistry learning motivation among freshmen affects the implementation of laboratory safety literacy. This work investigates the influence of chemistry learning motivation on the safety perception as reflected in the safety motivation, safety participation, and safety awareness and attitude among the freshmen at Tianjin University of Technology. The results show that there are significant differences among freshmen in gender, major, and area of origin. The results indicate the existence of a positive correlation between internal motivation and other factors of safety motivation, safety participation, and safety awareness and attitude. Finally, we concluded that the improvement of chemistry learning motivation contributes to the increase in safety perception in laboratories. Based on the data mentioned above, some improvement strategies are recommended for the subsequent safety education and management.

People working in laboratories and critical workspaces depend on the proper functioning of laboratory hoods and ventilation systems to provide safe and productive work environments. Laboratories are built to support the science and promote success. However, activities in laboratories and the risk associated with the potential for exposure to airborne hazards can vary, requiring appropriate selection, design, operation, and maintenance of exposure control devices such as chemical fume hoods and lab ventilation systems. Laboratories are not one size fits all, and the ventilation systems must meet the needs of the occupants and operate properly for the lifecycle of the building. A risk-based systems approach that includes a Lab Ventilation Risk Assessment can help determine appropriate lab ventilation design levels. This paper describes development and application of a lab ventilation risk assessment as part of a Laboratory Ventilation Management Program to provide safe, energy efficient, and sustainable laboratories and critical workspaces.

The occurrence of significant incidents in academic and professional laboratories indicates insufficient methods for ensuring effective and safe performance of protocols. Using written standard operating procedures (SOPs) is one method that could improve this situation. Although there are currently numerous guidelines regarding the necessary content for SOPs, there is a dearth of information regarding how these SOPs should be written and designed. Human Factors/Ergonomics principles and guidelines can provide insight and guidance regarding writing SOPs that are more likely to result in safe and accurate performance by the user. This paper presents some guidance for developing procedures for those who regularly perform laboratory protocols and resources for more guidance.

A personal experience with the health impact of laboratory exposure to dimethylformamide is described, and the lessons learned from this event are developed. These lessons involve all 4 elements of the RAMP process: hazard recognition, evaluation of the impact of a chemical exposure, selection and use of management strategies, and response to the incident. The goal of this paper is to convert my luck of recovering from a short-term exposure to a hazardous solvent into a group of Lessons Learned which can benefit the laboratory community.

Plant & Food Research (PFR) is a biologically orientated multi-disciplinary research institute with the goal of improving the value of New Zealand’s horticultural products. Within PFR, the practice of chemistry is both widespread and the focus of specialist chemists. To improve safety in the handling of laboratory chemicals, we sought to understand the state of chemical practice and knowledge, the awareness of risk, and how chemical knowledge was acquired and authenticated. A collaborative inquiry approach was chosen so that the social interactions and practice of the research process would itself serve to exchange knowledge and improve communication and laboratory safety. A “survey─small group meeting” model for interaction with users of chemicals was developed and rolled out across PFR. Survey responses were received from 346 respondents who reported their usage of laboratory chemicals, and this was followed by interactive small group meetings with 38 biology-focused research teams located across 12 sites. While the survey provided a generally positive view of practice and perceptions of risk, the team visits provided more site-specific, granular, and informative insights into the handling of chemicals and functioning of laboratories. Textual analysis of contemporaneous notes identified six interconnecting themes associated with risk in the handling of chemicals: lack of knowledge resulting in uncertainty and unrecognized risks; practical difficulties in effecting structural changes to laboratories; poor engagement by a few key individuals; feelings of lack of support by safety managers; the presence of students, visitors, and new graduates needing extensive training; and work pressures resulting in poor decision-making. This research demonstrates the use of collaborative inquiry to provide the granular knowledge needed to improve safety in handling chemicals in biological laboratories.

Lung surfactant lowers surface tension in the alveoli, playing a critical role in lung function and immune defense. Inhaled aerosol particles may induce adverse health effects via the interruption of lung surfactant surface tension. Previous generations of surfactometers have been developed and used to characterize surfactants and their response to various exposures. However, these devices do not allow for simultaneous exposure with multiple aerosols, the incorporation of multiple aerosolization methods, or the co-exposure scenario involving both lung surfactant fluid and pulmonary cells/tissues. Herein, we introduce a new configuration, termed the aerosol exposure surfactometer (AESM), that addresses all of these limitations. The results indicate correlation of surface tension changes in concordance with aerosol properties while preventing unwanted cell death. Further investigation using this method may elucidate mechanisms of pathogenesis related to surfactant dysfunction and provide the foundation for predictive models.

They will studyworkrather than accidents. Safety researchers should almost exclusively be interested in the who, what, why, when, where, and how of work. They will describe work before prescribing interventions. There is a glut of novel methods and little evidence about whether they work. They will investigate and theorize before measuring. Theories that make testable predictions should be developed through qualitative investigations. They will directly observe practices. Inappropriate data is used too often, particularly self-reported data. They will appropriately incorporate advances in parent disciplines. Projects should contribute to and meet the standards of both safety research and the relevant parent discipline. They will prioritize real-world case studies. Case studies (defined as the empirical study of actual processes that would occur in the absence of a researcher) should be prioritized over “worked examples” (defined as a method applied by researchers to a tailored, simplified example). They will respect practitioners as partners. Researchers should forge knowledge-generating partnerships with practitioners that benefit both groups. Submit contributions to highlights@safety.acs.org and be coauthored, or share ideas on social media with #SafetyHighlights This article has not yet been cited by other publications.

3-HPMA: 3-hydroxypropyl mercapturic acid, acrolein exposure biomarker SPMA: S-phenyl mercapturic acid, benzene exposure biomarker CEMA: cyanoethyl mercapturic acid, acrylonitrile exposure biomarker HMPMA: 3-hydroxy-1-methylpropyl mercapturic acid, crotonaldehyde, methyl vinyl ketone, and methacrolein exposure biomarker Submit contributions to spotlights@safety.acs.org and be coauthored, or share ideas on social media with #SafetyHighlights This article has not yet been cited by other publications.

the Oxygen balance calculation the Rule of 6 calculation the presence or absence of Explosive functional groups the Onset temperature of decomposition the amount of material (the Scale) Submit contributions to highlights@safety.acs.org and be coauthored, or share ideas on social media with #SafetyHighlights This article has not yet been cited by other publications.

Globally, organizations are preparing for future climate security and energy efficiency challenges. Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federally Funded National Research and Development Center, is no different. Sandia is committed to finding ways to provide safe and flexible laboratory space for research and development (R&D) personnel while building a robust program of energy stewardship. This is not an easy balance, as new construction and land acquisition costs can be prohibitive, and solutions must be found in upgrading older buildings. As one of the country’s premier research laboratories, Sandia’s R&D goals are dynamic, and its laboratory spaces must be flexible enough to support a variety of disciplines and changing mission objectives while providing important engineered controls for worker safety. Especially crucial are ventilation and air supply systems designed to protect personnel from airborne chemical and biological hazards. To explore how to achieve these goals in older buildings, Sandia implemented a pilot project at its Albuquerque campus and has completed Phase 1. The process is based on the Smart Labs methodology which is part of the federal government’s long-term strategy on climate and energy use [U.S. Department of Energy. Better Buildings Initiative. http://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/smart-labs-accelerator-toolkit]. Through Phase 1 of the pilot project, Sandia learned the value of collaborating between various stakeholders including Facilities; environmental, safety, and health; and the occupants. Other key lessons were the importance of organization, access to building documents, and managing change. The Phase 1 results provided a scope of work for further evaluation and commencement of Phase 2 for building optimization.

Published as part of ACS Chemical Health & Safety virtual special issue “Laboratory Design to Enable Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Research”. In this laboratory design Virtual Special Issue (VSI), researchers, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals, and lab design consultants are represented. The authors share their experiences with planning, designing, and operating laboratories. These insights demonstrate the variety of stakeholders involved in positively influencing productive and safer chemical research facilities. As mentioned in the Call for Papers, (1)ACS Chemical Health & Safety initially invited author submissions for this VSI in early 2020. Then COVID-19 hit, and the focus of many potential authors shifted to managing COVID at their institutions. This meant that new lessons were learned about lab building operations, and Ellen Sweet shares her experience with efficiently hibernating fume hoods in response to reduced work-levels caused by the pandemic. (2) Ultimately, in this case, technical and mechanical factors limitated the amount of achievable savings at Cornell University. Smith (3) and McCarthy (4) et al. also address laboratory ventilation in a more theoretical way. Smith et al. describe a Lab Ventilation Risk Assessment, which is a risk-based approach to determine the best design that meets the needs of the occupants and will operate properly throughout the equipment’s lifetime. McCarthy et al. looks at ventilation design through the lens of energy optimization to both manage safety risk and save money. They do this through a case study that describes the energy optimization program at a university that ultimately resulted in an approximately $620,000 investment to implement, but yielded a 40% reduction of the building’s annual energy. Design projects like these must take various building codes into consideration. Kretchman (5) tackles the often-misunderstood Chapter 510 of the International Mechanical Code that addresses hazardous exhaust systems. Kretchman explains how Chapter 510 applies to research laboratory exhaust systems. Palluzi (6) addresses codes affecting laboratories that will have pilot plants incorporated in their use. This includes the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-45 Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, and the International Building Code (IBC) and attendant International Fire Code (IFC). Lebowitz (7) proposes the use of a Hazardous Material Master Plan to be the basis of design of all laboratory protective systems, which brings the information into a single location for operators, EHS professionals, lab designers, and maintenance personnel to reference. This includes identifying all the building and fire code requirements that affect the design of a laboratory. Lebowitz also addresses the IFC, IBC, NFPA, and, more specifically, the types and quantities of hazardous materials used and stored within a laboratory that trigger the various code requirements. He then offers lessons he has gleaned from recurring challenges observed with Hazardous Material Master Plans. Four papers in this VSI offer insights learned from laboratory renovations in specific environments. Sigmann (8) describes her experiences as an embedded chemical hygiene officer during the renovation of a chemistry stockroom and construction of a multiuse teaching laboratory. Goode and coauthor Tucker, (9) a university faculty member who acted as the faculty representative and as a lab planner for a national firm, discuss repurposing a 50 year-old building into 18 teaching laboratories, 4 classrooms, 9 offices, an atrium, and formal and informal meeting/collaboration spaces. Backlund (10) et al. relay the first phase of the 3-phase Smart Labs initiative, a national program promoted by the U.S. Department of Energy to enable safe and efficient laboratories. Backlund and her team recount reviewing laboratory ventilation and other building systems to develop a Smart Labs hazard assessment and their long-term scope of work. They describe challenges like the autonomous nature of ES&H and facilities that leads to a decentralized storage of building information and records. Wang (11) et al. had a recent opportunity to renovate a building at a new campus and to move the College of Materials Science and Engineering to it, thus prompting the design of new laboratories. Their paper describes the experience of converting a classroom into a laboratory and includes various considerations and lessons learned in the process. Finally, Zontek et al. (12) assess the efficiency of current local exhaust ventilation (LEV) design for university fabrication laboratories in a real-world setting. They approach the evaluation utilizing industrial hygiene sampling and the Hierarchy of Controls to assess the control of emissions and offer key takeaways for others designing fabrication laboratories. It is important to note that the articles described here reference a variety of articles from the archives of this journal. This demonstrates that the evolution of safer laboratory design and operation is an ongoing opportunity for improvement, as science, building technologies, and laboratory requirements simultaneously evolve. We believe that this issue is an important snapshot in time of the state of the art of laboratory facilities. We are deeply appreciative to all of the authors who contributed their time and expertise to the journal and we welcome further submissions to the journal to discuss other aspects of safer laboratory operation, or which provide updates on the topics outlined above. This article references 12 other publications. This article has not yet been cited by other publications. This article references 12 other publications.

In the past few years, a number of incidents related to fire and explosions in temporary chemical storage facilities have occurred that have resulted in large numbers of casualties. This includes explosions at a warehouse near Tianjin Port, China, in 2015 and that at a warehouse facility storing ammonium nitrate at Beirut port, Lebanon, in 2020. Very recently, a similar incident occurred in a container depot in Bangladesh. On June 4, 2022, a massive fire broke out at BM Inland Container Depot, a temporary storage facility in the town of Sitakunda, Bangladesh. The fire and subsequent explosions resulted in at least 48 fatalities, including 10 firefighters, and injured more than 200 people. The fire, which took 86 h to completely extinguish, has resulted in financial losses of more than US$152 million according to authorities. In this paper, an investigative consequence analysis of the accident is presented with the goals to identify the possible reasons that culminated in the catastrophe, quantify the magnitude of the explosion, and explore the key lessons learned. This work also sheds light on the existing local legislation and international guidelines relating to the storage of hazardous materials. Furthermore, human and social consequences of an accident similar in magnitude have been assessed for two other inland container depots. This work, thus, may be considered a scientific exercise aimed at creating awareness of the gravity of accidents in temporary storage facilities and a lesson learned to prevent such catastrophes in the future.

Human Factors: the study of how and why people behave the way they do─including their unsafe behaviors─and how to improve human performance and behavior unsafe acts by operators preconditions for unsafe acts unsafe supervision organizational influences How did they see the situation? How did they think about their task? Why did they think what they were doing was correct? Affordances: a key Human Factors design principle. An affordance is the way that the shape, layout, or appearance of an object allows for human interaction. EXAMPLE: a surface placed at knee height affords being used as a step, even if it has a sign on it that says “DO NOT USE AS STEP”. What realities, constraints, and challenges are workers facing? What coping strategies have they developed? How have workers adapted to imperfections and frustrations? Did the people involved understand the risks of their behavior? Did the people involved understand how to control those risks? If the people involved understood how to control the risks, why did they do something different? making sure that hazards and risks are understood demonstrating hazards and risks describing risks effectively so that these risks can be understood at all organizational levels making sure that measures are in place to reduce risks to acceptable levels making sure that everyone who will encounter a risk knows about it making sure that individuals understand the hazards posed by a risk making sure that individuals know how to control the risk making sure that individuals are motivated to control the risk Blunt-end risk assessments are performed by professionals at a distance from the risk, using all available relevant information and an understanding of the hazards─for instance, a company’s health and safety officer. These reflect work-as-imagined. Sharp-end risk assessments are performed by the people in direct contact with the risk─for instance, the person using a chemical. These reflect work-as-done, and can be formalized with activities such as Job Hazard Analyses. How were individuals expected to acquire an understanding of the risks of their job? Was the risk immediately perceivable in the work environment? Was there anything about the task, spatial layout, or work environment that could have encouraged system 1 (fast) thinking? Could any changes have encouraged system 2 (slow) thinking? How was an individual’s understanding of risk expected to affect their behavior? Self-explaining roads: an interesting case for safety professionals The road transportation industry increasingly designs roads with physical characteristics meant to influence driver behavior, via visual cues and road furniture. Road markings, lane widths, and roadside objects can effectively cause drivers to drive in desired ways. What can chemical laboratories learn from self-driving roads? Could laboratories be designed in similar ways? Institutions: What is the best way to design or redesign chemical laboratories to encourage safe work? Administrators/EHS professionals: Safety improvements cannot be made by assigning blame; in what context were individuals involved in an accident working? Chemical manufacturers and suppliers: How does product design affect how products are used? Could improvements to design, distribution, and labeling improve users’ ability to control risks? Principal Investigators: Are the limitations of blunt-end risk assessment understood? Is training effective? Are laboratory working conditions capable of encouraging real-time critical thinking about risks? Are unnecessarily difficult safety procedures encouraging shortcuts for laboratory workers and setting workers up to fail? Graduate students: Are students, working on the sharp-end of risk, aware of how their decisions and behaviors affect themselves and others? Graduate students are encouraged to challenge poor risk assessments and unrealistic management systems. This article references 4 other publications. This article has not yet been cited by other publications. This article references 4 other publications.

Karen Elizabeth Wetterhahn (born 1948) died on June 8, 1997, after a single accidental occupational exposure to the alkyl mercury compound dimethylmercury nearly a year earlier. A bioinorganic chemist, in 1976, Karen had become Dartmouth College’s first female chemistry professor, launching a successful career as a scientist, teacher, and administrator and a pioneer in educating and mentoring women in the sciences. She was a mother, wife, and beloved member of the Upper Valley community of New Hampshire and Vermont. Twenty-five years after her death, with a continued sense of loss, we seek to remind those who remember this event and share her story’s importance with a new generation of scientists. In the mid-1990s, the Wetterhahn lab in the Burke Laboratory on the Dartmouth campus was a dynamic and well-organized group of graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Karen’s research focus was the toxic effects of certain metals (chromium, in particular) in living organisms. The internationally accepted standard for calibrating mercury chemical shifts in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the clear, volatile liquid dimethylmercury (CH3)2Hg. As part of her research at the time, Karen needed the 199Hg NMR spectrum of several model compounds to study Hg2+ binding to select biomolecules. On August 14, 1996, while working in a laboratory fume hood, Karen carefully transferred, via a mechanical pipette, dimethylmercury from its original (sealed) glass ampule into an NMR tube and a capped storage vial. A small drop of dimethylmercury fell on her latex-gloved left hand during this process. Karen would continue her work for the next five months without knowing she had been poisoned during an otherwise routine chemical transfer. The hallmark signs of organic mercury toxicity appeared in her impaired vision, slurred speech, and unsteady gait (ataxia). After her diagnosis and hospitalization, Karen recounted wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when the spill occurred, immediately cleaning up her work area, removing her gloves, and washing her hands. Karen’s medical condition declined rapidly after admission to the hospital. Before she became unresponsive, Karen clearly stated that she wanted us to share her story with other scientists, warning them of the danger that even a tiny accidental exposure to liquid dimethylmercury could cause severe illness. Textbooks at that time only briefly mentioned signs and symptoms of the clinical toxicity of organic mercury compounds, mainly in the form of monomethyl mercury. There was no discussion of the even greater potential toxicity of dimethylmercury, which is now known to have a long latency period before symptoms develop. Often-cited cases involving monomethyl mercury poisoning occurred in Iraq in 1971 due to ingestion of contaminated wheat during a drought and many years earlier in Minimata Bay, Japan, from ingestion of fish exposed to industrial waste. Karen developed the same symptoms of mercury toxicity seen in Iraq and Japan months after her exposure. Further, those cases where the blood mercury level was similar to that found in Karen were fatal in nearly every case, despite treatment with available chelating agents. Karen received excellent care in the hospital, including multiple treatments with the more advanced chelating agent dimercaptosuccinic acid. Despite these efforts, she lapsed into an irreversible vegetative state, dying five months after her diagnosis, despite all the effort and care. An extensive investigation by Dartmouth College and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the spring of 1997 concluded that Karen’s disposable latex gloves were not adequate protection against dimethylmercury. Glove testing done by a certified laboratory revealed that dimethylmercury passed unimpeded through most glove materials. (See Figure 1.) However, testing showed that a plastic laminate glove material was protective, and the College quickly informed others. In the months that followed Karen’s death, those closely involved wrote several papers, and questions came frequently. Today, 25 years later, fewer questions are being raised about dimethylmercury and organic mercury exposure and toxicity, even though the optimal treatment and chelating agent are still unclear. Figure 1. Reprinted with permission from ref (1). Copyright 1997 Chemical & Engineering News. Soon after Karen’s death, the O’Halloran lab (Northwestern) created a website outlining methods for referencing 199Hg chemical shifts and discussing compounds that can serve as alternatives to dimethylmercury as a reference standard. (http://web.archive.org/web/20050514072706/http://www.chem.northwestern.edu/∼ohallo/HgNMRStandards/). Independent studies published by the Persson lab (Uppsala, Sweden) demonstrate the utility of mercury perchlorate solutions as reference standards in 199Hg NMR studies. Based on Karen’s accomplishments in the ∼20 years of her independent academic career, which include essential contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms of metal toxicity and carcinogenicity, the leadership of a highly successful interdisciplinary and collaborative research program (Superfund Research Program at Dartmouth), founding an early and effective program for diversifying science (Women in Science Project at Dartmouth), and significant roles in the administration of Dartmouth College, we can only imagine what she would have accomplished in the years since her tragic and untimely death. Her leadership, drive, and insight remain, to this day, an inspiration to her colleagues and students. Over the past 25 years, while laboratory safety awareness has grown, the hazards and risks of highly toxic compounds remain an everyday concern. The death of Karen Wetterhahn is a poignant reminder that there are some chemicals with known (or unknown) properties that may overcome standard methods of protection (administrative, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment). This concern is genuine, as chemists work with a broader range of materials that could be harmful or lethal without adequate precautions. The importance of conducting a hazard and risk assessment, especially with highly toxic or dangerous chemicals, cannot be understated. Such an assessment needs to be part of the vernacular of chemistry in planning experiments and preparing for emergencies. We encourage everyone to heed this warning─some compounds are so dangerous that even a tiny drop can steal a life. As authors, we feel it is important to remember our colleague and friend Karen Wetterhahn and her wish that other scientists learn from this cautionary story. This article references 1 other publications. This article has not yet been cited by other publications. Figure 1. Reprinted with permission from ref (1). Copyright 1997 Chemical & Engineering News. This article references 1 other publications.