Kandel Krishna Prasad, Neupane Bhanu Bhakta, Giri Basant
Department of Chemistry, Birendra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Chitwan, Nepal.
Center for Analytical Sciences, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2017 Jun 23;12(6):e0179104. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179104. eCollection 2017.
Chemistry labs can become a dangerous environment for students as the lab exercises involve hazardous chemicals, glassware, and equipment. Approximately one hundred thousand students take chemistry laboratory classes annually in Nepal. We conducted a survey on chemical lab safety issues across Nepal. In this paper, we assess the safety policy and equipment, protocols and procedures followed, and waste disposal in chemistry teaching labs. Significant population of the respondents believed that there is no monitoring of the lab safety in their lab (p<0.001). Even though many labs do not allow food and beverages inside lab and have first aid kits, they lack some basic safety equipment. There is no institutional mechanism to dispose lab waste and chemical waste is disposed haphazardly. Majority of the respondents believed that the safety training should be a part of educational training (p = 0.001) and they would benefit from short course and/or workshop on lab safety (p<0.001).
化学实验室对学生来说可能会成为一个危险的环境，因为实验课程涉及危险化学品、玻璃器皿和设备。尼泊尔每年约有十万名学生参加化学实验课。我们对尼泊尔各地的化学实验室安全问题进行了一项调查。在本文中，我们评估了化学教学实验室的安全政策与设备、遵循的协议和程序以及废物处理情况。相当一部分受访者认为他们所在的实验室没有对实验室安全进行监督（p<0.001）。尽管许多实验室不允许在实验室内饮食且配备了急救箱，但它们缺乏一些基本的安全设备。没有机构机制来处理实验室废物，化学废物被随意丢弃。大多数受访者认为安全培训应该成为教育培训的一部分（p = 0.001），并且他们将从实验室安全短期课程和/或研讨班中受益（p<0.001）。
