Good news on the lab safety front

The Chemical Safety Board is going to investigate the recent lab accident involving nickel hydrazine perchlorate at Texas Tech University, which seriously injured one student. This is good news, in that CSB has a good reputation for bringing expertise to bear on chemical safety (even if they are considered to be undermanned.)

The better news, in my opinion, is that they've been paying attention to what's going on in academic labs:

“We see serious accidents in high school and university labs every year, including a tragic fatality a year ago at UCLA,” said CSB Chairman John Bresland. “I believe it is time to begin examining these accidents to see if they can be prevented through the kind of rigorous safety management systems that we and others have advocated in industrial settings.”

 Nice to know we're being heard out here.