tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post6378715523025917098..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: The Life of a New Process Chemist, by Alex GoldbergChemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-69653231054994924212016-02-19T04:44:25.518-05:002016-02-19T04:44:25.518-05:00This was indeed very insightful. I was never aware...This was indeed very insightful. I was never aware of all the safety that went into being part of that job. My wife is going to school currently to be a chemical engineer so I am sure she is aware of all these things. Great post, keep up the great work and I look forward to reading more of it.<br /><br /><a href="http://andiamogroup.livejournal.com/3250.html" rel="nofollow">Mariano Flanders @ Andiamo! Group</a>Mariano Flandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11197630933683180198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-18771419264445493322016-01-18T16:08:43.581-05:002016-01-18T16:08:43.581-05:00Regarding the lab coats, what brand are you curren...Regarding the lab coats, what brand are you currently using? Chemjobberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-42542212211969343942016-01-16T08:41:26.653-05:002016-01-16T08:41:26.653-05:00Hi Alex!
In my lab, everyone wears their lab coat ...Hi Alex!<br />In my lab, everyone wears their lab coat and safety glasses. Everyone. All the time. This is easy to accomplish when starting a new group. I'm pretty militant about enforcement, so they know I am serious. At our last safety inspection, the only comment was that we should keep our dated log of when the eye-wash was checked at every eye-wash, rather than having one recording all of them. The only problem I regularly have is people forgetting to close their waste bottle lid. So I got a goofy bird-shaped hat and told people they would have to wear it for 15 minutes every time they were caught not closing the waste. Compliance has improved, but we are still working on it. As with anything, people will do the right thing when they know you really are serious. I also point out that if you store pencils, markers, and pipette bulbs in your lab cost pockets, it becomes more convenient to wear than not to wear. Now if we can just get lab coats that have a shape like a person is shaped, so sleeves don't turn from protection into a hazard anymore....Jenn Stockdillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17064270359745762665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-73044615743104351162016-01-16T08:38:55.396-05:002016-01-16T08:38:55.396-05:00Ah, academic labs... some of them are good (or acc...Ah, academic labs... some of them are good (or acceptable), but my postdoc one was a disaster. Mostly caused by overcrowding of chemicals and people. Wearing a labcoat is a luxury when the temperature is 30C and you are sweating anyways in 70% humidity since the air conditioners don't work in a very old building. Plus wearing gloves has a nice placebo effect for not getting cancer, as you breathe in the air from hundreds of 30-50 year old bottles of chemicals stored on top of lab benches every freaking day. It's not like a lot of the people are not aware of safety. The money is just not there to build a proper, modern chemical lab and that place does get a pass on worker injuries or suspicious medical cases. <br /><br />In industry I'm worried about a toxic safety culture like what I've heard about Dupont, where they ended up having too many meetings and ended up instituting a three strikes system, which meant that people didn't report accidents since they didn't want to get an official strike. Anonymous for this onenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-66689280411540942122016-01-16T03:21:38.168-05:002016-01-16T03:21:38.168-05:00Thanks for the kind feedback folks.
As for liabil...Thanks for the kind feedback folks.<br /><br />As for liability (Anon 2:11 AM) - we've seen the legal consequences of accidents in academic labs. Universities and academics are not immune to lawsuits, and the fact that they are not-for-profit does not entitle them to free passes on worker safety.Alex Goldberghttps://twitter.com/AlexFGoldbergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-89446600367614402372016-01-16T02:39:51.487-05:002016-01-16T02:39:51.487-05:00speaking of safety in the workplace how about this...speaking of safety in the workplace how about this one:<br />http://www.icis.com/blogs/chemicals-and-the-economy/2016/01/force-majeures-record-level-despite-high-profits/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-43109556058496842502016-01-16T02:11:29.214-05:002016-01-16T02:11:29.214-05:00Well remember in industry its about the $$. The c...Well remember in industry its about the $$. The concern about safety is more about avoiding lawsuits than it is about your personal well-being........Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-42069277139047882482016-01-15T16:41:46.330-05:002016-01-15T16:41:46.330-05:00Glad to hear of things working out well. Enjoy you...Glad to hear of things working out well. Enjoy your new life on the Dark Side!St Andrews Lynxhttp://www.standrewslynx.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-39581047412701741672016-01-15T16:23:41.937-05:002016-01-15T16:23:41.937-05:00Great post Alex. You should guest some more!Great post Alex. You should guest some more!@KayakPhiliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07708959305241645874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-46865837266588627452016-01-15T13:35:32.992-05:002016-01-15T13:35:32.992-05:00I would definitely agree that the safety culture a...I would definitely agree that the safety culture and reaction scales were the two biggest changes for me as well. I transitioned to industry about 4 years ago. I would also add that being around a majority of people who have a "life outside of chemistry" is a big change. ClutchChemistnoreply@blogger.com