Laboratory chemical safety needs in India and Viet Nam

CHAS 1

Douglas Walters, waltersdb@earthlink.net1, Michael Labosky, michael-labosky@harvard.edu2, Louis DiBerardinis, loudib@mit.edu3, and Lawrence Keith, larrykeith@earthlink.net1. (1) ECSEI, 6807 Breezewood Rd., Raleigh, NC 27607, (2) EH&S, Harvard, 46 Blackstone St, Cambridge, MA 02139, (3) EH&S, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
This talk describes experiences from conducting a workshop on the Fundamentals of Laboratory Health and Safety in 2006 at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad India and a subsequent visit to the Hanoi National University of Science. The legacy of the 1984 Union Carbide Bhopal disaster still looms large in the history of the Indian chemical industry. Like India, Viet Nam is experiencing rapid economic growth that is stimulating their chemical and pharmaceutical industries – and they are mindful of the destructive influences this has wrought in China. To compete in the current era of globalization and to enhance safety for laboratory students and workers and provide environmental protection it was felt that additional training in laboratory safety and environmental chemistry was crucial. Hence, the Environmental & Chemical Safety Educational Institute (www.chemistshelpingchemists.org), a non-profit organization to provide training in laboratory chemical safety and environmental chemistry, was established.
 

Awards Symposium
1:00 PM-4:05 PM, Sunday, August 19, 2007 Seaport -- Seaport A, Oral

Division of Chemical Health & Safety

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007