JoinAll Safety resources
Blog Post
How to Properly Dispose Chemical Hazardous Waste
Most middle and high school science laboratories produce chemical hazardous waste, but what exactly is it, and how do you dispose of it appropriately?...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Reducing the Risk of Liability in the Lab
If a student gets injured while taking part in a laboratory activity, the science teacher and school district have potential liability for their failure to prevent the harm to the student. This blog post describes the duty of care of science teachers...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
This blog post describes steps teachers should take to ensure that laboratory freezers and refrigerators are free from safety hazards. Science teachers should adhere to the following standard operating procedures, via the University of Texas at Austi...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Chemical Safety Training for Science Teachers
Academic science laboratories can be unsafe places for teaching and learning due to risks associated with biological, chemical, and physical hazards The OSHA laboratory standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) requires all employees working in laboratory settings...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Keeping Labs Safer With Engineering Controls
Engineering controls can help isolate people from hazards and make the lab safer, according to the OSHA/NIOSH “Hierarchy of Controls.” Laboratories require specific engineering controls to address biological, chemical, and physical hazards. Appro...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
The Safety Component in Lab Renovations and New Construction
As states continue to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards and STEM curricula programs, science teachers will be asked to engage students in a way that requires specific lab facilities. The demands of three-dimensional teaching could...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Power Tool Safety in Science Labs
The use of power tools, such as table saws, drill presses, and miter saws, is becoming more common in science and STEM laboratories. All power tools have special mechanical and non-mechanical safety hazards that can result in injuries, including abra...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Mercury: The Shining Health Hazard
At room temperature, elemental (metallic) mercury can evaporate to become an invisible, odorless toxic vapor. The warmer the air, the more quickly mercury vaporizes. Exposure to even a small amount can affect your health. Symptoms can surfa...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Breakerspaces are areas where students demolish, repurpose, fix, or disassemble appliances, electronics, toys, and other devices to learn how they work, what components were used to create them, and how they were designed. Like any type of ...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Science Activity Safety Checklist
The “Science Activity Safety Checklist,” written by NSTA’s Science Safety Advisory Board, allows teachers to vet any new demonstration, activity, laboratory, or field investigation before using it in the classroom or laboratory. The checklist r...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
The science teacher must be prepared to clean up minor spills that may occur in the lab and know how to proceed in the event of a major spill. A proper response could prevent major disruptions to science laboratory operations, damage to laboratory eq...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
As many high schools begin adopting curricula that include the study of microorganisms, biosafety must be addressed for a safer lab experience. Biohazards are biologically derived infectious materials, which may present a risk to other living thin...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
7 Safety Guidelines for Guest Presentations
Although guest presenters can offer real-life science experiences to students, they may not be familiar with the safety practices that need to be in place to create safer learning experiences. In October 2012, for instance, two fourth graders were ru...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Preparing for Medical Emergencies
Science teachers need to know the necessary actions to take in the event of a medical emergency. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provide insight on this issue by means of workp...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Protecting Students From Fires
In 2015, the National Fire Protection Association released a revised version of NFPA 45 that included a new chapter titled “Educational and Instructional Laboratory Operations,” which applies to K–12 school laboratories. The new chapter provide...
By Kenneth Roy