Students find new ways to learn how to handle hazardous chemicals with smartphones

Enrique Arce Medina

Why is safety in chemicals manipulation such a big concern in schools? Because potential exposure to hazards poses an immediate threat to life. Hazardous is a broader term referring to a substance that causes immediate or long term effect to people and their environment. Accidental releases of hazardous in the chemical lab are unpredictable. Many chemicals are highly flammable and/or explosive; some may even be carcinogenic. Students must know the proper procedures for handling chemical substances and to respond to emergencies, although accidents resulting in serious injuries rarely occur in school. Accidents in the laboratory are often the result of carelessness or ignorance so students must be trained in the safety precautions and preventive measures. Preventive measures to minimize the occurrence of laboratory accidents start by teaching students how to handle hazardous chemicals. Safe handling cannot be ensured without safety information chiefly that requiring the hazard recognition and the seriousness of the risk of each chemical substance in the lab.

The most common means for providing information about a specific chemical are the labels of containers and the Safety Data Sheets (SDS), which contains information regarding the proper procedures for handling, storing, and disposing of chemical substances. Container labels provide the basic information that a person needs to know to handle a particular product safely, they show how a chemical dangerous it is, it explains what to wear when using the chemicals, also shows directions for immediate first aid. Also valuable is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) labeling system, indicating the health, flammability and reactivity hazards of chemicals in a diamond shaped object, called NFPA hazard rating diamond. It is a quick visual review of the hazards a chemical may present. These hazards will dictate the precautions that must be considered while performing an experiment.

Students must take some time to familiarize with the risks before performing any lab experiment. Teachers have an obligation to instruct their students in the basic safety practices required while they are working with chemicals in school laboratories.

Employers are already required to provide effective information and training on the hazardous chemicals in their work areas. Requirements for labeling of chemical containers come from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has published requirements for the new label elements and safety data sheet formats. The goal is to make the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) as the new standard in the US. It has revised its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) and published it in the Federal Register in March 2012 (77 FR 17574) [https://www.osha.gov/FedReg_osha_pdf/FED20120326.pdf]. To help companies comply with the revised standard, OSHA is phasing in the specific requirements for

anyone working with hazardous chemicals to be properly trained on the new regulations over several years (December 1, 2013 to June 1, 2016). Two significant changes contained in the revised standard require the use of new labeling elements and a standardized format for Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), formerly known as, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs). The new label elements and SDS requirements will improve worker understanding of the hazards associated with the chemicals in their workplace. If the questions to the student are google-able, even though the purpose of the questions are for the students to solve on their own, then that's imo bad design. If the teacher wants students to figure things out on their own without external help, then the questions should be designed accordingly. the internet has led to students being able to find information faster and with greater ease With the proliferation of smartphones came a flurry of mobile applications designed to make users a little more productive with their mobile devices