DRAFT
This document is a Draft
and should not be used for other purposes. It is on the Web for purposes
of distribution to teacher working on the committee to revise the
document. If you would like to contribute to the document please email bmouldin@usoe.k12.ut.us
Elementary School
Chemical Safety
for
Utah Public Schools
March 2000
Mission Statement:
Safety is not a simple
matter of compliance, but an on going move toward a "safer"
educational environment.
The primary goal of this program is to
provide tools, training, and mentor support to Utah science teachers in matters
of chemical safety. The program should empower teachers to create a reasonably
safe laboratory environment without sacrificing a strong hands-on approach to
learning science. This program involves school support personnel,
administrators at every level, and a variety of public safety services.
Nevertheless, the heart of this program is the individual science teacher
because of his/her position to establish and maintain chemical safety at the
school and classroom level. Furthermore, this program is intended to be an
on-going, proactive process. The goal is to enlist the participation of every
science teacher in the state, especially chemistry teachers.
Chemical safety is an area of science
education that needs to be attended to vigilantly. Most accidents occur because
of neglect, poor judgment, or ignorance. Utah science teachers should use this
program to improve safety in their schools and to educate themselves and their
students. This program is not merely a checklist of do’s and don'ts. It is an
on-going program to train science teachers. Regardless, no program can free
teachers, administrators and other personnel from risk or personal responsibility.
Some goals of the
program will be to help teachers:
ü
assess the chemical safety needs of their schools
ü
find answers to questions
ü
locate resources
ü
develop safe laboratory strategies
ü
teach safety to their students
ü
avoid legal problems through compliance with the law
ü
document the progress of safety improvement
ü
create an ongoing and improving safety system for the
school
ü develop a
mentoring network among science teachers, thereby learning from the experience
of others
Elementary Schools (K-6)
Although many products found in the typical
home are safe to use in schools, many dangerous chemicals can also be purchased
from grocery and hardware stores. Care should be exercised whenever using
chemicals with young students. Use good judgment for age-appropriate
activities. Pure chemicals purchased through chemical stores should also be
used with care and good judgment. Store purchased chemicals are often
equivalent in strength and potency to pure chemicals. All warning labels should
be carefully read and heeded. An over-riding question should always enter your
mind, "Would a reasonable parent expose the child to the chemical you
intend to use in your activity?" All activities and demonstrations using
chemicals should be tested prior to their use in the classroom. Students must
be instructed about precautions they should take whenever using chemicals--in
school or at home. Protective eyewear must be provided for activities involving
any danger of eye injury.
When storing chemicals in the school, use
the following rule of thumb: If no one uses a chemical or mixture in the school
during the current school year, and no specific plan exists to use it the next
year, dispose of it following instructions as indicted on the label. If there
are unknown or unlabeled chemicals in the school, a Utah State-approved mentor
can be of help. Sometimes a phone call will be enough. However, if more help is
needed, the mentoring system (see "Mentoring" in this document) can
help in training local school personnel in the removal of these materials.
Remember, any chemicals in the school building may put students at risk,
especially if they are never used and rarely attended to. Unused chemicals
should always be disposed of.
Limiting Liability
Although somewhat protected, the teacher is
vulnerable to damaging lawsuits. It is important to plan preventive steps that
will minimize accidents, and reduce both individual and district liability.
Essentially, such steps include effective safety instruction, prudent selection
of activities, careful supervision of all activities, and proper maintenance of
laboratory and classroom equipment.
The court uses a "reasonable man"
rule to determine whether the responsible individuals exercised the proper
degree of caution and judgment. The question is "Would an average person
with this training and background have acted the same under similar
circumstances?"
To avoid lawsuits, a "reasonable"
science teacher investigates the following. What are the hazards? Know them
before you do the activity. What are the worst things that can happen? Prepare
for them. Use student safety contracts and laboratory safety tests. Use the
appropriate accident, district contact, and report forms if an accident occurs.
Use the check lists and risk management forms found in the appendix to evaluate
safety practices, safety equipment, and protective facilities needed to
minimize risk.
The following vocabulary list and
explanations are important to limiting liability:
Instruction
It is assumed that teachers are
experienced in safe laboratory procedures and that students are not. Teachers
must be careful to instruct so as to reach the most inexperienced student. Printed safety instructions cannot take the
place of teacher instruction.
Supervision
A teacher stands in Loco Parentis.
Teachers of laboratory classes are held to a much stricter standard than other
classroom teachers. Handing out a set of safety rules alone does not suffice.
The teacher must be able to show that the rules were enforced.
Good Judgment
It is the duty of the teacher to
select learning activities that can reasonably be conducted in a safe manner.
If you know of a hazardous condition and fail to tell your students, it is
likely that you will be found negligent should an injury occur.
Negligence
Negligence is the failure to act as
a reasonable and prudent person would act in similar circumstances to prevent
harm to others. The plaintiff must show that he was harmed by the action or
lack of action of the defendant. (The goal is to have no harm. No harm means no
lawsuit.)
Malfeasance
Malfeasance is doing that which
should not have been done. (i.e. forcing or allowing a student to assume an
unnecessary risk.). It is the improper performance of a lawful act (i.e.
improper first aid, emergency response or instruction).
Proximate Cause
There must be some direct connection
between the defendant's action or failure to act and the plaintiff's injury.
Leaving students unattended is one of the surest ways for teachers to be found
liable for student injuries.
Safety Mentor System
A safety mentor system has been established
to assist science teachers in all aspects of science safety. Primarily, safety
is the responsibility of the individual science teacher. Therefore, the science
teachers in the school will guide the mentor’s training agenda. The mentor will
be a resource to the school by the invitation of the science teacher. From
experience, most schools need mentoring in the areas of specific chemical
safety training, handling, and storage.
Interested teachers or schools should have
their administration contact the State Science Coordinator. Together they will
identify an authorized Safety Mentor who will visit their school. An individual
school may only request mentor help only once in any given year. Science
teachers would receive inservice salaries for the time spent on the workshop
through local District and Eisenhower inservice monies. This training would
satisfy State requirements for annual safety training. Mentors would be paid by
the same Eisenhower funds at regular rates for inservice teachers.
SCHOOL DISTRICT EMERGENCY PHONE
NUMBERS/CONTACTS AND SAFETY PROCEDURES
Note: Insert a copy of your school district’s
emergency procedures and your school’s hygiene plan with this document. Include evacuation plans, hazardous
materials found in the laboratory, spill procedures and so forth. Enter your
important local telephone numbers here.
Local Fire Department
Local
First Aid
At times the science teacher might need to
render assistance until advanced medical help arrives. At those times the
teacher needs to take appropriate action. Each science classroom should be
equipped with appropriate first-aid and safety materials.
SCIENCE CLASSROOM FIRSTAID AND SAFETY
MATERIALS
FIRST AID KIT
CONTENTS
ü
10 -- 4x4 Sponges
ü
2 -- Large Dressings
ü
2 -- Eye Pads
ü
1 -- Triangle Bandage
ü
4 pair -- Latex Gloves
ü
Assortment -- Adhesive
Band-aids
ü
Number of Q-TIPS
ü
Antiseptic (Neosporin)
ü
4 -- Antiseptic Wipes
ü
1 -- CPR Micro
Shield/Mouthpiece
ü
1 -- Tape
ü
1 -- Scissors
ü
2 -- Empty Zip Lock
Bags
ü
2 -- Gauze Rolls
(Kerlix)
ü
Irrigation Bottle
ü
GENERAL FIRST AID
INSTRUCTIONS DOCUMENT
Equipment
ü
Splash-proof goggles -
for every student, instructor, and visitor
ü
Bag of cat litter,
bucket of sand, or commercial absorbent- to smother alkali fires, dam around
spills, reduce slippery conditions, and so on.
ü
Earthenware crock - for
disposal of solid chemicals (If needed, have several crocks labeled to prevent
mixing of incompatible chemicals.)
ü
Neutralizing agents:
ü
Acetic acid (30% [5M]
solution) - for
ü
neutralizing spilled
bases
ü
Sodium bicarbonate
(saturated solution) -
ü
for neutralizing
spilled acids
ü
Rubber or nitrile
gloves
General Information
If an accident or incident occurs, the
teacher is expected to act in an informed and professional manner. Once
assistance is given, it should be continued until the problem is resolved or
until the patent is released to qualified medical help, the parent or another
responsible person. Measures should be taken to reduce any anxiety or fear that
the injured student or other students experience. A written accident report
should be given to the school administrator when any such incident occurs; see
Appendix __ for a sample Accident Report.
Do's in First Aid
1. Do be cool, calm, and collected. Most cases are not
serious.
2. Do obtain staff assistance, if necessary.
3. Do handle the person as little as possible. Do not
move the person until the evaluation is complete.
On completion
of the emergency-handling phase:
4. Do check with the victim and with any witnesses about
what happened.
5. Do make a prompt complete, and accurate report of the
incident to the department chairperson and the administration.
Don'ts in First Aid
1. Don't give liquids (or medicines) to an unconscious
person.
2. Don't try to arouse an unconscious person.
3. Don't cut the skin, break blisters, and so forth.
4. Don't diagnose.
5. Don't give medical advice.
6. Don't transport an injured student in a private car.
7. Don't send a student home before consulting a parent.
8. Don't treat injuries that happened at home.
Basic First Aid
Procedures
Blood Borne Pathogens
1. Avoid blood and body fluids
2. Use gloves
3. Precautions for cleanup should be observed
CPR Procedure
A. Airway - Look, Listen, Feel
B. Tilt head to open airway
C. Breathing
12-20 per minute
D. Check for Pulse - in neck
E. Basic CPR process
F. 15 compression, 2 Breaths
Choking
1. Any type of audible noise -- Leave them Alone
2. Blue-gray, no noise -- find belly button, make fist
above belly button, below xiphoid process, apply upward thrust.
Fainting
1. Self correcting problem lay down, elevate feet,
gradually bring up
2. Look for other injuries because of fainting
Seizures
1. Jerking movement get other students out- stop the
embarrassment
2. Protect from objects in the environment
3. Might last 1 min., variable time, sit and rest
Allergic Reaction
1. Get away from source
2. Can't breath (Asthma) -- very serious call ambulance
Electrical Shock
1. Shut off electricity
2. Heart can stop-- start CPR (15 compressions, 2
breaths)
3. Wrap wound with a clean dry bandage
Bleeding (Stop)
1. Direct pressure (good psychology)
2. Elevation
3. Pressure points- close to bone
4. Dressing- bandages
5. Prevent shock !!!!
Impaled Objects
Leave the object
alone - Let a professional remove objects from eyes
Chemical Burns of the Skin (Acid/ Base)
A. Do Not Attempt To Neutralize Any Chemical - may cause
further damage
B. Gentle flow of large amounts of waters (Not under
pressure)
C. Flush minimum 20 minutes force eyes open
Non-chemical
Burns of the Skin
1. Constant flow of cool water over burn-- DO NOT ICE!!!
2. Do not cover burns with cotton or paper towel
3. Do not put anything on it -- NO OINTMENTS ETC.!!!
4. Watch for shock -- ELEVATE BURNED PARTS
5. OBTAIN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY!!!