Culture of Safety

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With this award, the NSF Division of Chemistry supports the National Academy of Sciences in their efforts to develop a workshop on the Culture of Safety. This workshop will bring physical scientists and administrators together with experts from the social and behavioral sciences communities to determine how to effect a meaningful change in the culture and attitude toward safety in non-industrial chemical research laboratories. The objective of the workshop is to provide practical guidance on how all participants in the chain of responsibility for laboratory safety can build an environment where safe practice is the expected norm and is routinely given primacy over other research activities. This workshop will meet the need for a more in-depth, interdisciplinary exploration of laboratory safety in non-industrial chemistry laboratories. It will compare practice in these settings with practice from other sectors known for managing high risk, and with knowledge of the behavioral science literature. A report on the best practices to create and maintain satisfactory safety culture will be produced. The Culture of Safety Workshop will enhance infrastructure for research through its impacts on improved safety in non-industrial laboratories. It particular, it will provide information and guidance that will be useful to university administrators, department chairs, and faculty as they seek to build an environment and mindset of safe practice by improving research experiences at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Society at large is expected to benefit by reducing the risks to individuals and communities from unsafe lab practices and by enabling a cadre of researchers who are better prepared to assume positions in private sector research.