Familiarity and Understanding of Chemical Hazard Warning Signs Among Select College Students of De La Salle Lipa

Laboratory classes have become crucial parts of teaching science subjects. Most of the laboratories in natural science fields widely use chemicals of different types and hazard levels. Using descriptive- evaluative method of research, the study was carried out to assess students’ familiarity and comprehension of chemical hazard warning signs. Data were collected from randomly selected 150 student respondents enrolled in Chemistry and Biology Laboratory Classes during the second semester of SY 2012- 2013. A structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. The collected data were analysed using simple quantitative analysis. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents were familiar with hazard signs of laboratory chemicals. After getting information on their level of awareness about potential hazards of laboratory chemicals, the respondents were also requested to match chemicals properties with the corresponding labels or pictograms. The results indicate that familiarity and understanding of hazard warning signs is low among the students. It also surveyed the preferred labelling technique which revealed that majority favoured the use of both colors and signs. An action plan was drafted as an output of the study aimed at putting forward corrective measures to address the laboratory related problems identified in the study.

Keywords – Chemical Hazard, Warning Signs, Chemistry, Biology, Laboratory