Safety Training Needs and Problems Encountered in the Safety Management of the Chemistry Teaching Laboratory

The chemistry teaching laboratory is an essential arena for developing or improving students’ comprehension of the chemical concepts. But the presence of hazardous chemicals puts them at considerable risk. The faculty members of the chemistry teaching laboratory are the primary supervisors in the chemistry laboratory, and they are responsible for maintaining safety. This study investigated the safety training needed and problems encountered in the safety management of chemistry faculty members in State Universities not offering (NBSC) and offering (BSC) the BS Chemistry program. Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey Design was used and data were collected using a prepared questionnaire. Among the nine investigated parameters on safety management, the two groups were found to encounter problems in safety management. The NBSC experienced more serious problems in Emergency Response,
Chemical Storage and Labelling, and Waste Management as compared to BSC. The two groups are found to be significantly different in the problems they encountered in safety management and their safety training needs.

Keywords –chemistry teaching laboratory, laboratory safety, safety management, safety training