It's about time! Deadly accident sounds alarm for safety in Chinese labs

When I started my master's degree work in chemistry at (then) North Texas State University in the mid 1980's, we had to complete a safety training class complete with quiz before we could start work in the laboratories.  I had been a little remiss in completing mine when a post-doctoral student from China started a sodium metal fire and decided the best course of action would be to throw everything into the sink.

With water in it.

Naturally, fire alarms went off and the building was evacuated.  My professor then ordered me to complete the training.  Shortly after that incident, another Chinese national started another sodium fire and tried to put it with his hands.  Strangely enough, he still has all his fingers.

These are lessons American students have learned since high school.  Why didn't the Chinese know this after completing their PhDs?

The article in Chemistry World cites accidents that have happened recently.  What has happened between 1986 and 2016? 

Absolutely nothing.

The article states that Chinese professors often cannot purchase safety equipment and researchers are reluctant to wear gloves or eye protection in the laboratory.  All the safety equipment in the world won't help you if you don't use it.  Here, the emphasis on safety training would go a long way to protect Chinese students. 

And make the rules stick.

As in many labs in the U.S., you don't wear your eye protection, you don't work. Period.

Deadly accident sounds alarm for safety in Chinese labs | Chemistry World

Make Forensic Laboratory Certification Mandatory and Accountable!

The Chemistry World website tweeted yesterday a report of malpractice at a forensics laboratory in Oregon. Nika Larsen, a forensic scientist at the Bend Crime Laboratory, allegedly would take drugs and other items from samples she was testing and replaced them with OTC drugs.  The District Attorney of the Deschutes County said they will have to review 1500 criminal cases in which Larsen analyzed evidence.

Another forensic scientist in Oregon, Jeff Dovci, who retired from the Central Point Lab in 2013, has come under scrutiny because of his testimony in a 2005 trial.  Although the convictions in that case were overturned in 2012 for reasons unrelated to Dovci’s testimony, an examination of his court records has cast doubt on his testimony.

Back in 2013, Annie Dookham, A Massachusetts forensic scientist, was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison for falsifying thousands of drug tests, which could affect the convictions of over 1100 defendants.  In their October 2012 report of the Dookham case, Chemistry World included a quote from Josh Lee, a criminal defense attorney in Chicago, who teaches forensic chromatography.

“Forensic science is very much a ‘wild, wild west’ where everyone does what they want.”  There is no true oversight such as the pharmaceutical industry or the Environmental Protection Agency’s labs.

Seriously?  Why not?

 Forensic labs can become certified under the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors or even ISO17025, requirements for testing laboratory management systems, but neither of these are mandatory, like EPA’s programs.  The EPA keeps a close watch on their laboratories since they, and we, are concerned about the environment and the health of the populace.

Shouldn’t we be as concerned with the forensic laboratories and the manner it collects, analyzes and stores samples?  How many innocent people were convicted based on testimonies from Larsen and Dookham?  How many were guilty and got away?  How much money is it going to cost tax payers to review all the cases to determine if a re-trial is warranted?  These are just two examples.  There have been cases of forensic scientist fraud in Pensacola, Florida and Walker County, Texas.

Making processes such as training and maintaining documentation mandatory will not solve the problem, since there will always be unscrupulous laboratory workers, but it would add more layers of supervision.  And tougher penalties.  Labs won’t be able to operate with a ‘wild, wild west’ attitude.  The EPA has had to send out the SWAT team but these incidents have been much fewer.

Environmental chemists are working their butts off to maintain their certifications.  Make the forensic chemists do the same.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/09/forensic-drug-crime-lab-malpractice-oregon