“The Right To Know” Safety & the Science Lab

What is “The Right To Know” ? The right to know is a law that states every person has a right to information about materials in their workplace that may be hazardous. This is a federal law and applies to all states.

How does it apply to school? School is your workplace. This means you have a right to know if there are hazardous materials in this building. I will tell you if we work with materials that may be hazardous. Hazardous means dangerous in any way, so even something that causes a rash can be hazardous. It does not mean that it has to cause death or a major health problem/condition.

MSDS MSDS is an acronym for Material Safety Data Sheet. It contains important information about hazardous substances. There is an MSDS sheet for every chemical/substance that has potentially hazardous ingredients. These are usually kept in a central location and can be viewed at any time.

Student Rights You have the right to:  Know if we will be using hazardous substances  See the MSDS sheet for any substance  Ask questions about the materials you work with  A safe working environment

Student Responsibilities You are responsible for:  Listening to or reading the information about each substance  Following all instructions regarding each substance you use  Notify your teacher if there are any spills or problems with these substances  Maintaining a safe workspace for you and your group members

Teacher Rights I have the right to:  Restrict students from using substances if I feel that they are not fulfilling their responsibilities  Immediately stop any activities if substances are not used properly  Adjust or change class procedures to fit the safety needs of specific activities  A safe working environment

Teacher Responsibilities I am responsible:  To enforce all rules, regulations & procedures  To maintain safe working conditions in the general classroom area  To remove students not working in a safe manner  To answer all questions about substances using class  To provide MSDS information and other safety instruction before each lab activity

Rules & Procedures Follow all directions given by the teacher(s). Notify the teacher immediately if there is a problem Know where all safety equipment is kept Ask before you do…. It will prevent many accidents

RULES AND PROCEDURES Everyone is responsible for keeping the lab area clean and safe. Report broken equipment immediately.

What else do I need to know??? I will restrict lab privileges for individual students that can not follow directions. I may do weird things at times, but I will never supply you with materials that will cause lasting harm… as long as you use them properly.

There will be a quiz on this material…. Tomorrow.