1.0 INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Studies in science education worldwide
especially handling chemical have seen that laboratory work actually plays an
important role in teaching and learning of science concept at different levels
of educational systems (Eugenia Flora Rosa Cossa,
2014).
Increasing understanding in chemical hazard and risk management is accompanied
by the rise of new culture of concern for the laboratory safety (Peter J.Alaimo, 2010). Although chemical
offer many opportunities their unsound use and management poses treats to human
at many levels but chemicals also can increase environmental pollution and
hence threaten the sustainability of the environment (Dikabo Mogopodi, 2015). Instructor and
students should be extra careful in handling chemicals in laboratory because
chemical can give short and long term impact to our body and health. A survey
of the literature shows that attempts to address concerns about safety
practices in academic laboratories have focused primarily on disseminating
protocols and procedures and improving regulatory compliance (Kathryn A.Mcgarry, 2013). Protocols and
procedures already given by the faculty, laboratory directors, and
administrators and on proper operations of departmental safety committees.
Students actually bored by the litany of lab safety and brief pre-lab safety
with all the protocols and procedures (Peter J.Alaimo, 2010). Peter J.Alaimo also
conducted a study about an approach to engage students in laboratory safety by
includes some interesting activities like safety games, puzzles, skits,
cartoons, videos and skill building modules. He and his teams engaging program
which using active learning strategies and can approach interest of students in
learning laboratory safety.
Both students and instructor should have
knowledge about laboratory safety and be able to put their knowledge into
practice (Can, 2014). Chemical instructor
should inform the dangers to their students because students do not have enough
information about conducting secure experiments in laboratory. However the
culture of safety in academia remains poorly developed relative to that in
industrial and government laboratory settings, where there is pervasive
emphasis on and widespread of safe laboratory practices (Mcgarry, 2013). Safety should be
frame in mind at all time because the fact that one person is killed every six
minutes and someone is injured every three seconds by the accidents. Money lost
because of accidents (J.Perkins, 1953). Parents also play
the important roles to encourage their children learn about chemistry
experiments. Many boys and girls are discourage from an active interest in
chemistry because their parents feel that chemistry is so dangerous, and that
“what little they may learn does not balance the hazard” (Burns, 1956). Other than that,
some researchers found that using traditional approach, student’s lab practices
and attitudes towards safety were sometimes deficient because students were
bored by the litany of lab safety rules and brief pre-lab safety notes.
Students more respected the rules regarding of using personal protective
equipment (PPE), goggles and wear gloves and sometimes they use outside the
laboratory (J.Alaimo, 2010). In other scenario,
inside the laboratory, students and instructors should be aware of chemicals
containers were either not be labelled or had fading labelled, and incompatible
chemicals were stored together. The expired chemicals also are not disposed
them off because the institution lack or did not have any capacity (Dikabo Mogopodi, 2015)
1.2 RESEARCH
OBJECTIVE
1) To
improve knowledge in the culture of safety and health in academic laboratory.
2) To
measure the awareness and preparation among students handling chemicals in
laboratory
3) To
avoid risks and factors causing occupational accidents, occupational diseases
and other damage to health in laboratory.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1) How
to improve interest in students mind about safety knowledge in academic
laboratory?
2) How
students prepare themselves about the rules and knowledge in handling chemicals
in laboratory?
3) How
students handling themselves in using proper safety equipment and to make sure
that the lab environment are safe.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE
OF STUDY
In
laboratory, we usually work in teams. To motivate students to learn about
safety in laboratory, we need to have effective teaching like student-centered
learning outcomes to “recognize, demonstrate, and assess the safe laboratory
practices (Peter J.Alaimo, 2010). In Sendil Can
study, students who have positive towards laboratory safety “When I enter the
science and technology laboratory, I wonder what types of experiments are made
with such tools and equipments” are actually showing their interest in
laboratory applications. It goes the same in handling chemical stuff, students
and instructor both need perfect knowledge of chemical’s effect and in
observance of instructions for their handling. Chemical substance and also
chemical mixtures supposedly be labelled that is marks with symbols and
pictograms, so that we can know whether the chemicals are explosives, flammable
liquids, oxidizing liquids, compressed gases and corrosive to metals. Before do
the experiments that handling chemicals, to avoid risk that associate with hazard,
students and instructor should aware and follow the risk management that
includes proper use of personal protective equipment (e.g., goggles, gloves,
lab coats, face mask and fume hoods). Occupational safety and health protection
as well as methods of risk’s prevention is a subject of education at laboratory
which prepare students for exercise of a profession (Feszterova, 2014).
This research mainly focus on students
who doing their experiments using chemicals that can cause accidents in the
laboratory. This research was conducted at UITM Shah Alam from the course of
Chemistry Education under the Faculty of Education. In this research, I will
choose only for part three students because they have experience in doing
experiment in the laboratory. This research only use the quantitative method
which is provide with questions about the scale of attitudes towards laboratory
safety (Sendil Can, 2014) and scale of survey
of instruments to access the effectiveness of the safety training ( Peter
J.Alaimo, 2010). This findings have its limitation of lack accurate finding
because small volume of the respondent and only from one part from the whole
course. The researcher do not have enough experience to conduct this research.
It is because this is the first time that the researcher gets the opportunities
to conduct the management research. There is not much of Occupational safety
and health research regarding to the proper use of Chemicals stuff.
1.6
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
· ·
Hazard
Hazard is a situation or character
of working process that possess a level of treats to health of students or
employees. For example chemical laboratory poses a hazard or injury, fire or
explosions. (Feszterova, 2015)
· ·
Risk
The
chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse
health effect if exposed to a hazard. It also relate to situation with property
of equipment loss (1997-2014 ) Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety)
·
Hazard
at work in chemical laboratory
-
Hazard of wounding
Chemical laboratory can cause
wounds by action of heat, chemical agents or object (thermal, chemical,
mechanical wounds). To minimize injuries are by preventive (precautionary).
Chemical substance must be carried out with absolute care and concentration. Hazard
of wounding is like cutting, burning, alkali-burning can be present at various
work in chemical laboratory. For example by contact of hot, caustic or
corrosive chemicals with unprotect part of the body, cleaning the laboratory
glassworks, working with gas burner, drawing on rubber hoses to glass tubes. It
is important to become familiar with H – and P – sentences, pictograms on the
packaging’s label (Feszterova, 2015).
-
Hazard of fire and explosions
When distilling flammable liquids
(ether, gasoline) student should be aware of boiling point and flash point.
Chemical should be stored far from heating elements, ‘hotplates and burners’
flames. Substance like caustic and corrosive (strong minerals acids, hydroxides
of alkali metals, some organics substances) need to be handle in suction box
(fume hood). Use personal protective equipment (protective cloth, face shield
or eyeglass, gloves) is compulsory (Feszterova, 2015).
