An analysis of Incident/Accident Reports from the Texas secondary school science safety survey, 2001

School Science and Mathematics, Oct 2003 by Stephenson, Amanda L, West, Sandra S, Westerlund, Julie F, Nelson, Nancy C

The incidents and accidents occurring in each science class subject are summarized in Table 2. Most mishaps occurred in high school classes such as biology (20%), integrated physics and chemistry (16%), and chemistry (15%)

Type of Accidents

Cuts and burns. It is important to know the types of accidents that occur most frequently in order to take precautions to prevent them. A total of 59 accidents were reported, resulting in 62 injuries. Over two-thirds of the injuries (67%) were due to cuts and burns (Table 3). The cuts (44%) reported involved broken glassware and scalpels. The burns (23%) were mostly related to touching hot objects and glassware, and others were due to contact with chemicals. These findings are consistent with the previous research. Many accidents result in cuts fron; broken glass tubing and glassware and burns from hot objects and glassware (Krajkovich, 1983; Macomber, 1961; Ward & West, 1990). Therefore, both teacher and student safety training should give specific instruction on the safe handling of sharp objects, glassware, and corrosive chemicals.

Chemicals in the eye. Eleven percent of injuries involved chemicals in the eye (Table 3). Accidents involving chemicals in the eye are a key concern, primarily because the eyes can be seriously injured in a very short period of time. Eye injuries are among those commonly requiring a physician's care (Krajkovich, 1983). Ward and West (1990) found that 9% of the 87 accidents reported involved injuries to the eye that included chemicals being rubbed or splashed into the eyes.

Interestingly, although 11% of the accidents in this survey involved injury to the eyes, when asked to identify contributing factors to the accident, only 6% of the survey respondents reported that "failing to wear goggles" contributed to the accident (Table 4). However, school districts in several states are required to adopt rules stating when protective eye devices must be worn and the type of device required for the activity (Gerlovich, 2001; Gerlovich et al., 2001; TEC: Protective Eye Devices in Public Schools, 1995). Such rules apply to everyone (teachers, students, and other individuals) observing a science activity that requires the use of protective eye devices.

Electrical shock. Electrical shock seems to be a safety issue that has commonly been overlooked. Surprisingly, 8% of the accidents reported involved shock (Table 3). Students experienced minor or major shock by inserting paperclips and pencil lead into power outlets. NSTA (Biehle et al., 1999) recommends that science labs have master and emergency cut-offs. Science teachers should be aware of ignition sources and the proper use, maintenance, and storage of flammable reagents, electrical cords, outlets, and ground fault interrupters, mainly with emphasis on fire prevention. However, it is also important to know that location of outlets, electrical cords, and ground fault interrupters (Gerlovich, 2001) to prevent needless accidents from occurring.

The remaining 14% of the reports involved various injuries that included head injuries, broken bones, injuries from animals, and fumes.