Lab Safety For Students

A critically important phrase is buried in the middle of the article “California Deal Tightens Lab Safety” (C&EN, Aug. 13, page 34). Specifically, it says that the various training, personal protective equipment requirements, and other safety policies are “not required of students taking lab courses.”

Whether or not the law requires it and whether or not the Occupational Safety & Health Administration has jurisdiction, how can any sensible policy omit the largest and most at-risk population in terms of lab safety?

By Emil M. Friedman
Waterbury, Conn.