BAY CITY SCIENCE CENTER

Safety

Chemical and biological safety information:

• Mercury in Schools
  
• Mercury Experiments in Class Can Be Poison
  An article in the October 22 edition of Education Week highlights the dangers of using mercury in school science laboratories. According to the article "Mercury Experiments in Class Can Be Poison," at least seven U.S. schools have been evacuated because of major spills. The most recent incident occurred in a Washington, DC, high school when students took mercury from an unlocked science lab and played with it. Nearly 1,200 students, teachers, and staff had to be screened for mercury poisoning, and the school had to close down until a cleanup could be completed. Ken Roy, chair of NSTA's Science Safety Advisory Board, provides comments and suggestions throughout the article. To read the entire article and learn tips for what to do and not to do when a mercury spill happens, go to http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=08Mercury.h23.
  
• NSTA has a number of resources to help K–12 teachers ensure safe practices in the science classroom.
   NSTA's position paper on Safety and School Science Instruction
  
  Check out the many publications from NSTA Press® on safety:
   Exploring Safely: A Guide for Elementary Teachers
  
   Safety in the Elementary Science Classroom
   
  Inquiring Safely: A Guide for Middle School Teachers
  
   NSTA Guide to School Science Facilities
  
   NSTA journals regularly include information on the issue of safety, and Science Scope now includes a regular safety column. NSTA members can search the online journal archives for articles on science safety.
  
  
  In the June, 2003 issue of NSTA's Science Class, the    High School, Middle School and Elementary editions focus on Safety in the Science Classroom. Each theme is supported by a range of NSTA-approved teaching resources: news stories, Internet "SciLinks®," books, and NSTA journal articles.
  
  
• Carolina Biological Supply is an excellent source of classroom lab safety information.
•  Flinn Scientific Safety Notes Monthly meeting notes updated to help teachers with important classroom safety issues

• Look in your science kit for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the chemicals supplied in that kit.  You can also obtain MSDS  from these companies:
  
  Fisher Scientific : Directions for accessing their MSDS database.
  
  Carolina Biological Supply MSDS : You can also request a specific MSDS for chemicals not listed there.
  
  Delta Education MSDS.
  
  Flinn MSDS Online:  Click on the safety icon and the "MSDS Collection" link.
  
  LaMotte MSDS for Advanced Water Monitoring Kit.
  
  
• Reptile handling guide for anoles