Assessing College Students’ Risk Perceptions of Hazards in Chemistry LaboratoriesClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Clara Rosalía Álvarez-Chávez*Clara Rosalía Álvarez-Chávez*E-mail: [email protected]Department of Chemical-Biological Sciences, Sustainable Development Program, University of Sonora, Boulevard Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Colonia Centro, 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, MéxicoMore by Clara Rosalía Álvarez-Chávez
- Luz S. MarínLuz S. MarínDepartment of Safety Sciences, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705, United StatesMore by Luz S. Marín
- Karla Perez-GamezKarla Perez-GamezSustainable Development Program, University of Sonora, Boulevard Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Colonia Centro, 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, MéxicoMore by Karla Perez-Gamez
- Mariona PortellMariona PortellDepartment of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus de Bellaterra, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, SpainMore by Mariona Portell
- Luis VelazquezLuis VelazquezDepartment of Chemical-Biological Sciences, Sustainable Development Program, University of Sonora, Boulevard Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Colonia Centro, 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, MéxicoMore by Luis Velazquez
- Francisca Munoz-OsunaFrancisca Munoz-OsunaDepartment of Chemical-Biological Sciences, Sustainable Development Program, University of Sonora, Boulevard Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Colonia Centro, 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, MéxicoMore by Francisca Munoz-Osuna
Abstract
College laboratories are generally perceived to be low-risk environments in comparison to industrial laboratories and plant operations. However, accidents in college chemistry laboratories have revealed the safety conditions to which both students and staff may be exposed. Improving the effectiveness of laboratory safety training programs and chemical safety education requires gaining an understanding of how undergraduate students may perceive the risk associated with chemistry laboratory settings. This study characterized risk perceptions of safety hazards in chemistry laboratories among college students. Undergraduate college students from the chemistry and biology department of a university in Mexico were surveyed. The Workers’ Risk Perception Dimensional Evaluation (EDRP-T) was used to characterize risk perceptions through nine dimensions and the overall perceived risk for three risk factors: laboratory work, chemical splashes, and chemical-substances inhalation. Perceived risk was characterized in a sample of 521 undergraduate students. Students felt confident in successfully dealing with the risk factors evaluated despite feelings of dread and vulnerability as well as concerns about the severity of the consequences of an injury. Their perceived ability to control and avoid these risks might have reflected the students’ self-efficacy. Discrepancies in characterizing risk perception as a multidimensional construct or a direct, measurable characteristic were identified. Gaining an understanding about what undergraduate students do and do not perceive as hazardous is a valuable input to develop risk management and communication strategies with the potential to influence students’ decision-making process that can result in safer behaviors. Successful design and implementation of chemical education programs requires recognizing gaps at all levels.
Cited By
This article is cited by 20 publications.
- Anna L. Dunn, Debbie M. Decker, Dwayne Henry, Daniel R. N. Jacques, Patricia Redden, Samuella B. Sigmann. “How Can I Help?” How Laboratory Workers and Supervisors Can Promote Laboratory Safety through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2024, 146
(26)
, 17531-17534. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c04828
- Monica Soma Hensley, Nikita L. Burrows, Andrew J. Galerneau, Amanda P. Bekkala, Kedmon N. Hungwe. Investigating the Impact of RAMP-Based Safety Instruction on Student Learning in an Organic Chemistry Lab Course. Journal of Chemical Education 2024, 101
(6)
, 2203-2214. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00955
- Hossein Abedsoltan, Mark B. Shiflett. Mitigation of Potential Risks in Chemical Laboratories: A Focused Review. ACS Chemical Health & Safety 2024, 31
(2)
, 104-120. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.3c00097
- Monica Soma Hensley, Nikita L. Burrows, Andrew J. Galerneau, Amanda P. Bekkala, Kedmon N. Hungwe. Beyond Intentions: Understanding the Gap between Safety Education and Student Behaviors. Journal of Chemical Education 2024, 101
(3)
, 798-806. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00620
- Francis Bru, Sofie M. P. Vanden Broeck, Gianmarco Pisanò, Klaartje De Buysser, Catherine S. J. Cazin. Learning Green Chemistry Principles by Comparing Three Synthetic Routes to a Copper-NHC (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) Complex. Journal of Chemical Education 2023, 100
(6)
, 2359-2366. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01134
- Patricia Reed, Luz S. Marin, Majed Zreiqat. Impact of Toolbox Training on Risk Perceptions in Hazardous Chemical Settings: A Case Study from a Bleach Processing Plant. ACS Chemical Health & Safety 2023, 30
(3)
, 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.3c00041
- Xiaoqing Liu, Xinglong Jin, Xiaoyan Wang. Influence of Chemistry Learning Motivation on Freshmen’ Laboratory Safety Perception. ACS Chemical Health & Safety 2022, 29
(6)
, 485-493. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.2c00048
- Xiaoyan Wang, Yao Zhang, Qiuying Wu, Xinglong Jin. Assessing Chemical Safety Knowledge of University Students─A Case Study. Journal of Chemical Education 2022, 99
(2)
, 571-577. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01486
- Robert H. Hill, Jr.. Fire Hazards of Flammable Liquids—What Undergraduates Need to Know. Journal of Chemical Education 2021, 98
(1)
, 45-49. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00084
- Jeffrey M. Ting. Safety Moments in Chemical Safety Education. Journal of Chemical Education 2021, 98
(1)
, 9-14. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00220
- Melinda Box, Ciana Paye, Maria Teresa Gallardo-Williams. Creating a Positive, Community-Based Learning Environment in a Chemistry Department. ACS Chemical Health & Safety 2020, 27
(6)
, 341-345. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.0c00033
- Melinda Box, Maria Gallardo Williams. Encouraging Transparency in Lab Safety via Teachable Moments and Positive Feedback. 2024, 203-217. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51560-6_12
- Li Li, Yiting Dong, Wen Shuai. Navigating Epidemics: the Interplay of Risk Perception, Information Diversity, and Healthy Eating Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of the Knowledge Economy 2023, 18 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01684-0
- Luis Velazquez, Nora Munguia, Diana Alvarez-Alvarez, Guillermo Cuamea-Cruz, Carlos Anaya-Eredias, Francisco Martinez-Castañeda. Residential waste segregation: The interconnection with SDG 2 zero hunger. Environmental Challenges 2023, 10 , 100675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2022.100675
- Elias Mejia-Mejia, Francis Díaz-Flores. Discrepancy analysis in university curriculum evaluation. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias 2023, 2 , 541. https://doi.org/10.56294/sctconf2023541
- Rafael Amaya-Gómez, Vivian Dumar, Mauricio Sánchez-Silva, Maria Alejandra Torres-Cuello, Alba Avila, Felipe Muñoz. An analysis of engineering students' risk perception to support process safety learning process. Education for Chemical Engineers 2023, 42 , 7-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2022.10.003
- Luis Velazquez. COVID‐19 Disruptions to SDG 4 in Higher Education Institutions. 2022, 187-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119852858.ch9
- Vinicius Cozadi de Souza, Rui B. Melo. Safety Climate Perception Among Students: A Literature Review. 2022, 533-543. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89617-1_47
- Liziwe Lizbeth Mugivhisa, Khanyi Baloyi, Joshua Oluwole Olowoyo. Adherence to safety practices and risks associated with toxic chemicals in the research and postgraduate laboratories at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 2021, 13
(6)
, 747-756. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2020.1797269
- Bülent Pekdağ. Video-based instruction on safety rules in the chemistry laboratory: its effect on student achievement. Chemistry Education Research and Practice 2020, 21
(3)
, 953-968. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0RP00088D
Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.
Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.
The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated.