Laboratory Safety Management in Accordance with ESPReL Standards : A case study of Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Public Health, Mahasarakham University

Abstract

Laboratory safety is very important issue for laboratory staffs. Therefore, the National Research Council of Thailand has established safety management guidelines in accordance with the ESPReL standard, which consists of 7 components as follows: (1) system administration of safety management, (2) chemical management systems, (3) waste management system, (4) physical characteristics of the laboratory equipment and tools, (5) hazard prevention and correction system, (6) providing basic knowledge about laboratory safety and (7) data and document management.

The objectives of this research were to assess the risks and to conduct the safety management of the chemical laboratory, Faculty of Public Health, Mahasarakham University. All 7 components of ESPReL has significantly improved  By ESPReL Checklist. At tha beginning of this project in June, 2024, the total score was 23.71 percent and the final total score at the end of project in October, 2024 was 83.43 percent. It was found that the percentage of scores of component 6, providing basic knowledge about laboratory safety, had the highest score of 90 percent because it was an element that was easy to manage and could be implemented before upgrading other elements. In component 4, physical characteristics of the laboratory, equipment and tools, there was a score of 79 percent, which was the lowest score because there were still limitations in repairs that could not be carried out immediately because it required a budget and long-term plans for management to continue repairs. However, this element had a much higher score because it was implemented according to a short-term plan, such as textual information signs, laboratory name, laboratory supervisor, and international symbols indicating hazards.