STUDENTS’ AT--RISK BEHAVIOR AND SAFETY CULTURE IN BASIC CHEMISTRYLABORATORY

Abstract

An academic laboratory such as the General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory were given less priority as to safety due to the perception that the quantity of materials would not give a significant hazardous impact to students or the environment. This study evaluated the at--risk behaviors of the Basic Chemistry students as well as the present Safety Culture in the laboratory. A total of 918 Basic Chemistry students officially enrolled during the A.Y. 2016--2017 in the host institution participated the study. New findings in the at--risk behaviors were recorded such as the use of gadgets and tablets not associated with the lab activity, half--glove use, ¾ sleeved-- and unbuttoned laboratory gowns, limited working area, messy and unorganized working area, going out of the laboratory in their lab gowns and gloves on top of not properly and untied hair for girls and dangling bangs for boys, incomplete safety gears, horse-- playing and unfamiliarity to experimental procedures. The laboratory safety has been found to be better among first year students than that of the second--year students. It was also found that majority of the students are not aware of the different nature of chemicals being handled in the laboratory. Significant relationship was found between the at--risk behavior of the students and their laboratory safety culture, indicating that students who are in the high--risk level exhibits lower laboratory culture. Integration of safety orientation into the laboratory curriculum was found to be an attractive solution to the existing laboratory issues observed.