The thought of using chemicals brings about a wide range of individual emotions in people. These may range from a total lack of concern and contempt for any suggestion of hazard, to overwhelming apprehension at the thought of the slightest exposure. In reality, the mishandling of many chemicals can have serious health and safety consequences. However, even the most dangerous chemicals can be used safely in the forensic laboratory if people recognize the hazards to which they may be exposed, are trained to deal with those hazards, are diligent and consistent in the use of appropriate safeguards, and are committed to preventing injuries and illnesses. The chemical hazards encountered during evidence collection in clandestine labs are often uncontrolled and require additional safeguards beyond those discussed in this article.

Knowing the Hazards
The OSHA Hazard Communication Program (HCP) and the OSHA Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) are cornerstones for chemical safety and health in the workplace. The plans are similar, in that the goal of each is to have workers understand the chemical hazards to which they may be exposed and understand how to adequately protect themselves. In addition, the CHP also requires the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for using laboratory chemicals that describe the hazards and what measures will be used to protect against them. The SOP basically requires the laboratory worker to "pre-think" and preplan the experiment to account for and address the potential hazards. The CHP covers the use of materials that meet the OSHA definition of laboratory scale and laboratory use:

Laboratory scale means work with substances in which the containers used for reactions, transfers, and other handling of substances are designed to be easily and safely manipulated by one person. Laboratory scale excludes those workplaces whose function is to produce commercial quantities of materials.

Laboratory use of hazardous chemicals means handling or use of such chemicals in which all of the following conditions are met:

1. Chemical manipulations are carried out on a laboratory scale
2. Multiple chemical procedures or chemicals are used
3. The procedures involved are not part of a production process, nor in any way simulate a production process
4. Protective laboratory practices and equipment are available and in common use to minimize the potential for employee exposure to hazardous chemicals

The uses of chemicals in the laboratory that do not meet the requirements above, such as oil from vacuum pumps or some uses of tissue fixatives, fall under the Hazard Communication Standard (a.k.a. Haz Com). The potential chemical exposures to materials like lead from firearms work or ozone from the corona wand of electrostatic detection apparatus used by forensic document examiners would fall under the Hazard Communication Standard and may be covered by additional specific standards.

The primary elements for both Haz Com and the CHP include; a chemical inventory, material safety data sheets (MSDSs), labeling of containers with the product name and an appropriate hazard warning, training of staff on safety and health aspects of using the materials, and development of a written program. MSDSs and primary container labels contain much of the safety and health information required to safely work with chemicals. Employees must be trained before they actually use chemicals at work. One method of training and documentation we have seen that can be effective is the use of an open book-fill in the blank type quiz. Employees complete the quiz as the training is conducted. They record the key points in their own handwriting as they are being trained. These key points might include a mix of general and site specific information (e.g. the written program available for review and is kept on the bookcase in room 232, MSDS are maintained in a binder in the main office and on top of the file cabinet in the lab). A second training exercise, often used in conjunction with the quiz, is to provide the MSDS for a material commonly used in the facility along with product-specific questions (e.g. ninhydrin spray has a variety of potential hazards). Employees working either singly, or in groups, use the MSDS to answer the questions. These exercises can help reinforce the information provided during training and provide much more defensible proof of training than a simple sign off sheet.