How can we achieve a practical way of risk assessment of chemicals in laboratory?

Abstract

The occupational safety and health act was revised and promulgated in 2014, and all companies that use chemicals are obliged to perform risk assessment of chemicals. Although the ministry of health, labor and welfare (MHLW) shows some examples of assessment methods, their methods emphasize the risk of chronic diseases caused by long-term exposure to toxic chemicals. So, we feel a sense of incongruity between our perception of risks in laboratory and MHLW's risks. As the risk assessment of laboratory is very important for safety and health management of laboratory, we have to establish a practical way of assessment in university laboratories. In this paper, the author discusses about the perception of risks in laboratory of researchers, high risk points in the laboratory based on the experimental accident, and the direction in risk assessment of university laboratories.