Overloaded in the lab
PPTA News, August 2009, p. 8
A lack of support and guidance on a serious health and safety issue has forced many schools to break the law.
A new code of practice for secondary school labs was put in place last year to ensure safety around hazardous substances. Unfortunately it also places impractical demands on staff time and resources.
The new Code of Practice for School Exempt Laboratories, part of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act, calls for a member of staff to be appointed laboratory manager – a role with hefty requirements that stretch beyond the science lab to the entire school.
Severely summarised, the 56 page code says the laboratory manager is responsible for lab security, maintaining an inventory of hazardous substances, emergency procedures, checking chemicals are lawfully there, warning signage, details on the safe handling of chemicals, visitors and contractors, washing facilities and hand washing procedures, induction of new and relieving staff, training staff, cooperation with other departments which use chemicals, student behaviour and dress code, information about equipment and how to report problems, creating a school emergency response plan, keeping an appropriate spill kit on hand, the availability of suitable fire extinguishers and overall responsibility for making the code work.
On top of that, a lab manager has to be suitably trained in the use of chemicals or have had five years laboratory experience.
The new regulations came into force on 1 January but many school boards are still not able to comply with them.
A North Island science teacher, who did not wish to be named, is deeply concerned about the lack of support and guidance from the Ministry of Education.
“The requirements of the HSNO Act have been imposed on schools by government regulation. They are perfectly reasonable but unfortunately the implementation of this process has not been accompanied by any significant resources like training, funding or a time allowance,” he said.
Each lab manager has to read and interpret the signiificance of each statement in the code of practice, not only for science, but also for Technology and Art.
“The additional workload will be difficult to manage and the additional legal responsibility of managing Art and Technology issues quite onerous,” he said.
The new regulations would also mean that some current school practices could become illegal. Schools would not be able to base non-science classes in science labs and new rules stating food and drink cannot be consumed in a lab meant they could not be used by students on wet lunchtimes.
Junior teachers would also not be able to take their classes to labs for lessons unless they have had training or five years previous lab experience.
Technically, if a school does not comply with the code then all use of chemicals should cease.
Teachers who took up the job would be required to take on extra work with no extra time or remuneration, but if they refused to accept the responsibility, the consequences for the school would be serious, he said.
In a letter sent to former minister of education Chris Carter last year, then New Zealand Secondary Principals Council chair Arthur Graves said the code had been developed over several years with the co-operation of interested parties, but there were major problems with its implementation.
The training for laboratory managers had been inadequate – merely a half-day for some people, he said.
“The requirement that the laboratory manager be suitably quali? ed or have at least ?ve years lab experience severely limits the range of likely candidates for the position and, given the workload involved and lack of remuneration, makes the position distinctly unappealing,” he said.
Another problem was that schools had been provided little or no speci?c funding to enable the position to be established and supported.
“There has been no allocation of staffing time to enable a teacher to ?t the job into their existing timetable and no extra units to enable any remuneration of anyone taking on this serious responsibility. To implement this arrangement at the expense of their employees will mean schools will be in breach of their good employer responsibilities.”
On behalf at the expense of of schools and principals Graves urged Carter to take swift action to resolve the situation and provide schools with the resources to meet responsibilities.” the requirements of the regulations.
It has been more than a year since that letter was sent and still there has been no response.
Code of Practice for School Exempt Laboratories – suggestions for Science HoDsThe first step is to get a lab manager appointed: This person needs to have science qualifications, but not necessarily in-depth chemistry knowledge. Any science HoD should be able to take this on. They need to be senior within the department because they need to have the authority to stop a teacher doing practical classes if they break the rules. (This is something only a lab manager can do, not a principal.) Lab technicians will often be delegated to do the grunt work but do not have the time, pay or seniority for the responsibility of a lab manager role. Make a list of what the schools needs to do to be compliant. Take this to the principal with the information about the lab managers position from the code of practice to start off the discussion. A letter is available from your local science advisor if you would like one. Most people will not take this role without extra pay, time or both – this needs to be negotiated with the principal and is often the sticking point. However the school needs to realise that without the appointment (in writing) of a lab manager the school is not complying with the code. If need be, take it to the board of trustees. Keep a written record of every meeting and every decision. If the school is concerned about accountability – a regular meeting between the lab manager and principal can monitor progress. Info you may need includes:
Many schools are ploughing on with some of the basic requirements of the code, as time allows, to ensure students and staff are kept safe – even when there is no laboratory manager appointed. Whatever you do to become compliant, ensure the money for it comes out of a Health and Safety budget not a Science budget. Art and Technology departments also need to implement the code – a separate lab manger for each area or one of all three, depending on the school. First steps should be to:
There are MANY more things in the code that need addressing – but this is where to start. Source: Team Solutions |
PPTA News August 2009
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