1 Safety, Training and Risk
1.1 Why are safety, training and risk ethical concerns?
One of the first ethical considerations during any experiment is safety. Historically, there have been scientists who adhere to the adage “you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs”. However, any behaviour or thought process that impedes or disregards safety in any way is unacceptable. Regardless of the lens or perspective applied, unsafe science can be considered unethical due to its negative consequences, lack of adherence to duty and social norms, impact on relationships between scientists, society and the environment and resulting damage it causes to the reputation and character of the scientists involved. Indeed, this link is evident in the focus on safety as a key component of many scientific professional codes of conduct (e.g., ACS (Doemeny & Knerr, 2017), GAC (Geological Society of America, 2023), ASPB (Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, 2011), RSB (Society of Biology, 2012)).
Analyzing risk, completing proper training and maintaining the safety of all involved in the experiment should be at the forefront of every scientist’s mind (Bond et al., 2020). Unfortunately, for various reasons including enthusiasm, greed and negligence, appropriate risk assessment and safety protocols may be overlooked in favour of progress (Ménard & Trant, 2020).
When designing or joining a new experiment, scientists must stop to consider the risks associated with their proposed work (MRI Global, n.d.) They should be asking questions such as:
- What are the risks?
- Who is most likely to be affected?
- Why are certain protocols or procedures in place?
- Are there individuals who are more vulnerable and may be excluded as a result (either as participants or those involved in conducting research)?
- Is the proposed experiment valuable enough to warrant exposure to the associated risks?
This last question is critical because it is not inherently unethical to take on risk. Sometimes, taking on risk is unavoidable, but the degree to which we accept risk should partially depend on the importance of the work and level of risk. The level of risk should be minimized wherever possible through protocols and practices, training, safety procedures and safeguards (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2011). Additionally, anyone who might be impacted must be fully informed of the risks they will be exposed to due to their participation (Resnik, 2020b).
Safety impacts not just the researcher, but everyone involved, even peripherally. Poor safety protocols, and lack of training or risk assessment will not solely impact the primary investigator. Impacts extend to the other researchers in the lab, the janitorial staff and bystanders, the community in which the experiment is occurring, the family members of researchers… the list goes on. Failing to follow all protocols, improperly storing materials or using PPE, and improper disposal can result in a researcher harming another inadvertently (Bond et al., 2020; McLeod, 2024).
We must remember that research has non-human impacts too. We need to take care to inform not only individuals, but communities of the risks research may pose to the surrounding environment, biodiversity and other living organisms such as pets and livestock.
Safety is often dependent on application of procedures and training. If a researcher is not properly trained or is not working with safety in mind, they could harm someone, sometimes significantly. Proper training and awareness of the purpose behind training in all aspects of lab work is critical to prevent this from occurring (Segal, 2019; Aliyo & Edin, 2023). For example:
- If a researcher fails to consider the health status of those they encounter, they could expose someone vulnerable to pathogens or chemicals (Bond et al., 2020).
- Inadequate training on chemical disposal can lead to fires, explosions, injuries, damage to facilities, or contamination of water and soil (Bocwinkski, 2019; National Research Council (U.S.), 1995)).
- Improper training could result in bad data that could go on to cause significant problems. Misinformed or inaccurate data can seriously impact the effectiveness of conservation efforts (Arvind, 2019), affect policy surrounding climate change (Mooney et al, 2021), and other important research. Moreover, if a researcher improperly analyzes (or even fabricates) data on a clinical trial, a participant could be seriously harmed or even killed (Resnik, 2020b).
Although science strives to make new discoveries and advancements, we must remember that unsafe science is unethical science, and unethical science is bad science.
1.2 Example – Thea Ekins-Coward
On March 16th, 2016, a post-doctoral researcher named Thea Ekins-Coward was working at the University of Hawaii on an experiment attempting to create biofuels and bioplastics from bacteria. A pre-mixed gas mixture of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide was required. After successful initial tests with a small 3.8L tank, they scaled up the experiment to use a 50L tank. The researcher had recently changed the method protocol to use of portable gas tanks as opposed to static tanks for each gas (Benderly, 2016). Unfortunately, the lab failed to ground the portable tank, so when Thea touched the tank she transferred a static charge to the tank which ignited the gas causing an explosion. Thea survived but she lost an arm and suffered serious injuries (Kemsley, 2016).
In an investigation, it was determined that the university’s training, inspection programs and standard operation procedures (SOPs) were insufficient with no formal risk assessment protocols (Kemsley, 2016). In fact, they found that despite a small ignition of the 3.8L tank that occurred the day before, no risk assessment was done for the new method (Benderly, 2016). This was a totally avoidable accident that caused $716,000 in infrastructure damage, over $60,000 in equipment losses and most importantly, severely harmed a researcher (Kemsley, 2016).
1.3 Practice Questions
- Exposure to pathogens
The lab you belong to is doing research examining parasite loads in sheep. The experiment is designed to test the efficacy of a new medication that can target liver flukes (parasitic worms) specifically. These liver flukes are transmissible to humans. The first stage of the experiment requires the lab to collect samples from the sheep to isolate the parasites. Tests will be run on the parasites first before introducing the medication to the sheep.
2. Use of chemicals
You have begun work in a new lab assisting with several experiments focusing on reproduction and mutations. After completing your WHMIS training, you were given a brief lab tour and introduction to the general lab practices by a graduate student. One of the experiments that you will be working on uses sodium azide, a toxic chemical that acts as a mutagen. Your first day, you use the chemical and ask for the chemical waste receptacle. You are told that unfortunately, the new waste containers are often late, and they don’t have a new one yet. When this happens, the student indicates that the lab pours it down the drain. Since you don’t know what else to do, you follow their instructions. Later, you look up the chemical Material Safety and Data Sheet (MSDS) and discover that sodium azide reacts with metals such as copper, gold and lead, creating metal azide crystals that are shock sensitive, explosive and produce toxic hydrazoic acid (a gas that can be deadly when inhaled).
3. Exposure to chemicals
You’ve been working in a lab for some time on various projects. You frequently use a variety of chemicals and reagents in your work and have become comfortable with the associated standard operating procedures as they were told to you by another lab member. You never asked or were given access to the Safety Data Sheets (SDS). One chemical you use is osmium tetroxide, a stain for electron microscopy. As with most of the chemicals, you use the fume hood and gloves when working with osmium tetroxide. Over the course of a few weeks, you begin to develop a cough and light headedness. After a doctor finds no cause, you do some research and learn that osmium tetroxide is toxic and can damage your skin, eyes and respiratory system.
