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Articles on tragic incidents that took the lives of workers in West Virginia and a student in Japan are among the most-read offerings in Synergist publications over the last month. Other topics of interest include a revised method for measuring asbestos and a review of AIHA’s efforts to improve the science and practice of occupational and environmental health and safety. Summaries of these articles appear below with updates where available.

Most read in Synergist Newswire:

Hokkaido University Student Dies Following Hydrofluoric Acid Exposure

A student researcher exposed to hydrofluoric acid on Aug. 27 later died of his injuries, C&EN reported. Two other students who attempted to help him were injured in the incident, which occurred in a laboratory on the main campus of Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The identity of the student who died has not yet been released, and details about the incident remain sparse. The City of Sapporo inspected the lab on Aug. 28, and its findings, which appear in a university statement released Sept. 9, cited four failures to comply with Japan’s Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act, including improper storage of reagents, inadequate management of the key to the storage cabinet, deficient recordkeeping, and missing labels for containers that hold poisonous substances. C&EN observes that “student deaths in university laboratories are extremely rare.” A database maintained by the Laboratory Safety Institute documents the deaths of four students, including the Hokkaido University student, and 13 others from incidents at college and university laboratories worldwide since 2020.

Most read in The Synergist Weekly:

CSB Clarifies Events Leading to Fatal Hydrogen Sulfide Release

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on its investigation of an April 22 incident at a refinery in West Virginia that resulted in the deaths of two workers from exposure to hydrogen sulfide. The incident occurred during the transfer of diluted nitric acid into a tank that held proprietary calcium chloride and sodium trithiocarbonate solutions, resulting in a chemical reaction that “produced highly toxic vapors,” CSB explains. The agency noted that the employer did not have a written procedure for the task, did not provide employees with personal gas monitors, and that the full-face respirators on site were not all equipped with filters that would protect against hydrogen sulfide. CSB’s investigation is ongoing.

Most read in the digital Synergist:

Measuring Asbestos Exposure: ASTM Revises Method for Asbestos by Phase Contrast Microscopy

Writing in the August issue, Martin Harper, PhD, CIH, FAIHA, CChem, FRSC, FASTM, discusses recent revisions to ASTM D7201, a phase-contrast microscopy (PCM) method that can be used to demonstrate compliance with a new European exposure limit for asbestos of 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cm3). The new limit is an order of magnitude lower than the OSHA permissible exposure limit, NIOSH recommended exposure limit, and ACGIH Threshold Limit Value for asbestos of 0.1 f/cm3. Harper, a member of the ASTM International Committee D22 on Air Quality, explains the advantages of PCM and the considerations of the subcommittee that updated the method.

Most read on SynergistNOW:

How We’re Improving OEHS Science and Practice

Five years ago, AIHA embarked on several initiatives intended to level up occupational and environmental health and safety. In this post, AIHA CEO Larry Sloan and Chief Science Officer Michele Twilley take stock of these efforts, recap successes, and look forward to upcoming activities.  

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