Research on safety management of university chemical laboratory based on inherent safety review

Abstract The university laboratory serves as an essential platform for universities to conduct education and cultivate talents in scientific research. The continuous occurrence of laboratory accidents in colleges and universities in recent years has posed a severe threat to the life, safety of teachers, and students: thereby incurring enormous economic losses to universities, and exposing the inadequacy of laboratory safety management. By analyzing the causes of accidents in recent years and referring to relevant standards and regulations, taking chemical laboratories as an example, a list of suitable inherent safety review questions for university laboratories is developed by applying the four inherent safety strategies of minimize, substitution, moderate, and simplify. The proposed list comprises 32 questions on chemicals and 31 questions concerning equipment. Implementing this checklist before the experiment or during the safety inspection can guide personnel engaged in the experiment, provide direction for managers, and assist in enhancing the inherent safety level of university laboratories.