<p>[Nature</a> News Blog: Chemistry professor faces criminal charges after researcher’s death](<a href=“http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/12/chemistry-professor-faces-criminal-charges-after-researchers-death.html]Nature”>http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/12/chemistry-professor-faces-criminal-charges-after-researchers-death.html)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I hope that all college labs can be as safe as possible, for the benefit of everyone involved.</p>
<p>puts one in mind of the young woman, Michele Dufault, who was killed at 3 am in the machine shop last year at Yale, just a short time away from her graduation. no one else present and she had long hair that apparently got caught in a spinning lathe. this accident really served to sour me on Yale and DS did not apply.</p>
<p>DS is very enthusiastic about all sciences and experimentation, but I do not want him alone in a lab at 3 am ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET. he is still somewhat awkward with a recent growth spurt and, while brilliant, fairly clumsy at this point. accidents are so much more likely when people are tired! any institution allowing students this kind of unsupervised access is risking a great deal, imho. </p>
<p>my husband, who spends much of his professional life in labs, says that many universities are woefully negligent in their handling of safety standards. in his opinion, private companies are way ahead due to comparatively higher awareness of liability. hope our educational institutions wake up and make the necessary changes; our children surely deserve better.</p>