China's Laboratory Safety Must be Highlighted, Improved

From CRIENGLISH.com

Tsinghua University released the initial investigation results[初步调查结果] provided by Haidian Public Security Bureau[海淀公安分局] a few days ago, which revealed that a hydrogen cylinder[氢气瓶] exploded accidentally[æksɪ'dent(ə)lɪ][意外地；偶然地], and the whole lab then caught fire. Meng Xiangjian died as the result of severe injuries[严重受伤] to his leg.

It is not clear whether the cylinder itself had quality problems[质量问题] or that it had been badly stored.

Professor Wang Xiaojun from South China University of Technology[华南理工大学] says staff must pay attention to the safety of gas cylinders[气瓶].

"Such high-pressure cylinders[高压钢瓶] must go through security checks annually[年检]. If a cylinder is due to expire[ɪk'spaɪɚ][过期;呼出(气体)，排出] or may have air leak[漏气], it should not be used anymore."

Laboratory accidents[实验室事故] have become more common in recent years. Back in 2008, a doctor candidate[ˈkændɪˌdet, -dɪt][候选人，候补者；应试者] in Yunnan University suffered severe disfigurement[dɪs'fɪgəm(ə)nt][缺陷；毁容] and lost his feet and in an explosion during a microbiological experiment[微生物实验]. Six months ago this year, a laboratory explosion at China University of Mining and Technology[中国矿业大学] left one student dead and five others injured.

Associate professor[副教授] Li Zhihong from Public Security and Fire Fighting Forces Academy has carried out a survey into the causes of 100 typical laboratory accidents. The results show 58 percent of the accidents were caused by human error[人为(操作)失误;人为误差].

"Human error includes violation of operation rules[违反操作规程], careless or wrong operation[疏忽/粗心 操作有误/不当], improper handling of experiment waste[实验废物处理不当], and the improper storage of chemical reagents[化学试剂储存不当]."

Other laboratory accidents are caused by aging experiment equipment[试验设备老化], equipment failings and short circuits[短路；漏电].

Wu Yiqun, a researcher with the Chinese Center For Disease Control And Prevention[中国疾病预防控制中心], says that while many institutes['ɪnstɪtut][学会，协会；学院] have storage and distribution regulations on hazardous articles[危险物品], the problem is that few of them strictly follow the rules.

"For example, potassium cyanide[氰化钾] is very hazardous['hæzɚdəs][有危险的；冒险的] which can endanger a person's life easily[易致命;很容易危及人的生命]. So the distribution of potassium cyanide[氰化钾] must be strictly controlled. People who want to get potassium cyanide[氰化钾] must deliver a report in advance[提前递交报告], and the quantity[量，数量] must be checked by the keeper. We do have such rules. But does every unit abide by the rule[遵守规定]? Or is there a supervision system[监察制度]? I think some units ignore those rules."

To ensure the safety of laboratories[确保实验室安全], some experts suggest installing probes[prob][探测点;探测器]to sound an alarm[发出警报] if a leak of flammable['flæməb(ə)l][易燃物] and explosive gas[爆炸性气体] is detected.

It is also suggested that universities and colleges should hold regular safety checks[定期安全检查] and accident drills[事故演习] so that researchers can learn to exit timely from the spot.

The chemistry department of Tsinghua University[清华大学化学系] designated['dɛzɪg,netɪd][指定的；特指的] December 18, the day the tragedy happened, as Safety Education Day[安全教育日]. The university also promised to publish compensation details and the latest investigation results on their Weibo account.

For CRI, this is Qian Shanming.