Workshop on Lab Safety held in Mata Gujri College
Jasbir Kapoor/ royalpatiala.in/ Fatehgarh Sahib
A one day regional workshop on ‘Chemical Lab safety: Concerns and Practices’ was organized by Department of Chemistry of Mata Gujri College. The workshop was organized under the ‘Star College Scheme’ of DBT, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Sanjay Mandal, Dean Academics, IISER Mohali. Prof. Mandal emphasized the huge value of human life and said that it is important to have a safe working environment and practices in chemical labs to prevent injuries and potential loss of life. He stressed the importance of research for development of the country. He emphasized the need of promoting a culture of safety in academic and research laboratories. The workshop included presentations and hands on training on various aspects of lab safety including chemical safety, bio-safety, lab hazards prevention and hands on training in first aid by eminent scientists and experts from reputed organizations.
Dr. Yashveer Singh from Department of Chemistry, IIT Ropar delivered a presentation on bio-safety. In the afternoon session, Rajinder Saini from Red Cross Unit Haryana and K.K. Saini from Red Cross Unit Punjab gave a demonstration session on first aid techniques to handle the common lab injuries and lab accidents. The workshop was attended by participants from Punjab and neighbouring regions of Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. The participants included teachers, researchers, lab incharges, lab attendants, undergraduate and postgraduate students. Speaking on the occasion, Director-Principal of the college Dr. Kashmir Singh welcomed the participants and congratulated the Department of Chemistry for the initiative. In the valedictory session Prof. Ashok K. Malik, Dean International students and Head Department of Chemistry stressed the need for compulsory lab safety program for every science course having laboratory exposure. The workshop was convened by Dr. Kamalpreet Kaur, Head Department of Chemistry and coordinated by Dr. Kuldeep Kaur. On the occasion, faculty members of chemistry department and other departments including Prof. Anupreet Singh Tiwana, Prof. Simrat Kaur, Dr. Kiran, Prof. Seema Maheshwari, Dr. Satnam Singh, Dr. Amritpal Singh and Dr. Manpreet Kaur were present.
