Chemistry lab safety during pregnancy - what are your protocols? $75

Back at our university, we are taking an anticipatory strategy to reconcile health protection and academic progress in case a student reveals a pregnancy. As much as universities' formal policy may differ, the procedures we have outlined below have been found to be effective and are grounded in safety culture and inclusivity considerations:

1. Written Policies and Early Disclosure

        o  Naphthalene, benzene, toluene, formaldehyde

        o  General polar aprotic solvents (DMF, DMSO, acetonitrile)

        o  Heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury compounds)

        o  Neutralizers and oxidizers in situations where the risk of accidental exposure is elevated

       o  Preparing pre-lab risk assessments.

       o  Analysis of real experimental data gathered by other teachers or students.
       o  Full reports writing, hence mastering all the learning outcomes except direct manipulations.

Finally, pregnant students can be active agents in chemistry education if universities adopt a formal strategy, like an early disclosure policy, flag substance lists, substitution or reassignment of high-risk activities, and the option of important academic alternatives.

Yes and from my department  (occupational medicine in USA) we provide consultation for pregnant workers who have concerns about work and pregnancy. In the USA the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has been effective since June 27, 2023. In Europe since 1992 the Pregnant Workers directive applies. The latter is enacted in the UK  under the Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations and a helpful guide is provided which can lead you through a risk assessment.
As for substances and reproductive health Lead is the oldest abortifaecient known, a paper describing Reproductive and Developmental Hazard Management can be found here with examples.

From my experience during my graduate school, our university did not have such an official policy or guideline for mothers-to-be in teaching labs. But my PhD advisor had some general good practices that can balance safety and productivity, as listed below: 

1. High-risk chemicals must be clearly flagged 

Extra attention should be paid on solvents (benzene, toluene, chloroform, DCM), PAHs like naphthalene, heavy metals, and formaldehyde. Even “within OSHA limits” doesn’t always equal safe during pregnancy. 

2. Give lab members safer tasks (glassware, benign reagents, data analysis). 

Swap to safer experiments (e.g., caffeine extraction instead of naphthalene). Alternatively, let the student observe when solvent use is unavoidable. 

3. Involve EHS/Occupational Health early 

They can perform a risk assessment and provide documentation for accommodations. 

4. Balance safety and learning 

Students shouldn’t feel penalized for pregnancy. With proper planning, they can stay fully engaged academically without exposure risks. 

5. Two key resources that can be referred to are (1) CDC/NIOSH Reproductive Health and the Workplace (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/reproductive-health/about/index.html) and (2) ACS Laboratory Safety Guidelines (chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/publications/acs-safety-guidelines-academic.pdf). 

To be brief, the bottom line is to protect health first, but don’t default to removing the student from the lab. With proactive accommodation, you can safeguard both maternal health and academic progress. 

I don’t know of any strict written policies, but I can share something from personal experience. When my wife was doing her PhD, she became pregnant toward the end of her program. At that point, she needed to run kinase assays with radioactive isotopes to finish her work. That obviously raised some questions.

Her advisor and she talked a lot about it. Everyone knew that things like strong acids, reactive oxygen, or radiation are not great to be around when you’re expecting. The initial thought was to either find another way to do the experiments or cut back on chemical use as much as possible.

But the reality was that she still needed those isotope experiments to graduate. After weighing the risks, and getting advice that exposure could be kept low under strict safety conditions, she decided to go ahead. Thankfully, everything turned out fine and our child was born healthy. That said, I wouldn’t take this as proof that such work is “safe.”

For me, the takeaways are pretty simple:

So in the end, it’s really about finding balance: protect the health of the student and the baby above all else, but also respect the student’s goals. Where there are policies, follow them. Where things aren’t clear, make the decision carefully, minimize risk, and let the student have a say in how to move forward.

 This text is based on my personal experience and written by me; only the grammar was checked, and it was not generated by AI. 

1. workflow for pregnants: Identification of tasks at risk, notification of pregnancy status, coordination with research activity managers, communication to the Prevention and Protection Service (SPP) and the occupational physician, management of work modification if possible; if not possible, prohibition of laboratory activity. We are attending  update training courses for safety managers  on this topic. 
2. There is a mandatory list to compile with name, CAS, time of exposure, method of use of ACMR (H340, H350 and H360)  
3. there is a form to fill to identify worjers, type of activities and reagents that can be substituted with other less toxic or better not toxic. 
4. the balance is not an easy task: there are mandatory safety course fo rthe students to attend before etering in lab (both for research and lab courses), the professors should study the possibility of substitute toxic reagents and changing working protocols to reduce the exposure time and handling.
 

Our institution has an Occupational, Health, Safety and the Environment (OHSE) Unit that conducts risk assessments in these circumstances. Employees at the university who have recently given birth or are expecting, need to complete the following document (https://sta.uwi.edu/ohse/documents/COHSE-11-10-PolicyandProcedurefortheManagementofNewandExpectantMothersatWork.PDF).
This document mentions various substances that should be avoided by pregnant mothers. Once the risks of exposure to potentially toxic substances are mitigated, there is usually room to balance the student's health and their academic progress. The university has had instances of pregnant lab technicians who have been able to work through their pregnancy while safely handling toxic substances.

In my teaching laboratories, there isn’t a separate safety handbook dedicated solely to pregnancy, but we respond immediately whenever a student informs us of this situation. The first action is always an individualized risk review conducted in collaboration with our Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) office. During this process, each scheduled experiment is evaluated to highlight substances that could present reproductive hazards.

From practical experience, the categories most frequently identified include:

When these chemicals are part of an activity, we seek safer alternatives. For example, I have successfully substituted caffeine or acetanilide for naphthalene in recrystallization experiments.
Our approach emphasizes adaptation rather than exclusion. Students may contribute by monitoring procedures, handling data recording, or focusing on analytical aspects. We also make use of recorded demonstrations or simulations so that they remain engaged with the experimental process. In some cases, we design alternative exercises with comparable learning outcomes, and if no safe substitution is possible, the laboratory requirement is postponed without affecting academic progress.

The principle guiding this practice is straightforward: reduce exposure risks while ensuring participation. Careful documentation of the assessment and open dialogue with the student foster both safety and reassurance. For colleagues, I usually recommend consulting Prudent Practices in the Laboratory (National Academies Press) along with CDC/NIOSH resources on reproductive health.

This flexible, proactive strategy has allowed me to protect student well-being while keeping them on track in their chemistry education.

Usually, to install proper chemistry lab safety protocols during pregnancy a proper assessment of the working environment and of the tasks that need to be completed during work hours should be made. The assessment will evaluate the possible exposure to teratogens, mutagens, carcinogens, volatile solvents, heavy metals, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, as well as other reproductive hazards. Afterwards, tasks involving high-risk agents such as formaldehyde, lead, mercury compounds, cytotoxic drugs, or reproductive toxins need to be reassigned to someone else or to a later time. More than that, any tasks that involves prolonged exposure to volatile solvents, radiation, or high-temperature operations should be avoided.

Good afternoon.
Unfortunately, our laboratory does not have separate safety protocols for pregnant women in educational laboratories. Our in-silico studies show that the danger is not only posed by known toxic substances (naphthalene, benzene, toluene, xylene, chloroform, formaldehydes, diethyl ether, acetone, methanol, isopropanol), but also by simple asphyxiants (argon, helium, nitrogen, carbon monoxide), which are often ignored. They are the ones that can cause prenatal hypoxia, the consequences of which for the child, according to our data, include oncological processes, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, infertility, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and brain damage.
Therefore, it is advisable to create a list of hazardous substances for pregnant women and offer alternative tasks (modeling, analytical work), which will allow them to maintain their academic progress without risk to their health.

Most of the research labs , academic and private institutions around the  United States and around the world , do not have chemical safety  written protocols (SOPs)and regular training to  for technicians, students who spent their substantial time working on their research projects /tasks without knowing acute/ chronic exposure to  common solvents ( Benzene,  Touene Acetonitrile, Formaldehyde,  Sulphuric acid, Nitric acid, Naphthalene, Ethylene Oxide , TCE , Dicloroethylene, CS2,Mercuric chloride  etc.)and many others. Some of them are well known human carcinogens , reproductive/ cns and deveopmental toxicants causing birth defects as well as endocrine disruptors  at very low levels of exposures based on heath risk assessments done by US EPA. FDA, and ECHA, WHO IPCS, and IARC. No single regulatory agency in the USA have developed guidelines , provided guidance to research institutions  on this particular public health concern.