XN000022-1977-04-12 — Page 2

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1977

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN SCHOOL LABORATORIES STRESSED

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GENERALLY SPEAKING, SCHOOL SCIENCE LABORATORIES ARE RELATIVELY SAFE PLACES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING, THE DEPUTY CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, MR. ALEC REEVE SAID THIS MORNING.

ADDRESSING ABOUT 450 SCIENCE TEACHERS AND LABORATORY TECHNICIANS ATTENDING A SEMINAR ON LABORATORY SAFETY AT GRANTHAM COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, MR. REEVE POINTED OUT THAT VERY FEW ACCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE COURSE OF ONE ACADEMIC YEAR.

+HOWEVER, PUPILS NOWADAYS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE MORE PRACTICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR THEMSELVES SOMETIMES THEY ARE ASKED TO WORK WITH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, HIGH VOLTAGES, RADIOACTIVE SOURCES AND BACTERIOLOGICAL MATERIAL.

+ IT CAN BE ARGUED THAT AS A RESULT OF ENCOURAGING PUPILS TO MAKE MORE PRACTICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR THEMSELVES MORE ACCIDENTS IN THE LABORATORY ARE LIKELY TO HAPPEN.

+AT THE SAME TIME IT IS THOUGHT THAT EVEN THE FEW ACCIDENTS THAT DO OCCUR CAN BE PREVENTED BY BEING ON ONE'S GUARD, BY MAKING ONESELF MORE INFORMED AND BY PLANNING EXPERIMENTS MORE CAREFULLY, HE SAID.

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THIS WAS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE SEMINAR +TO MAKE US ALL BETTER INFORMED ON ALL ASPECTS OF SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN LABORATORY WORK.+

THE SEMINAR, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN HONG KONG, WAS JOINTLY ORGANISED BY THE SCIENCE SUBJECTS SECTION OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION AND THE HONG KONG LABORATORY TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION.

MR. REEVE HOPED THAT THIS JOINT VENTURE WOULD BE THE BEGINNING OF CLOSER COOPERATION BETWEEN LABORATORY TECHNICIANS, THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION WHICH HAD PLAYED AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE PART IN PROMOTING SCIENCE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG.

THE DEPUTY CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS SAID THAT NOT ONLY HAD SCHOOL TEACHERS AND LABORATORY TECHNICIANS SHOWN A VERY KEEN RESPONSE, BUT ALSO HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF EDUCATION AND NON- EDUCATIONAL BODIES LIKE THE HONG KONG INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND THE HONG KONG STANDARDS AND TESTING CENTRE HAD EXPRESSED KEEN INTEREST AND HAD SENT REPRESENTATIVES TO ATTEND THE SEMINAR.

HE THANKED GUEST SPEAKERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, THE FIRE SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE RADIATION BOARD, ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE BRIGADE, HONG KONG ELECTRIC COMPANY, DIOCESAN BOYS' SCHOOL AND THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC.

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