Ashley Casarez

Texas State University | TxSt · Department of Biology

Understanding how basic safety practices can affect the daily work of operators can reduce the chance of harm to personnel and infrastructure.

Key Takeaways An effective laboratory safety program focuses on preventing harm by reducing risks to staff and the laboratory itself. All laboratory safety programs should include documentation and training, safety data sheets, personal protective equipment, emergency shower/eyewash, fire safety, and first aid. Safety programs should address the sp...

Environmental lab technicians and scientists are responsible for many tasks, including preparing for sample collection events, performing field sample collection and/or analysis, processing and analyzing samples in the laboratory, and performing quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures to validate data and ensure its quality (Figure 1)....

Key Takeaways The environmental laboratory workforce is aging out and needs creative solutions to recruit and retain skilled staff to perform physical, microbial, chemical, and radiological tests. There are immediate needs for chemists to work in radiochemistry and to conduct analyses for per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other contaminants o...

Most drinking water utilities enter high-alert mode upon testing positive for microcystin. Staff at the City of Wichita Falls Water Purification Laboratory responded calmly when they received that dreaded phone call in July 2018 because of their progressive approach to monitoring cyanobacteria.

One drinking water utility found a comprehensive, cost‐effective strategy for monitoring toxin‐producing cyanobacteria that can harm water quality.