We strive to make chemistry more available and exciting for disabled scientists by developing accessible and safe methodologies to be employed by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. We share philosophies and methods that were found to be effective in ensuring a safe laboratory environment. Namely, an accessible and safe chemistry laboratory requires assistance and extensive contributions from everyone involved. A discussion of technologies that make our computational chemistry laboratory accessible to blind and visually impaired (BVI) researchers follows. These recommendations are derived from our personal experiences with learning and teaching chemistry, with serving on a chemistry accessibility committee and with organizing and running chemistry camps for BVI students. In addition, we have begun work with sighted high school students who perform visual activities under blindfold. These experiences challenge the student under blindfold to learn how to function without all five senses while simultaneously training a sighted peer to safely and accurately assist with nonvisual cues.

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The molecular and crystal structure of 1,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, one of the least carcinogenic of the benz[a]anthracenes, has been refined, from new X-ray diffractometric data collected at room temperature, to an R index 0.047 over 1217 independent reflections. Improved determination of molecular geometry shows that steric strain arising from the presence of two bay-methyl substituents causes even greater molecular distortion than in the highly carcinogenic 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, with the benzo A ring inclined at about 29 degrees to the furthest C and D rings. Methyl carbon atoms are displaced 1.0 and 1.3 A on opposite sides of the mean molecular plane and the beach bond of the bay region is 1.480(4) A long, flanked by C-C-C angles of 124.3 and 125.0 degrees. The shortest carbon-carbon bond is C5-C6 = 1.327(5) A at the K region, with the next shortest C8-C9 = 1.346(6) A. Close intramolecular approaches of methyl hydrogens across the bay and to nearest aromatic hydrogens are 2.3-2.6 A.

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