Report on 2020 ACS Safety Summit: Opportunities in Chemical Safety Communication

Abstract

To optimize the technical, economic, and social benefits of the chemical enterprise, the practice of chemistry must consider and address best safety practices from concept through research, development, manufacture, use, and disposal of its products. Only such a holistic approach will control individual and public risks associated with resulting technologies to acceptable levels. For this reason, in 2016, the ACS Board of Directors adopted safety as one of the Society's core values. This action established the expectation that the Society and its members will be leaders in this area, particularly in regard to laboratory safety concerns. Living this commitment requires a thoughtful and proactive strategy for the ACS to pursue with its stakeholders. Such a strategy will support a more sustainable chemical enterprise for the benefit of Earth and its people. In order to connect a number of already existing diverse safety engagements and develop a comprehensive strategy, the ACS has sponsored a series of "safety summits". These summits have been bringing together a number of ACS stakeholders along with outside experts and have provided opportunities for the Society-wide conversations about laboratory safety that have led to a number of collaborative safety projects. This report describes the outcome of the latest of these summits, focused on safety communication, held in February, 2020.