Evaluation of the chemical laboratory safety awareness, attitudes and practices of undergraduate pharmacy students in a Nigerian tertiary education institution

Chemical safety is the handling of chemical substances in a manner that guarantees the health and safety of humans in addition to preventing environmental damage. Pharmaceutical chemistry is a core course in the pharmacy curriculum and pharmacy students are exposed to potential hazards from carrying out experiments in the pharmaceutical chemistry laboratory. The current study was carried out to investigate the present state of chemical laboratory safety awareness, attitudes and practices among undergraduate pharmacy students in a tertiary education institution in Jos, Nigeria. The study was conducted using a cross sectional survey method with a sample size of 291 students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about knowledge, attitude and practices of chemical safety which were analysed using descriptive statistics. Out of 320 questionnaires administered, 291 were returned giving a response rate of 90.94 %. About 70 % of the respondents showed high awareness of hazard identification and emergency responses employed in the laboratory. Majority of the students also showed positive attitudes towards the safe use of chemicals but however showed inadequate knowledge of safe ways of disposing chemical waste. Furthermore, 66.20 % of the students indicated that they always wear personal protective equipment in the laboratory. The study found that the knowledge and compliance of the students with chemical safety measures is generally high but they exhibited deficiencies in certain areas like waste disposal and identification of certain chemical hazard symbols. There is therefore the need for additional training and education to prevent the occurrence of chemical accidents. Keywords: Laboratory safety, Pharmacy, Chemicals, Undergraduate, Knowledge