Lab injuries hit record high of 400 last year; serious injuries double from previous year

2024.09.10. The Fair Economy — Park Chung‑gwon, a member of the Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly, announced on the 9th that there were 395 lab safety incidents last year, with 401 injured, surpassing the 400‑person mark for the first time.

According to the 'Status of Laboratory Safety Accidents' submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Rep. Park's office, the number of laboratory safety accidents has been increasing by year: ▲225 in 2020 ▲291 in 2021 ▲326 in 2022 ▲395 in 2023.

Among the injured, those with serious injuries receiving disability ratings also increased: ▲4 in 2020 ▲6 in 2021 ▲11 in 2022 ▲21 in 2023.

By cause of accident last year, the most common were ▲other unsafe acts (86 cases), ▲misuse or non-use of protective equipment (73 cases), ▲defects in machinery/instruments and unsuitable experimental materials (63 cases), ▲non-compliance with safety rules (39 cases), and ▲careless handling of hazardous/dangerous substances (21 cases).

Nevertheless, a survey last year revealed that 11 universities and 2 research institutions still have not met the required number of lab safety environment managers, indicating that safety management is not being properly implemented in some places.

The Ministry of Science and ICT also appeared to have been lukewarm in its response, taking action only last year for the first time to impose fines and corrective orders after investigating laboratory accidents.

This year, the ministry is focusing on managing 400 institutions with high exposure to hazardous factors, and has launched a mobile application 'LABs' that researchers can use for safety training and laboratory inspections, but downloads have only reached around 500 in the 50-odd days since its release.

Rep. Park, a former researcher at a corporate research institute in the science and engineering field, emphasized, "Laboratory safety is a key task not only for creating an environment where scientists and engineers can immerse themselves in research and ensuring researchers' health, but also for securing a competitive edge for the nation in the era of technological hegemony. As this is a problem pointed out every year, we must thoroughly review whether the government's measures are sound."