safety questions in job interview?

Question

I am looking for science jobs in research labs, so in most of them there is some level of risk.

I usually ask if there are any relevant safety concerns as one of my end-of-interview questions. I want to know how to approach this without seeming like i'd be a wimp or un-coopertive, or worse yet like i don't know much about OHS.

Mostly it is a "just checking", and a bit of sussing out if we are "on the same level" with outr attitude to work safety, but also if i got two offers and one was a bit dangerous more dangerous it may be a deciding factor.

The main things i am concerned about are Radiation and human tissue (i'm mopst scared of HIV). I would preffer to work with an employer with an overcautious attitude to both. I would not completely rule out a job that involved one of these, i just want to make sure it is very well controled (e.g. no sharps used with un-screaned human tissue).

I usually mention i don't have a radiation licence in an FYI manner.

Answer 1

It's a great and relevant question that applies directly to your job. Asking the question shows an employer that you are concerned about safety, a concern they hopefully share. In fact, it shows you know the rules and want to know what this company specifically does to apply them to their particular kind of research. You do not have to let on that, even with good safety measures in place, you'd rather go for a less dangerous position.

Far too often job seekers ask surface-level questions about benefits or working hours or dress code. This is a question with some substance. Good job and good luck.

Answer 2

Ask what their protocols are for blood borne diseases or radiological hazards. That is a really good question because it shows you are safety conscious.

Answer 3

Any QUALITY EMPLOYER will stress the following!! SAFETY,Quality,quanity!! Any thing less that an enviroment like this would be UNSAFE!!!

Answer 4

When You mentioned HIV, I remember writing the code of conduct in cleaning public places, for City Council Amsterdam.
The Toilets of Social Security, were a big risk for cleaners. I also meant, latex gloves had to be issued to all offices, for removing blood stains. What a coincidence. Besides the Wedding Hall in the Old Castle like City Hall., which needed looking over every week, there were Council Banks, and Social security offices where I worked. Accuracy being the Life line of a Lab technician, this is also the case for Cleaners, servicing offices, and public places.
It is all about formulas and the directions that have to be followed, to ensure the work not only gets done, but also up to the Standard, Code or Rules laid out in the open.

My experience in the 70´´s with a transport of a liquid chemical substance used in the fabrication of Stencil paper, is quite vivid. Any such Tank on wheels, was to be unloaded under supervision of a lab technician. I had only worked there for a couple of months, and my supervisor was out ot to lunch, and of course the driver could not wait. Half of all the things I had to do before unloading, were not typed on the small card from the file box on my desk, that contained all the basic substances and products, which had to be measured or analyzed before entering the factory environment. The Inside of a chimney holds for instance the main ingredient for copying paper old stile. office work. Anyhow. A Tank empties itself according to a Natural principle of releasing the pressure by opening two or three tiny glass windows, on top of the Tank through a tube which clasps on to the mound of the storage container, which was built into the ground. The driver who knew our factory restaurant was also in a hurry. I had to tell him I was a novice, but he could not bring himself to wait for a more experienced co worker, whom I then would have to find first. Bayonet clasps. I will never forget them... Sometimes Light bulbs go in their sockets (English specs 80´´s) like that instead of screw on..... I figured out with the directions, that I had to unlock the Storage Tank, and place the Tube according to directions, that were exactly as written, without the name of the coupling, being Bayonet.... I had trouble finding the right angle to initiate the proper vacuum tight connection from the truck into the storage. So we agreed he would open the release valve on my mark, Yes. Di-Iso-propylene spilled around my feet, about a bathtub full of chemical s and fumes..... I turned around to the driver and I asked:`` On the count of Yes? Did you hear me say so?.`` He apologized and the second time I tried to lock the tube onto the Storage tank, it went O.K. I did not faint or notice any adverse effects after this blunder, but I took office work for the next one just to be safe.. Last year a friend of mine who knows about this accidental run in with unwritten actions handling factory property, told me an experience of his own while riding his bike through town.
Somebody´´s bleach (Chlorine) had fallen from her bike, in the exact spot where wheels of a truck, mad the bottle explode in a massive spray of tiny drops of Bleach, exactly on Wouter. He explained he now could Imagine what chemicals meant to me. Oh dread, I prefer not to think back on the incident. I only wonder how he knew a thing like that happened to me some 30 years ago, quite cool of him to go this length to have a comparison that can °shed any light on the subject of Industrial Toxins in action. For The Sake of Radiation I meditate on meeting one light with another, and that works fine with me. I can guess about my altered State, but is always a what if game at best. Not very workable line of using my think cap with a higher incident count, for experience wanted. Some Chemical Industry, may always carry risks to the environment and us. I believe I speak for Companion, that there exactly, emphasis and priority, take precedence. The Accident in Bhopal, being the One accident , that made factory built to specifications, look like a bad Lincoln shire Joke touching peoples lives in a complete different climate at the other side of the Globe.

If the procedure with a potential boss stinks from here to you know where, perhaps, there is a job for you, rewriting procedures. I was lucky enough to gain such experience at school in the early 90´´s growing towards the network being built coupling Social Security, Labor exchange, and Pension board into One Data bank. (It did not take long for Social security to breach conduct and the law on privacy with the other 2 and i was quite happy when my mother in law needed me looking after her)Because of this Data bank fraud can be effectively com batted when the State Company entrusted with these figures, is an honest one. Unfortunately, abuse of these banks, makes sure, that a Case worker with a personal dislike, can go on undisturbed already for 4 years, making my friend Yvonne victim of his contempt for women. He steals certain percentages of her Social Security allowance, with an ease other bullies take candy from little children.
We have a lot of changing to do., if we are to make this world better. I respect someone with a vision and the willingness, to make the necessary sacrifices for a better place to work. It means more often then not, being underpaid, short staffed, and under high pressure from the bruised ego´s of corruption that make out a company´s policy.