SCHOOL LAB GUIDE REVAMPED; HART SCHOOL DISTRICT CHECKS FOR SAFETY IN SCIENCE ROOMS.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Science departments throughout the Hart District put lab safety under the microscope before students returned from summer vacation, hoping to prevent the type of explosion that severely burned two former Hart High School physics students last year.

The Science Safety Committee - composed of science teachers from all the William S. Hart Union High School District high schools - met over summer months and combed their safety procedures, curriculums and related laboratory experiments.

In the end, they came up with new safety training programs for students and faculty, and identified science facilities in need of safety upgrades.

``We've taken a sweeping examination of all safety areas in our science program,'' said Hart Principal Gary Fuller. ``I think we've done a very thorough job in finding areas in need of a wide variety of improvements.''

For starters, storage areas in Hart High's science department were modernized with such features as fire-proof cabinets and new eye wash stations. Additional sets of protective eye goggles and lab coats also were stocked.

For faculty, the safety committee developed a science safety manual with procedures and precautions. For students, the team developed a written safety test they would have to pass before entering any laboratory setting or conducting experiments, Fuller said.

He declined comment on the explosion that occurred during a physics class experiment last November, which prompted two lawsuits against the district. The experiment now is banned in the district's schools.

Three students were injured Nov. 25 during a physics class velocity experiment on the Hart football field, as they launched tennis balls from cannons constructed of orange juice cans, using methanol as fuel. The explosion occurred as fuel was poured into a cannon that still had a flame inside from a previous launch.

Chris James and Nolan Lemar, both 17 at the time, were hospitalized for severe burns and since have undergone operations such as skin grafts. James suffered third-degree burns over 35 percent of his body, while Lemar was burned on 12 percent of his body. Jesses Honea, also 17 at the time, was treated at a nearby hospital for respiratory problems and released that day.

Both James and Lemar in recent months filed separate lawsuits alleging negligence against the William S. Hart High School and Hart High's physics teacher, Thomas Magee, seeking medical-related expenses. Lemar's suit also cites dangerous conditions of public property and that ultrahazardous activity led to the explosion, as grounds for the lawsuit.

The explosion prompted science departments to take closer looks at their own safety practices.

``What happened at Hart is affecting all schools,'' said Valencia High School Science Department Chairman David Crissman. ``It made us more aware about how these types of accidents can happen.''

Science teachers met before school started and took an in-depth look at Valencia High's programs and experiments, trying to identify class situations with potential for accidents.

Crissman was pleased to find that the department already was taking maximum safety precautions.

``Our general rule is that you don't allow the students anywhere near anything that could expose them to harm,'' he said.

The school stocks certain substances and instruments that are considered acceptable for high school and college science class applications, such as poisons, acids and bases, alcohol and Bunsen burners.

Caustic substances such as acids, that chemistry students often use, are diluted until they no longer are harmful, Crissman said for example.

All science department chemicals at Valencia High are kept in a storage area designed with vents, fireproof cabinets and special lights that don't cause sparks, he added.

Over years, science departments gradually eliminated the use of certain chemicals from classroom uses, such as ether, which once was used in biology classes to put insects to sleep. ``We found that ether became highly flammable when it hardened and after that, we didn't use it any more,'' he said.

Even before methanol was banned in the Hart District, it was not used at Valencia High School, because it was known to be a highly flammable and volatile form of alcohol, Crissman said.

As late as last week, another methanol explosion occurred in a high school science lab in Bakersfield, where 26 teen-agers were showered with shards of glass causing minor injuries. Methanol in a clear glass bottle had quickly reached explosive limits and ignited from a spark, officials said.

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Photo: Science chairman David Crissman checks a school storage room.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News