Rank Has Its Privileges: Explaining Why Laboratory Safety Is a Persistent Challenge

Area of Science:

• Laboratory safety
• Occupational health
• Regulatory compliance

Background:

• Environmental, health, and safety (EHS) management systems are prevalent in research labs for safety improvement.
• Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these EHS surveillance and inspection systems is limited.
• Understanding factors influencing regulatory compliance in research settings is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if laboratory safety inspections and feedback mechanisms improve regulatory compliance.
• To identify factors, such as researcher status, that may hinder compliance with EHS regulations.
• To extend the understanding of actor-level non-compliant behavior in regulated environments.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of safety inspection data from research laboratories at a large university.
• Qualitative interviews with environmental, health, and safety (EHS) personnel.
• Examination of the relationship between inspection findings, feedback, and subsequent compliance behavior.

Main Results:

• A subset of well-funded, high-status, tenured researchers exhibited persistent non-compliant practices.
• Higher-status actors demonstrated disengagement from the EHS regulatory system and its feedback processes.
• Variable recognition of regulations, attention to reports, and response to feedback were observed in high-status individuals.

Conclusions:

• Researcher status and power significantly influence adherence to environmental, health, and safety regulations.
• Current EHS inspection and feedback systems may be less effective for high-status individuals.
• Further research is needed to address how power dynamics impact regulatory compliance in scientific research.