Newsletter No. 69

4 No. 69 4th May 1995 CUHK Newsletter Ma t e r i al Safety Data Sheets Your Key to Chemical Safety Living in the modern world, you probably are aware that the use of chemicals offers convenience and progress at home and at work. Naturally, you want to avoid overexposure to chemicals. Such overexposure is possible no matter where you work, even in an office. One important element of chemical safety is relevant knowledge and an awareness of potential hazards. Easy ways of access to information are 1. warning labels on containers; 2. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS); and 3. safety training. Wha t 's on an MSDS? MSDS are printed pages which give you crucial information on how to use, transport, and store chemicals in a safe way, as well as dos and don'ts in cases of emergency and overexposure. Information on an MSDS includes: • the chemical's name (or names) • the chemical's ingredients • conditions or substances which can cause the chemical to catch fire, explode, melt, or generate dangerous gases • how the chemical usually looks and smells • how to put out a fire involving the chemical • what to do in case of spillage or leakage • how to prevent dangerous exposure • possible harmful effects on health, such as cancer and skin irritation • symptoms of overexposure • how to deal with overexposure The information on an MSDS is normally put together by the manufacturer or distributor of the chemical. MSDS are however often neglected or even lost when the chemicals arrive. The University Laboratory Safety Office (ULSO) has a CD-Rom that contains the MSDS of about 40,000 chemicals in both Chinese and English. If you need the MSDS for your chemicals, feel free to contact the office at ext. 7958. In September 1995, the full CD system will be installed in some other departments. Some Advice You should always read the MSDS before you begin work involving a chemical. Even if you've used the chemical before, the manufacturer may have changed its formula, which may change the steps you should take to protect yourself. Taking the precautions listed on the MSDS, such as wearing a respirator, can help prevent undesirable results. If you don't understand something on the MSDS, or have questions about the University's safety programme, ask your supervisor or the University Laboratory Safety Office. Our safety programme will work better if you are fully involved and informed. University Laboratory Safety Office Adapted from PARLAY INTERNATIONAL New Publications of the Hong Kong Inst i tute of Asia-Pacific Studies Occasional Paper No .41 'Informal Mechanisms in Japanese Polities' by Zhao Quansheng (Research Fellow, HKIAPS), 44 pages, paperback, $30. The paper analyses the Japanese policy-making process at three levels: societal, institutional, and individual. It examines not only regular political institutions but also informal social and cultural aspects as these are equally important in Japanese policymaking processes. The paper specifically discusses three components of the informal mechanism: social environment and network (tsukiai), informal political actors and organizations (kuromaku), and behind-the- scene consensus-building activities (nemawashi). Occasional Paper No.42 'Development Corridor in Fujian: Fuzhou to Zhangzhou' by Yeung Yue-man (Professor of Geography) and David K. Y. Chu (Senior Lecturer in Geography), 50 pages, paperback, $30. The paper examines the economic reforms, as well as the economic and social restructuring of Fujian, a province that has undergone modernization and rapid development since 1978 under China's open policy. The paper also indentifies, in the coastal corridor between Fuzhou and Zhangzhou, five models of development which represent different ways of maximizing local endowments and foreign investment to accelerate economic development. It concludes by looking at the major problems and achievements of the province's reforms. Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia • 人事動態 • Personalia Information in this section can only  be accessed with CWEM password .   若要瀏覽本部分的資料， 請須輸入 中大校園電子郵件密碼 。