Chemical safety wins top honors

Stefan Wawzyniecki, left, and Steven Suib

The Chemistry Department in CLAS and UConn's Environmental Health and Safety office brought home two major safety awards from the recent American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting in Philadelphia.

Stefan Wawzyniecki, chemical health and safety manager at UConn, won the 2008 Tillmanns-Skolnick Award, which recognizes outstanding long-term service to the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety and commitment to its safety goals.

The Chemistry Department won the College and University Health and Safety Award, honoring the most comprehensive undergraduate laboratory safety program in higher education. The award is sponsored by the ACS and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Steven L. Suib, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and department head, presented a talk at the meeting, "Safety in the Chemistry Department at the University of Connecticut: Procedures, Policies, and Programs."

Wawzyniecki, who has worked at UConn for 18 years, gave a presentation on hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

The Chemical Health and Safety section that he manages oversees chemical and hazardous waste removal, storage, and disposal at UConn. It also serves the research community and laboratories, consulting on health and safety issues, and it promotes the University's compliance with environmental and safety regulations.