There is a major lack of chemical safety culture in Latin America. This situation has practical consequences: people who use chemical products ignore the hazards or underestimate the risks it carries and the SHE (Safety, Health & Environment) management is generally oriented more toward protection than prevention.
In October of 2016 the first edition of IUPAC-UNITAR-STP-LA (IUPAC project 2016-021-1-022) took place with the participation of 4 trainees (Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela). That 2-week IUPAC COCI STP-LA STP Associates training program received great evaluation of the trainees and IUPAC itself (STP workshop, Sao Paulo 2017). Forty-four candidates from ten different countries submitted applications: seven from South America (Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela), two from Central America (Costa Rica and Mexico) and one from Caribbean (Cuba). There are many great candidates at least in the other six countries that submitted candidates who weren’t selected.
The objective of this project is to continue with the STP-LA project by giving priority to candidates of the not selected countries. The maximum number of trainees will be five due to educational and financial reasons. The benefits include improvement of safety culture, better trained professionals, lower chemical risks and lower losses for the industry and the university.
This 2-week STP-Latin America, STP Associates Training project (second edition) represents also an opportunity for IUPAC to strengthen the STP and regional presence in Latin America.
For more information and comments, contact Task Group Chair Fabián Benzo Moreira <fbenzo@fq.edu.uy>
https://iupac.org/project/2018-021-1-022
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