Laboratory Health and Safety Expert Witness

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Dr. James Kaufman is President Emeritus of the Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) and former Professor of Chemistry and EHS Director at Curry College. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tufts University and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). After two years as a post-doctoral fellow in the WPI Chemical Engineering Department converting garbage into fuel oil, Dr. Kaufman joined the Dow Chemical Company's New England Research Laboratory as a Process Research Chemist. During his four years with Dow, he became increasingly involved in laboratory safety related activities. He authored "Laboratory Safety Guidelines". Originally distributed by Dow, now over six million copies (in 23 languages) of the widely requested and reprinted brochure are in circulation. Dr. Kaufman is the founder (1977) of The Laboratory Safety Institute – an international, non-profit center for safety in science and science education. LSI's educational programs, services, and publications help both academic and non-academic institutions throughout the world. Over 100,000 scientists and science educators in 34 countries from 140 different types of labs have attended these courses and presentations. Grants from individuals, foundations, companies and professional societies provide support for LSI. LSI conducts seminars, short courses, webinars, program audits and lab inspections for schools, colleges, and companies. They also provide advice on regulatory compliance, safety program development, facilities design, editorial commentary on laboratory texts, and expert witness testimony. Dr. Kaufman is a former, ten-year member of the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Council Committee on Chemical Safety and is past-chairman of the 2,500-member ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. He is the author-narrator of the ACS Audio Course on Laboratory Safety and editor of "Waste Disposal at Academic Institutions" from Lewis Publishers. He recorded and edited the "One-Day Laboratory Safety Audio Seminar" and "Two-Day Lab Safety Video Course." He is a co-authored of “Safety Is Elementary: the new standard for safety in the elementary science classroom”. Most recently, he prepared one, two and three-day on-demand internet lab safety courses and new one, two, and three-day DVD video short course. Dr. Kaufman is past-chair of the Safety in Science Education Committee of the International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE). He was appointed to the Safety Committee of the ACS Division of Chemical Education and elected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety. Most recently, he was appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of Labcompare Magazine.