Laboratory Safety

Corrosivity

Includes waste that needs to be separated from other wastes, waste that may react with heavy metals to produce toxic contaminates, and corrode steel waste containers, and aqueous substances with pH less than 2 or pH greater than 12.5

Yellow Bag

Infectious wastes

Chemical Waste

Include discarded solids, liquids, and gaseous chemicals from laboratory procedures, and include laboratory reagents

Pathological Waste

Include human and animal tissues, organs, body parts (excluding teeth, hair, finger nails), and body fluids that are removed during autopsy, biopsy. surgery or other medical procedure

Ignitability

Includes waste that can cause a fire during routine waste disposal and storage conditions, ignitable gas from flammable mixture at 13% or less concentration, and solid substances that may cause fire through friction or absorption of moisture

Explosivity and Reactivity

Includes waste that is unstable and reacts violently when exposed to chemical change, releases toxic fumes when mixed with water and even explode under extreme conditions and wastes that are capable of detonation, explosive decomposition at standard temperature, and pressure

Labelling of Wastes

Label all waste bottles properly as "Hazardous Wastes," which are the only acceptable words. Labels of old containers should be completely removed or defaced.

Gray

Presents no more than moderate hazard in ay of the categories. For general chemical storage

NFPA Diamond

RED- Flammable, Store in an area for flammable reagents BLUE- Health hazard. Toxic if inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. Store in a secure area YELLOW- Reactive and oxidizing reagents. May react violently with air, water, or other substances. Store away from flammable and combustible materials. WHITE- Corrosive. May harm skin, eyes, or mucous membrane. Store away from red, blue, and yellow-coded reagents

Exception

Reagent compatible with other reagent of same color bar. Store separately (so that no reaction will be created)

Recognition of Hazards

Safety in the laboratory begins with the recognition of these hazards

Red Bag

Sharp or broken glass (needles)

Incineration

This is the most acceptable means of waste disposal. Incinerators are complex devices that contain secondary equipment such as burners, scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, and filters

First Aid Supplies:

1. Adhesive plastic bandages (large fingertip fabric bandages, knuckle fabric bandages, triangular sling with safety pins, gauze dressing pads, first aid tape roll) 2. Hot & Cold gel packs 3. Sterile sponge dressings 4. Gauze roll bandages 5. Adhesive Tapes 6. Sterile eye pad 7. Eyewash 8. Alcohol prep pads 9. Antiseptic towelettes 10. Triple antibiotic ointment pack 11. Scissors 12. Tweezers 13. Burn Spray 14. Ibuprofen tablets 15. Antacid tablets 16. Non-aspirin pain tablets

Biological Hazards

1. Biological hazards are biological substances substances that can pose a threat to human health when they are inhaled, eaten, or come in contact with the skin. They can cause illness such as food poisoning, tetanus, respiratory infections or parasite infections as well. 2. can include bacteria, viruses, parasites, molds, and fungi Examples: blood spill, needle prick, immunization, improper disposal of medical wastes and anything that comes in contact with your skin is considered a biological hazard

When to change Lab Gowns

1. Change when soiled (advisable to have 2 gowns) 2. Replaced when damaged

Footwear

1. Comfortable 2. Non-slip soles 3. Must cover the entire foot 4. Must be made of material that will not allow blood, body fluids, or chemicals to soak through 5. You may be required to change footwears in sterile areas such as OR, DR, or Nursery

Chemistry

1. Decontaminate equipment at the end of each shift 2. Consider all waste from analyzers to be contaminated and discard it 3. Never re-cap or remove contaminated needles and other contaminated sharps except where no alternative is feasible and the medical procedure requires it (e.g. blood gas analysis)

Electrical Hazards

1. Defined as the dangers condition where personnel make electrical contact with equipment or conductor an energized 2. includes physical harm from shock or burns danger from fire due to heat and sparks produced

Gloves

1. Disposable, single-use gloves when they have the potential for direct skin contact with infectious materials and contaminated items or surfaces 2. Different types for different protection - from infectious materials, chemicals, radioactive contamination, cold and heat, sterile procedures, and sharp edges 3. Most commonly used material: vinyl, nitrile (no powder; usually color blue), and latex (with powder) 4. Never reuse gloves and never wear gloves in non-biohazard areas

Employer's Responsibilities

1. Establish laboratory work methods and safety policies 2. Provide supervision and guidance to employees 3.Provide safety information training personal protective equipment, and medical surveillance to employees. 4. Provide and maintain equipment and laboratory facilities that are adequate for the tasks required

Errors encountered in handling Hazardous Laboratory Wastes

1. Failure to label the waste container 2. Improper labeling of the waste container 3. Failure to close/seal the waste container 4. Improper segregation of the wastes 5. Improper storage of the wastes 6. Using an improper waste container 7. Accumulation of too much waste

Cartridge Purifying

1. Filters organic vapors such as xylene or formaldehyde 2. worn when ppm of hazardous chemical is above the action level for that chemical

N95

1. Filters particles as small as 0.1u such as TB 2. worn if there is interaction with patient known or suspected of having active TB: Culturing TB specimen

Hoods

1. Fume Hoods- Required to expel noxious and hazardous fumes from chemical reagents 2. Remove particles that may be harmful to the employee who is working with infective biologic specimens

Cardinal Safety Rules of the Clinical Laboratory

1. Good personal behavior 2. Good Housekeeping 3. Good Laboratory Technique

Safety Showers

1. Green-and-white sign above the safety shower and eyewash locations is helpful in locating them in an emergency 2. Must be within 100 ft. and within a 10-second walk of caustic and corrosive chemicals 3. Water should be moderately warm or lukewarm for the full 15-minute cycle

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

1. Implemented in 1970 2. The act governs in all types of workplaces including laboratories

Laboratory Waste Management

1. Incineration 2. Microwave Treatment, Autoclaving, Plasma-Based Systems, and Irradiation 3. Sterilization 4. Sewer Systems

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

1. Is any equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. 2. These injuries and illnesses may result from contact with either chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. 3. Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses and shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard hats, respirators, or coveralls, vests and full body suits

Prevent Fire Hazards

1. Keep flammable substances I separate 2. Use fire-resistant building products 3. Use explosion proof refrigerators 4. Perform procedures that result in highly combustible reactions under water or in a vacuum chamber

Employee's Responsibilities

1. Know and comply with the established laboratory work safety methods. 2. Have a positive attitude toward supervisors, coworkers, facilities, and safety training 3. Give prompt notification of unsafe conditions or practices to the immediate supervisors and ensure that unsafe. conditions and practices are corrected. 4. Engage in the conduct of safe work practices and use of the personal protective equipment

Prevent Chemical Hazards

1. Know the nature of the chemical used 2. Mechanical pipetting aids must always be used 3. Observe basic rule "acid to water" 4. Chemical spills containment 5. Use safety cans, fume hood, and cabinets 6. Wear proper attire 7. Observe proper storage and disposal

Hazardous Wastes should be labeled with

1. Laboratory name (department or division) 2. Labels Wastes "Caution-Toxic" and "Hazardous Wastes" 3. Identification of components 4. Hazard information, concentration and content 5. Quantity- check the number of containers

Eyewash Stations

1. Must be within 100 ft. and within 10-second walk of caustic and corrosive chemicals 2. Flush the eye from the inside corner of the eye outward 3. Stations must be capable of providing a minimum of 15 minutes of hands-free capacity 4. Water pressure should be gentle 5. Water from eyewash station should be cultured every 6 months to check if there are organisms or bacteria present in the water

Compressed Gases

1. Observe proper labelling and storage conditions 2. Follow correct handling and transport of tanks.

Prevent Biological Hazards

1. Observe universal precaution. Treat every patient specimen as potentially infectious 2. All blood samples of patient with high risk should be processes with strict precaution 3. Specimen container should remain "capped" during centrifugation 4. Any blood spills must be cleaned up and disinfected immediately 5. Individuals with any wounds or abrasions wear finger cots/gloves handling blood specimens 6. Immunization 7. Prevent Nosocomial Infections- know the five moments for hand hygiene

Radioactive Materials

1. Post caution signs to areas with radioactive materials 2. Only trained personnel are allowed in the areas 3. Practice proper disposal system

Laboratory Gown

1. Primary protection to prevent skin exposure from chemical or specimen (blood and other body fluids) splash or spill 2. Must be a bit loose, available as reusable or disposable depending on laboratory application 3. Aprons are not substitutes for lab gowns but provide extra protection when fluid contamination is likely (i.e. during autopsy). Pathologists who will be performing autopsy uses apron and Medical Technologists do not usually wear aprons as substitutes 4. Should not be worn outside the laboratory

Working Shields

1. Provide barrier protection to the facial area and related mucous membranes (eyes, nose, lips) 2. Also considered an alternative to goggles

OSHA requirements

1. Recording and reporting accidents, injuries, or illnesses 2. Hazard Communication Standard specifying how workers must be made aware of hazardous materials in the workplace 3. Standards for chemical hygiene, including to hazardous chemicals in the laboratories occupational exposure 4. Bloodborne Pathogens standard-intended to minimize the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens

Chemical Hazards

1. Referred to as occupational hazard that is caused by exposure to chemicals in the workplace or in the laboratory 2. includes Toxic and poisonous, Flammable and combustible (diesel), Corrosive, Reactive, and Carcinogenic.

Decontamination of Spills

1. Regardless of what type of spill, PPE must be used: fluid-resistant cover gown & facial protection 2. Heavyweight, puncture-resistant utility gloves are recommended 3. Rubber boots or waterproof shoe covers if the spill is large 4. If the spill contains broken glass, these should be removed first with thongs and forceps or brush and dustpan 5. If the spill contains a culture media, the site should be covered completely with absorbent materials. 6. After 10 minutes, clean-up procedures can now start Bleach is used to decontaminate surfaces

Chemical Storage Equipment

1. Safety carriers 2. Safety cabinets 3. Explosion proof refrigerators (since it is where you store your reactive reagents of chemicals)

Segregation of Wastes

1. Segregate laboratory wastes as chemical wastes, pathological wastes, biological wastes, and radioactive wastes. The wastes should be separated based on chemical compatibility in order to prevent violent chemical reaction 2. Acids, bases, and organic wastes should not be stored in the same cabinet as this may lead to accidental mixing, explosion, or even fire. Mixing of incompatible chemicals in the same waste container such as nitric acid and ethyl alcohol will cause an explosion

Use and Storage of Lab Gowns

1. Should be worn at all times while in lab work areas 2."In-use" gowns hung on designated hooks in work areas. 3. Clean lab gowns stored in cabinets or closets

Phlebotomy

1. Single-use latex-free tourniquets are recommended in order to maintain good infection control 2. Employees are required to use gloves during tourniquet procedures 3. Use needle holders with evacuated blood tube only once 4. Use hematocrit tubes made of plastic or Mylar wrapped glass

Infectious Waste

1. These are wastes suspected to contain pathogenic microorganisms 2. Example: cotton that was applied, bandages applied to patients, cotton that is used to disinfect

Fire Hazards

1. Type of occupational hazard that either involve the presence of a flame, increased the probability that an uncontrolled fire will occur, or increase the severity of a fire should one occur 2. Include flames, sparks, hot objects, flammable chemicals and chemical accelerance that increases a fire's rate of spread. Flammable and electric hazards

Cryogenic Materials

1. Use gloves of impermeable material when handling this kind of material 2. Store cryogenic fluids in well-insulated but loosely stopped containers

Mechanical Hazards

1. Use of centrifuge properly 2. Use glass beads to help eliminate boiling-over when liquids are heated 3. Use tongs to remove hot glassware from ovens, hot plates, or water baths 4. Handle with care sharp instruments as cork borers, needles, scalpel, blades

Prevent Electrical Hazards

1. Use only explosion proof equipment in hazardous atmospheres (example: explosion proof refrigerator) 2. Be particularly careful when operating high voltage equipment, such as electrophoresis apparatus 3. Use only properly grounded equipment (3 prong plug) 4. Check for "frayed electrical cords 5. Report any malfunctioning or equipment producing a "triangle" for prompt repair 6. Do not work on "live" electrical equipment 7. Never operate electrical equipment with wet hands 8. Know the exact location of the electrical control panel for the electricity to your work area 9. Use only approved extension cords and do not overload circuits 10. Have a periodic preventive maintenance performed on equipment

Hematology

1. Use sealant for hematocrit tubes only once, do not reform for re-use 2. Decontaminate sedimentation racks frequently

Mask

1. Used when performing laboratory procedures with potential of splashes or sprays of infectious materials and aerosol potential 2. Very little info is available about the effectiveness of facemasks in controlling spread of flu. 3. What is not known is the extent to which tiny aerosol particles are implicated in transmission

Microbiology

1. Work with Micobacterium tuberculosis (TB) cultures in a class II Biosafety Cabinet (BSC) Level 3 2. Secure blood culture bottles in a holding device that allows for easy entry and removal of the needle 3. Place gauze square on the stopper of inoculated media

Histopathology/Anatomic Pathology

1. Wrap known or suspected TB tissue blocks in cellophane or plastic bags before filling 2. Decontaminate the cryostat daily with at least 70% ethanol solution 3. Always consider trimmings and sections of tissue to be infectious 4. Wear stainless steel mesh or sharp impermeable gloves when changing knife blades 5. Consider all solutions used for staining frozen sections to be contaminated 6. Never store or process reusable sharps, place them in puncture-resistant label color coded, leakproof containers

Surgical Mask

1. filters bacteria 2. worn when working with a patient who may be immunocompromised

Toxicity

A toxic waste that is harmful to humans and also the environment as it stimulates the leaching of materials from a landfill into the surround groundwater

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Approves new medicines and medical devices for safe after use e.g. toxicology, transfusion medicine, apheresis

Safety Officers

As for Velez College, all safety related concerns (such as needle stick injury) should be reported to the safety officer

Ergonomic Hazards

Consider the design of hand tools, adherence to ergonomically correct technique and equipment positioning when engaging in any respective task

Storage of Wastes

Do not store wastes in a fume hood where reactions take place as this may trigger a violent reaction or might cause a fire. Do not use metal cans for storing wastes since they might corrode in a short time: instead. use polyethylene containers. Containers for flammable waste should be stored in an explosion-resistant solvent cabinet

Black Bag

Dry or non-infectious wastes (barrel of syringes that are unused, wrong lab results, papers, wrappers, reagents) boxes of reagents.

Common Hazards Encountered

Electric shock Toxic vapors Compressed gases Flammable liquids Radioactive materials Corrosive substances Mechanical trauma Poisons Biological materialsRe

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Enforces regulations its issues about transporting all types of hazardous materials e.g. transport of laboratory specimens

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Enforces regulations under the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and other environmental statutes e.g. ventilation, air contamination, disposal of hazardous waste

achieved through the application of common sense, a safety-focused attitude, good personal behavior, good housekeeping in all laboratory work and storage areas, and above all, the continual practice of good laborátory technique

Laboratory Safety

Accumulation of Excessive Wastes

Only one waste container of each type should be in the laboratory. If an organic waste bottle is full, it should be sent to the stockroom for disposal Failure

True

True/False: Biochemical Wastes should be segregated based on their categories and source of generation

True

True/False: Biomedical Wastes could be collected within 24hrs.

False

True/False: Waste containers should be solid, therefore, it's normal to have rust.

False

True/False: Waste containers should not be solid so that there will be no cracks, rust, or deterioration.

False

True/False: Wastes should be brought to the stockroom instead of disposing it right away to prevent infections.

True

True/False: Wastes should be labeled with its full chemical names

Fire Extinguisher

Used to help identify the location of a single or multiple fire extinguishers. They are generally mounted 2 meters above floor level for visibility or adjacent to the fire extinguishers

Safety Goggles

Used to protect the eye against particles, glare and from things striking the eyes

Capping of Waste Bottles

Waste bottles should be capped to prevent the release of contents.

Biomedical Wastes

Wastes generated in diagnostic laboratories, including pathology laboratories, are considered biochemical wastes

Blood Bank

When tubing is returned to the blood bank with the needle attached, heat seal, clamp, or tie it, cut the tube, and discard it in a sharps container

Laboratory Wastes

are materials used to sustain laboratory operations that are no longer needed and would of discarded and dispose

Polyethylene Containers

best storage of wastes

Reagents and solutions should be labeled with

in a standard manner with the chemical identity, concentration, hazard warning, special handling, storage conditions, date prepared, expiration. date (if application), and preparer's initials

Laboratory Safety

is considered a legal responsibility of the employer as well as moral obligation to the employee

Flu virus

is transmitted thru direct contact

vinyl and nitrile gloves

not powdered gloves

latex gloves

powdered gloves

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

uses NFPA Diamond