LABORATORY SAFETY

Instrumentation & Quality Control

Dennis Espineli Salcedo, PhD

School of Medical Technology
Signage and Labeling
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
developed a standard hazards-identification
system (diamond-shaped, color- coded symbol)
• health hazards (blue quadrant), flammable
hazards (red quadrant), reactivity/stability
hazards (yellow quadrant), and other special
information (white quadrant).
• magnitude of severity, graded from a low of 0 to
a high of 4.
Safety Equipment
• All laboratories are required to have safety showers, eyewash stations,
and fire extinguishers and to periodically test and inspect the
equipment for proper operation
• It is recommended that safety showers deliver 30 to 50 gallons of
water per minute at 20 to 50 psi.
• Other items that must be available for personnel include fire blankets,
spill kits, and first aid supplies.
• Mechanical pipetting devices must be used for manipulating all types
of liquids in the laboratory, including water. Mouth pipetting is strictly
prohibited.
Fume Hoods
• Fume hoods are required to expel noxious and hazardous fumes from
chemical reagents.
• The velocity at the face of the hood (with the sash in normal operating
position) must be 100 to 120 feet per minute.
• The hood should never be operated with the sash fully opened.
• Smoke testing is recommended to locate no flow or turbulent areas in
the working space.
Biosafety Cabinets
• Biohazard hoods remove
particles that may be harmful
to the employee who is
working with infective
biologic specimens.
• The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the National
Institutes of Health have
described four levels of
biosafety
Biosafety Cabinets (cont’d)
Safety Cabinets
• Safety cabinets are required for the
storage of flammable liquids, and
only specially designed, explosion-
proof refrigerators should be used to
store flammable materials.
Personal Protective Equipment
• The parts of the body most frequently subject to injury in the clinical
laboratory are the eyes, skin, and respiratory and digestive tracts
• Safety glasses, goggles, visors, or work shields protect the eyes and
face from splashes and impact.
• Gloves and rubberized sleeves protect the hands and arms when using
caustic chemicals.
• Lab coats, preferably with knit-cuffed sleeves, should be full length
and buttoned and made of liquid-resistant material.
Personal Protective Equipment (cont’d)
•Donning PPE (Putting on) •Doffing PPE (Taking off)
•Perform hand hygiene •Remove shoe covers (if applicable)
•Put on shoe covers (if applicable) •Remove gown and gloves together*
•Put on gown •Perform hand hygiene
•Put on mask/respirator (if •Remove eye protection (if applicable)
applicable) •Remove mask/respirator (if
•Put on eye protection (if applicable)
applicable) •Perform hand hygiene
•Put on gloves
Proper Handwashing
When to Perform Handwashing?
Disease Transmission
• Respirators with high- efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters must be
worn when engineering controls are not feasible, such as when
working directly with patients with tuberculosis (TB) or when
performing procedures that may aerosolize specimens of patients with
a suspected or confirmed case of TB.
Biologic Safety
• General Considerations
• All specimen should be treated with universal
precautions
• PPEs must be worn
• Hand hygiene is essential
Spills
• Cleanup includes the following recommendations:
• Wear appropriate protective equipment.
• Use mechanical devices to pick up broken glass or other sharp objects.
• Absorb the spill with paper towels, gauze pads, or tissue.
• Clean the spill site using a common aqueous detergent.
• Disinfect the spill site using approved disinfectant or 10% bleach, using
appropriate contact time.
• Rinse the spill site with water.
• Dispose of all materials in appropriate biohazard containers.
Blood-borne Pathogens
• hepatitis, acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS), Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease, or other potentially infectious
diseases
Airborne Pathogens
• TB isolation areas with specific ventilation
controls must be established in health care
facilities. Those workers in high-risk areas may
be required to wear a respirator for protection.
Chemical Safety
Material Safety Data Sheet
• MSDS is a major source of safety information for employees who may
use hazardous materials in their occupations.
• Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, also
known as the laboratory standard, was enacted in May 1990 to provide
laboratories with specific guidelines for handling hazardous
chemicals.
MSDS information requirements includes the following:
• Product name and identification • Spill and disposal procedures
• Hazardous ingredients • PPE recommendations
• Permissible exposure limit (PEL) • Handling
• Physical and chemical data • Emergency and first aid procedures
• Health hazard data and • Storage and transportation precautions
carcinogenic potential • Chemical manufacturer’s name,
• Primary routes of entry address, and telephone number
• Fire and explosion hazards • Special information section
• Reactivity data
MSDS
Chemical Hygiene Plan
• This plan provides procedures and work practices for regulating and
reducing exposure of laboratory personnel to hazardous chemicals.
• Hazardous chemicals are those that pose a physical or health hazard
from acute or chronic exposure.
• Procedures describing how to protect employees against teratogens
(substances that affect cellular development in a fetus or embryo),
carcinogens, and other toxic chemicals must be described in the plan.
Storage and Handling of Chemicals
• Arrangements for the storage of chemicals
will depend on the quantities of chemicals
needed and the nature or type of chemicals.
• Storage should not be based solely on
alphabetical order because incompatible
chemicals may be stored next to each other
and react chemically.
Flammable/Combustible Chemicals
• Classified according to flash point, which is the
temperature at which sufficient vapor is given off to
form an ignitable mixture with air.
• A flammable liquid has a flash point below 37.8°C
(100°F) and combustible liquids have a flash point at or
above 37.8°C (100°F).
Corrosive Chemicals
• Corrosive chemicals are injurious to the skin or eyes
by direct contact or to the tissue of the respiratory and
gastrointestinal tracts if inhaled or ingested.
• Typical examples include:
 acids: acetic, sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric
 bases: ammonium hydroxide, potassium
hydroxide, and sodium hydroxide
Reactive Chemicals
• Reactive chemicals are substances that,
under certain conditions, can spontaneously
explode or ignite or that evolve heat or
flammable or explosive gases.
• Strong acids and bases with water
• Alkali metal with water or acids
• Mixture of oxidizing and reducing agents
Carcinogens
• Carcinogens are substances that have been
determined to be cancer-causing agents.
• Benzidine is a common example of a known
carcinogen.
Chemical Spills
• The first step should be to assist/evacuate
personnel, and then confinement and cleanup of
the spill can begin.
Radiation Safety
• Equipment often emits a variety of wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation that must be protected against through engineered shielding or
use of PPE.
Fire Safety
• Fire is basically a chemical reaction that
involves the rapid oxidation of a
combustible material or fuel, with the
subsequent liberation of heat and light.
• Three basic elements: heat, air, or fuel.
Classification of Fires
• Class A: ordinary combustible solid materials, such as
paper, wood, plastic, and fabric.
• Class B: flammable liquids/gases and combustible
petroleum products.
• Class C: energized electrical equipment.
• Class D: combustible/reactive metals, such as
magnesium, sodium, and potassium.
Types and Applications of Fire Extinguishers
• Body
Electrical Hazard
• Use only explosion-proof equipment in • Never operate electrical equipment with
hazardous atmospheres. wet hands.
• Be particularly careful when operating high- • Know the exact location of the electrical
voltage equipment, such as electrophoresis control panel for the electricity to your
apparatus. work area.
• Use only properly grounded equipment • Use only approved extension cords and do
(three-prong plug). not overload circuits. (Some local
• Check for frayed electrical cords. regulations prohibit the use of any
• Promptly report any malfunctions or extension cord.)
equipment producing a “tingle” for repair. • Have ground checks and other periodic
• Do not work on “live” electrical equipment. preventive maintenance performed on
equipment.
Compressed Gases Hazard
• Know the gas that you will use. • Make certain that acetylene tanks are
• Store tanks in a vertical position. properly piped (the gas is incompatible
with copper tubing).
• Keep cylinders secured at all times.
• Do not force a “frozen” or stuck cylinder
• Never store flammable liquids and valve.
compressed gases in the same area. • Use a hand truck to transport large tanks.
• Use the proper regulator for the type of • Always check tanks on receipt and then
gas in use. periodically for any problems such as leaks.
• Do not attempt to control or shut off gas • Make certain that the cylinder is properly
flow with the pressure relief regulator. labeled to identify the contents.
• Keep removable protection caps in place • Empty tanks should be marked “empty.”
until the cylinder is in use.
Cryogenic Materials Hazards
• Liquid nitrogen is probably one of the most widely used
cryogenic fluids (liquefied gases) in the laboratory.
• Fire or explosion, asphyxiation, pressure buildup,
embrittlement of materials, and tissue damage like that of
thermal burns.
Mechanical Hazards
• Laboratory personnel should be aware of the
mechanical hazards of equipment such as centrifuges,
autoclaves, and homogenizers.
Disposal of Hazardous Materials
• There are four basic waste-disposal techniques: flushing
down the drain to the sewer system, incineration, landfill
burial, and recycling.
Chemical Waste
• Possible reaction of chemicals in the drain and potential toxicity must be
considered when deciding if a particular chemical can be dissolved or
diluted and then flushed down the drain.
For example, sodium azide, which is used as a preservative, forms
explosive salts with metals, such as the copper, in pipes. Most
institutions ban the use of sodium azide due to this hazard.
• Solvents such as xylene and acetone may be filtered or redistilled for
reuse.
• Before disposal, hazardous substances that are explosive (e.g., peroxides)
and carcinogens should be transformed to less hazardous forms whenever
feasible.
Radioactive Waste
• The manner of use and disposal of isotopes depends on
the type of waste (soluble or nonsoluble), its level of
radioactivity, and the radiotoxicity and half-life of the
isotopes involved.
Biohazardous Waste
• Medical waste is defined as special waste from health care facilities
and is further defined as solid waste that, if improperly treated or
handled, “may transmit infectious diseases.”
• it comprises animal waste, bulk blood and blood products,
microbiologic waste, pathologic waste, and sharps.
• The approved methods for treatment and disposition of medical waste
are incineration, steam sterilization, burial, thermal inactivation,
chemical disinfection, or encapsulation in a solid matrix.
THANKS FOR LISTENING