SAFETY IN LABORATORIES

Safety in the laboratory is the responsibility of all who work in it, whether management or staff.
The basis of good practice is the identification and assessment of risks and the devising of
procedures to minimize them.Biological safety cabinet (BSC) A BSC is a device that encloses a
work space in such a way so as to protect workers from aerosol exposure to infectious disease
agents
 Potential risks in a laboratory (Major Hazards)
• Accidental ingestion of microorganisms by putting pens or fingers in the mouth.
• Inhalation of aerosols produced during centrifugation, vortexing or spills of liquid
cultures.
• Needle stick injury.
• Rubbing the eyes or nose with contaminated hands.
The 5 most frequently acquired lab infections are:
• Shigellosis • Salmonellosis •
Tuberculosis
• Brucellosis • Hepatitis.

 Standard Precautions
Earlier known as "Universal precautions". The essentials of standard precautions
and safe laboratory work practices are as follows:
• Do not eat, drink, smoke or apply cosmetics (including lip balm).
• Do not insert or remove contact lenses.
• Do not bite nails or chew on pens.
• Do not mouth pipette.
• Limit access to the laboratory to trained personnel only.
• Assume all patients are infectious for HIV, hepatitis or other blood borne
pathogens.
• Use appropriate barrier precautions to prevent skin and mucous membrane
exposure, including wearing gloves at all times and if there is a risk of splashes or
droplet formation wear masks, goggles, gown or aprons .
• Thoroughly wash hand and other skin surfaces after any contamination.
• Take special care to avoid injuries with sharp objects such as needles and
scalpels. The CDC standard precautions should be followed for handling blood
and body fluids including semen, saliva from dental procedure and vaginal
secretion.
Standard precautions do not apply to faeces, nasal secretions, saliva (except in
dental procedures), sputum, sweat, tears, urine and vomitus unless they are grossly
bloody.
All personnel should wash their hands with soap and water after removing
gloves, handling infectious material, and before leaving the laboratory area.

 General laboratory directions for safety :-

• Each laboratory should have a written manual of safe laboratory practices which
should be followed at all times.
• The laboratory should have a first aid box and atleast one staff member trained in
first aid.
• Fire extinguishers and sand buckets should be readily available throughout the
work area and staff should known how to use the equipment.
• Flammables should be stored in a special cabinet.
• Laboratory doors should be self closing.
• Protective clothing should be worn and removed before leaving the laboratory.
• Do not leave the work place or walk around the laboratory wearing gloves.
• Disinfect benches before the start and end of each days work by swabbing with
70% alcohol or 1% hypochlorite solution.
• All health care workers should be vaccinated for hepatitis B.
• There should be an effective insect and rodent control programme as per
standard recommendation.
The safety officer should review and discuss safety regulations from time to time
and modify any regulations which are not helping to promote safety.
If a laboratory accident has occurred recently, the causative factor should be
discussed and if required new safety measures introduced to help prevent
recurrence.

 Routine Safety Precautions

Centrifugation Before centrifuging any item, check tubes,
vials or bottles for cracks .
• Preferably use plastic screw cap containers
that are less likely to break. Do not fill
the container /tube more than three quarters.
• Always balance the tubes symmetrically.
• Wait for the centrifuge to come to a complete
stop before opening the lid to
remove samples.
• In case of breakage of tube in a centrifuge
wait for atleast 30 minutes before
opening the lid to allow any aerosol to settle
down and then disinfect the inside
with an appropriate disinfectant.

Pipetting • Use a mechanical device eg. rubber teat.

Never mouth pipette.
• When transferring fluid to another container
first place the tip of the pipette within
the mouth of the container in contact with the
wall of the receptacle and then let
the contents run gently down the wall.
• Do not blow out the residual fluid.
• Do not put the contaminated pipette in a rack
or on the bench, but gently into a
jar of disinfectant.
Sharps (Needles and Glassware)
Electrical Safety
Mishaps with infective material
Spillages
Discard Jars
• All broken glassware should be discarded in a
puncture proof container.
• Do not recap used needles and do not remove
needles from syringes.
• Needles should be destroyed in the needle
destroyer and syringes
decontaminated before final disposal
• Plugs or cords that are broken, frayed or worn
out should not be used.
• All plugs should be the three prong, grounded
type.
• All sockets should be checked for electrical
grounding.
• No extension cords should be used in the
laboratory
• Encourage cuts and puncture wounds to bleed
and then wash with soap and
water.
• Cuts on hands should be adequately covered
with adhesive bandages.
• If the eye is splashed rinse at once with tap
water or irrigating solution from the
lab first aid kit.
• If the skin is soiled with infective material,
rinse with 70% alcohol or dilute
hypochlorite solution and then with soap and
water
• Spillages should be covered by absorbent
paper (tissue paper, blotting paper,
newspaper) or cloth dipped in disinfectant for
30 minutes.
• If there is a spillage with a potentially
infectious organism, evacuate the room for
atleast one hour to allow possible aerosol to be
dispersed & fumigate the room.
• Report all mishaps to the infection control
officer
• Contents of the discard jars should be
emptied and the discard jar should be
thoroughly cleaned.
• It should be filled with either 5%
hypochlorite or 5% phenolic disinfectant where
tubercle bacilli may be present.
• Jars should contain enough disinfectant to
cover all the contents.
• Discarding should be done carefully to avoid
splashing.