2 LAB SAFETY AND REGULATION

• Employer and employee share safety responsibility
• Employer has ultimate responsibility for safety and delegates authority for safe operations to supervisors
• Safety management in the laboratory should start with a written safety policy
• Laboratory supervisors are essential members of the safety program
• Employee's Responsibility:

  • Know and comply with established laboratory work safety methods
  • Have a positive attitude towards supervisors, co-workers, facilities, and safety training
  • Give prompt notification of unsafe conditions or practices to the immediate supervisor and ensure corrections
  • Engage in the conduct of safe work practices and use of PPEs
• Employer's Responsibility:

  • Establish laboratory work methods and safety policies
  • Provide supervision and guidance to employees
  • Provide safety information, training, personal protective equipment, and medical surveillance to employees
  • Provide and maintain adequate equipment and laboratory facilities
• Regulations:

  • Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA Act) aims to provide all employees with a safe work environment
  • Bloodborne Pathogens Compliance Directive requires personnel service firms to provide hepatitis B vaccinations, post-exposure evaluation, and follow-up
  • Hazard Communication Standard ensures evaluation and transmission of hazard information for chemicals used in the workplace
  • Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals (OSHA Lab Standard) addresses handling of hazardous chemicals in laboratories
• Types of Safety Hazards:

  • Biological Hazard: potential pathogens in healthcare settings
  • Chemical Fume Hoods and Biosafety Hoods: used for hazardous fumes and biologically infected specimens
  • Handwashing: essential to prevent infection transmission
  • Sharp Hazard: includes needles, lancets, and broken glassware
  • Chemical Hazard: spills, handling, chemical hygiene plan, labeling, MSDS
  • Radioactive Hazard: encountered in clinical labs using radioisotopes
  • Electrical Hazard: actions to take if electrical shock occurs
  • Fire/Explosive Hazard: elements essential to begin a fire
  • Physical Hazard: routine precautions apply
• General Laboratory Rules:

  • Never eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum in the laboratory
  • Never place food or beverages in a refrigerator used for storing reagents or specimens
  • Always wear appropriate lab attire and personal protective equipment
  • Maintain personal hygiene and grooming standards
  • Follow specific safety protocols for different laboratory activities
• Bloodborne Pathogens

  ● OSHA bloodborne Pathogen Compliance Directive, published November 5, 1999. ● Establishes the responsibilities of personnel service firms to provide hepatitis B vaccinations, post exposure evaluation and follow-up and record keeping on their employees.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act

  ● Public law 91-596 (OSHA Act) ● Their goal is to provide all employees with a ● safe work environment. ● Authorized to conduct on-site-inspection to determine whether an employer is complying with the mandatory standards.
• Universal Precaution

  ● All human blood, tissue and most fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV and other blood borne pathogens
• Hazard Communication

  ● AKA “OSHA HazCom Standard” ● Intended to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals used in the workplace have been evaluated and that this hazard information is successfully transmitted to employers and their employees who use the substances
• Safety Equipment

  • Safety showers
  • Eyewash stations
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Blankets
  • Spill kits
  • First aid supply
• TYPES OF BIOSAFETY HAZARD

  1. Biological
  2. Sharp
  3. Chemical
  4. Radioactive
  5. Electrical
  6. Fire/Explosive
  7. Physical
• BIOLOGICAL HAZARD

  ● Health care setting as a source of potential pathogen ● ROT - in breaking the chain of infection ● Susceptible – infected host in continuing infection cycle
• PREPARATIONPREPARATION OF DILUTED HOUSEHOLD BLEACH

  Volume of bleach is 1mL

  Volume of H2O is 9mL

  Ratio is 1:10

  Sodium Hypochlorite is 0.5%

  Solution is 10%
• ● FUME HOODS ○ Used when chemical reagents may produce hazardous fume

  ● BIOSAFETY HOODS ○ Remove particles that may infect the person working with the biologically infected specimen.
• Hand contact is the primary method of infection transmission. Laboratory personnel must always wash hands after gloves are removed, prior to leaving the work area, at any time when hands have been knowingly contaminated, before going to designated break areas, and before and after using bathroom facilities
• SHARP HAZARD

  ● Includes needles, lancets, and broken glassware ● Must be disposed in puncture – resistant containers ● Use mechanical device to pick-up sharps
• CHEMICAL HAZARD

  ● Chemical spills ● Chemical handling ● Chemical hygiene plan as required by OSHA ● Chemical Labeling ● MSDS ○ Physical and chemical characteristics ○ Fire and explosion potential ○ Reactivity potential ○ Health hazards & Emergency first aid procedures ○ Methods for safe handling and disposal
• HAZARDS-IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

  ○ Developed by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ○ Diamond shaped, color coded symbol - Show magnitude of severity from 0-4
• RADIOACTIVE HAZARD

  ● Radioactivity is encountered in the clinical laboratory when procedures using radioisotopes are performed. ● Radioactivity present in the clinical laboratory is very small ○ Time ○ Distance ○ Shielding
• Actions to Take if Electrical Shock Occurs:

  ● Shut off the source of electricity. ● If the source of electricity cannot be shut off, use non-conducting material (e.g., hand inside a glass beaker) to remove the source of electricity from the victim. ● Call for medical assistance. ● Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation if indicated. ● Keep the victim warm
• Fire is a chemical reaction that involves the rapid oxidation of combustible material or fuel, with the subsequent liberation of heat and light.
• ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO BEGIN FIRE

  ○ Fuel ○ Heat / ignition source – Oxygen ○ Reaction chain – burning continues and even accelerates.
• Physical hazards are not unique to the laboratory, and routine precautions observed outside the workplace apply.
• R - rescue

  A - alarm

  C - contain

  E - extinguish
• P - pull

  A - aim

  S - squeeze

  S - sweep
• Never eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum in the laboratory. Avoid putting pencils or pens in the mouth
• Do not place food or beverages in a refrigerator used for storing reagents or specimens
• Avoid applying cosmetics, handling contact lenses, or rubbing eyes in the laboratory
• Avoid wearing long chains, large or dangling earrings, or loose bracelets in the laboratory
• Always wear a fully buttoned lab coat when engaged in lab activities. Do not wear a lab coat to lunch, on break, or when leaving the lab to go home. Personal protective equipment should not be worn outside the designated area for its use
• Always tie back hair that is longer than shoulder length
• ● Always keep fingernails short and well manicured. Do not wear nail polish or artificial nails. Never bite nails or cuticles. ● Always wear a face shield when performing specimen processing or any activity that might generate a splash or aerosol of bodily fluids. ● Always wear gloves for phlebotomy procedures and when processing specimens.
• REGULATIONS

  1. OSHA
  2. Bloodborne Pathogens
  3. Universal Precautions
  4. Hazard Communication
  5. Occupational Exposure to hazardous chemical