CC LEC: LAB SAFETY

• Identify the safety equipment and personal safety equipment in the clinical laboratory

  Safety equipment and personal safety equipment must be found in the clinical laboratory
• Discuss laboratory safety practices and proper waste disposal

  Laboratory safety practices and proper waste disposal are discussed
• Cite the duties of medical laboratory scientists with regards to proper specimen collection, processing, and handling


  Duties of medical laboratory scientists with regards to proper specimen collection, processing, and handling are cited
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)


  Enacted by US Congress in 1970, goals: Provide all employees with a safe work environment
• Types of Hazards

  • Biological
  • Fire
  • Electrical
  • Chemical
  • Mechanical (Physical)
  • Radiation
  • Compressed gases
  • Cryogenic materials
  • Ergonomic
• Engineering Controls

  • Puncture-resistant containers
  • Safety needles
  • Biohazard bags
  • Splash guards
  • Volatile liquid carriers
  • Centrifuge safety buckets
  • Biological safety cabinets
  • Fume hoods
  • Mechanical pipetting devices
  • Computer wrist/ arm pads
  • Sensor-controlled sinks
  • Foot/knee/elbow-controlled faucets
• Employer’s Responsibilities

  • Establish lab work methods & safety policies
  • Provide supervision & guidance to employees
  • Provide safety info, training, PPE & medical surveillance to employees
  • Provide & maintain equipment & lab facilities that are adequate for the tasks required
• Employees must be notified of the potential health hazards of the handled chemicals
• Direct effects of chemical hazards: Shock, Burns, Death
• MSDS
• Establish guidelines on acceptability of blood samples submitted to Clinical Laboratory


  Guidelines on acceptability of blood samples submitted to Clinical Laboratory are established
• Identify the pre-analytical variables that may affect laboratory analyses & effects on test results

  Pre-analytical variables that may affect laboratory analyses & effects on test results are identified
• Classify potential clinical laboratory work hazards

  Potential clinical laboratory work hazards are classified
• Administrative Controls

  • Developing a chemical hygiene plan
  • Developing SOP for chemical handling
  • Warning alarms
  • Labeling systems
  • Trainings
• Employee’s Responsibilities

  • Know & comply with the established lab work safety methods
  • Have a positive attitude toward supervisors, coworkers, facilities & safety training
  • Give prompt notification of unsafe conditions or practices to the immediate supervisor and ensure that unsafe conditions and practices are corrected
  • Engage in the conduct of safe work practices and use of PPE
• Safety Hazards General Classification

  • Biological
  • Fire
  • Electrical
  • Chemical
  • Mechanical (Physical)
  • Radiation
  • Compressed gases
  • Cryogenic materials
  • Ergonomic
• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

  • Inspection
  • Accreditation
• Chemical storage equipment must be arranged & labelled accordingly
• 4 factors causing fire: Fuel, Heat, Oxygen, Uninhibited reaction
• Indirect effects of chemical hazards: Explosion, Fire
• General Classification of Safety Hazards

  • Biological Hazard
  • Fire Hazard
  • Electrical Hazard
  • Chemical Hazard
  • Mechanical Hazard
  • Radiation Hazard
• Direct effects of hazards

  • Shock
  • Burns
  • Death
• Needles should NOT be transported, recapped, bent, or broken by hand
• MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) must be provided
• Medical waste may transmit infectious disease
• Hazardous materials


  • Compressed Gases
  • Cryogenic Material
• Physical Hazards

  • Centrifugation lapses
  • Lab glassware
  • Liquid Nitrogen
• Factors causing fire

  • Fuel
  • Heat
  • Oxygen
  • Uninhibited reaction
• All compressed gases are hazardous because of the high pressures inside the cylinders
• Indirect effects of hazards

  • Explosion
  • Fire
• Ionizing radiation can damage living tissue in the human body
• Chemical storage equipment arrangement

  Must be arranged & labelled accordingly
• Discard sharps in puncture-resistant containers located within the work area
• Clinical Chemistry by Bishop: 'Safety begins with the recognition of hazards and is achieved through the application of: common sense, a safety-focused attitude, good personal behaviour, good housekeeping in all laboratory work and storage areas, and above all, the continual practice of good laboratory technique'
• Primary contributing factors to strain disorders

  • Posture/position
  • Applied force
  • Frequency of repetition
• Effects of exercise on the body


  Volume shifts between the vascular and interstitial compartments, volume loss by sweating and changes in hormone concentrations, Transient increased in lactate, fatty acid, ammonia, Long-term increased in CPK, AST, LD and aldolase, Increased prolactin, testosterone and leutenizing hormone (LH), Elevated levels of proteins in urine (proteinuria), Vigorous hand exercise (fist clenching) increases potassium, lactate and phosphate, Decreased plasma levels of FSH and LH in long distance athletes
• Effects of diet on test results
• Patient preparation

  Factors contributing to the variation of results: Exercise, Fasting, Diet, Posture and Position, Tourniquet application, Tobacco Smoking, Alcohol ingestion, Stress (anxiety), Drugs
• Prevention strategies for strain disorders

  1. Job rotation to minimize repetitive tasks (work practice controls)

  2. Computer wrist/arm pads (engineering controls)
• Hazards of compressed gases

  • High pressures inside the cylinders
  • Physical Hazards
  • Mechanical Hazard
  • Radiation Hazard
  • Causes strain disorders