‫ تقنيات المختبرات الطبية‬/ ‫كلية النسور الجامعة‬

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Biosafety and Waste Management

Why Is Safety Important?

 Coming in contact with human blood or blood products (plasma, serum, etc.),
or with certain chemicals used in the laboratory, is potentially hazardous.

 Safety involves taking precautions to protect you and coworkers against

infection, injury or poisoning.

What Else Needs Protection?

 Other people who may come in contact with testing by-products

 Protect integrity of test products

 Protect environment from hazardous material

 Protect other people from infection

 Never leave blood spills that could infect others.

 Always seal contaminated waste – you don’t want to risk infecting the
person who removes contaminated waste from the lab.

 Protect integrity of test products

 It is important not to contaminate unused testing materials.

 If a piece of equipment or chemical is contaminated by a drop of blood

from a previous specimen, the test may not yield accurate result when
used on the next specimen.

 Protect the environment from hazardous material

 Care should be taken to avoid transferring contaminated materials into

areas outside of the testing area.

Universal or Standard Precautions

Every specimen should be treated as it is infectious …why ?

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Apply Safety Practices Throughout the Testing Process

 Before Testing (Pre-analytical)

– Specimen collection

– Specimen preparation

– Specimen transport

specimens shall be transported in a manner to prevent contamination of

workers, patients, environment

– Use appropriate packing containers

– Follow national and international postal and transport regulations

 Testing (Analytical)… Apply safety rules when performing testing of blood.

 After Testing (Post-analytical)…

– Clean up working area

– Properly dispose of contaminated waste

Develop Personal Safe Work Habits

 Wash hands before and after entering the lab

 Change gloves frequently

 Wear lab coat or apron

 Dispose of contaminated sharps and waste immediately after testing

 Why do testers need to wash their hands between testing each client?
 Why do we need to wear fresh gloves for each new client?
 Why wear lab coat or apron?
 Why do we need to get rid (or not re-use) of used sharp objects such as
needles or lancets?
 Pipetting by mouth is strictly forbidden
 Never eat, drink or smoke at the test site
 Keep food out of the laboratory/testing site refrigerator

 Why is pipetting by mouth strictly forbidden?

 Why is eating, drinking, or smoking not allowed in the test site?
 Why is it important to keep food away from the testing area or a refrigerator
that contains blood samples?

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Maintain Clean and Orderly Work Space

 Keep work areas clean

 Disinfect work surfaces daily

 Restrict or limit access when working

 Keep supplies locked in a safe and secure area

 Keep emergency eye wash units in working order and within expiry date

Proper disposal of sharps and waste

Take Precautions to Avoid Needle Stick Injury

What can cause needle stick injury?

 Lack of concentration, One should focus on where the needle is, one’s hand,
and client’s hand. Don’t let yourself be distracted

 Inexperience ,Only people who have received appropriate training should

perform the finger-stick procedure

• Improper disposal of sharps:Always get rid of used needles or lancets

according to proper procedures. Place used lancets in the sharps disposal
container.

– Do not leave used needles or lancets lying around.

– Clean up after each client.

Drop Used Sharps in Special Containers

All sharp containers should have:

• A lid

• Puncture-proof or thick walls

• A large enough hole for lancets and needles

• Leak proof sides and bottom

• A label or color code indicating bio-hazard material

• Sufficient quantity available at each testing site

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 • Do Not break, bend, re-sheath or reuse lancets, syringes or needles

• Do Not shake sharps containers to create space because this leads to formation
of aerosols. Aerosols are tiny invisible droplets in the air that can also carry
infectious agents/pathogens.

Never Place Needles or Sharps in Office Waste Containers

Improper disposal of objects when sharps are mixed with non-sharp items and
opening exposed, posing a potential hazard.Contaminated waste should be kept
separate for office waste. It is the tester’s responsibility not to put any other persons at
risk of infection.

Sharps Containers Must Be:

1. Placed near workspace

2. Closed when not in use
3. Sealed when ¾ full

Incineration of Waste

Incineration is burning of contaminated waste to destroy and kill micro-organisms.

contaminated waste should be burned to completion. By completion it is ineffective to be
re-used

 Protects environment
 Must be supervised

Disinfection of work areas

Disinfection with bleach:

 Kills germs and pathogens

 Keeps work surface clean

 Prevents cross-contamination

 Reduces risks of infection

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For spills, you should use a 10% bleach solution. The larger the spill, the longer the
contact with the 10% bleach solution.

For general disinfection purposes use a 1% solution. For example, wiping down all
surfaces at the end of the day.

You should have 10% bleach readily available at your test site. Make fresh every
day.

In Case of a Spill or Splash

 Evacuate Room and notify others to leave the room and post a warning sign
for No entry

 Remove all contaminated clothing and /or lab coat and place in a biohazard
bag

 Wash all exposed skin with antiseptic soap and water

 Inform supervisor

 Decontaminate the area: Assemble clean-up materials

– Large spill - Cover with paper towels and soak with 10% household
bleach and allow to stand for 10-30 minutes

– Small spill - Wipe with paper towel soaked in 10% bleach

 Dispose all contaminated towels in biohazard bag and dispose it properly

safety documentation

In Case of an Accident

 What types of accidents can happen?

– Potential Injury, i.e., needlesticks, falls

– Environmental, i.e., splashes or spills

– Equipment damage

– What should you do?

– Report to supervisor immediately

– Assess & take action

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 – Record using form

– Monitor situation

Action Plan for Implementing Safety Practices

 Identify hazards

 Establish and implement safety polices and procedures

 Conduct safety specific training

– Must be a priority

– Communication is key

 Perform regular audits or assessments