Critical Thinking

1. Give examples of biological, chemical, fire, electrical and mechanical hazards in the
clinical laboratory.

BIOLOGICAL HAZARD – blood borne pathogens are one of the major biological hazards.

CHEMICAL HAZARD – inhaling corrosive chemicals such as sulfuric acid.

FIRE HAZARD – careless use of Bunsen burner can cause unfortunate fire hazard.

ELECTRICAL HAZARD – unintentional usage of frayed wires inside the laboratory can cause
electrical hazard.

MECHANICAL HAZARD – operating a unbalanced centrifuge can cause a mechanical hazard.

2. Why it is necessary to add acid to water and not water to acid?

- It is important that we add acid to water than the other way around because adding
water to acid can cause the solution to have an exothermic reaction, releasing heat,
sometimes boiling the liquid.

3. How do you prevent aerosolization during centrifugation?

To prevent aerosolization during centrifugation, we can follow these percussions:

- Use unbreakable tubes (i.e., not glass).
- Avoid overfilling the tubes.
- Use centrifuge tubes with o-ring screw caps.
- Ensure that the centrifuge is properly balanced.
- Use outer, sealable safety cups and load/unload them only in a biological safety cabinet.
- Do not open the lid during or immediately after operation. Allow the centrifuge to come
to a complete stop and wait at least 30 minutes before opening. This allows time for
aerosols to settle if leakage or breakage occurred during the centrifugation run.
- Never exceed the specified speed limitations of the rotor as listed in the owner’s manual.
 - Decontaminate the inside and outside of the cups or buckets before and after use and
inspect seals regularly for deterioration. Replace as needed.
- When possible, install the centrifuge in an enclosed, specially ventilated area that
discharges air from the space through a HEPA filter.

4. What is the immediate step to be done if your skin comes in contact with chemicals?

- In the unfortunate instance that we come in to contact to a harmful chemical,

immediately flush the contaminated area with running water it minimized the possible
harmful effect of the chemical to our skin.

5. How are volatile solvents handled in the laboratory?

- volatile solvents must be handled correctly by storing them to a well-covered container

within a proper temperature.

6. Explain how to contain blood and body fluid spills.

- When containing a blood or any body fluids spills, we need to remove as much fluid as
possible using a paper towel. Cleaning the area with detergent and water will be a great
help and by finishing with soaking the area with a 10% common house hold bleach. And
if a suspected HBV infection to the blood soak the area for 10 minutes, and 2 minutes
for HIV infected blood.

7. Explain how to safely remove specimens from a centrifuge.

- To safely remove the specimen from a centrifuge, we need to wait until the centrifuge
come into a complete stop before we can open the machine. After that we need to make
sure that we are wearing the proper gloves before we can safely remove the sample and
rotor. Do not leave the centrifuge unclean make sure to remove all the possible leaks
and spillage. After we remove the specimen successfully, we finish it off by washing our
hands after removing our gloves.

8. Define the following terms:

a. Reagent – it is a substance used (as in detecting or measuring a component, in

preparing a product, or in developing photographs) because of its chemical or
biological activity.

b. Chemicals - A chemical is any substance that has a defined composition. It can

be found in the nature or artificially made.
 c. Solute – it is a dissolved substance especially a component of a solution present
in smaller amount than the solvent.

d. Solvent – it is usually a liquid substance capable of dissolving or dispersing one

or more other substance. The best example of this is a water.

9. Describe the physical forms of chemicals.

The 3 physical forms of chemicals are the following:

Solid – example of this are dust, fume, fibers, powder
Liquid – this can be liquid bleach, washing detergent
Gas – carbon monoxide is one of the best examples.

10. Mention the important information found on the label of reagent bottle.

- Information that is important in the reagent bottle should indicates its identity, titer or
concentration, storage requirements, and expiration date." The signature or initials of the
person transferring the reagent and the date of the transfer must also be included.

11. Describe the storage of the following chemicals.

a. Acids - Large bottles of acids should be stored on lower shelves or in acid cabinets.
Oxidizing acids should be segregated from organic acids, flammables, and
combustible materials. Acids should be segregated from bases and active metals
such as sodium, magnesium and potassium.

b. Bases - Bases should be stored away from acids. Large bottles of bases should be
stored on lower shelves or in a corrosive cabinet. Bases should be stored in
chemical resistant trays that are capable of containing any spillage or leakage from
their container.

c. Flammable solvents - Keep flammable and combustible liquids away from an

ignition source. Remember that most flammable vapors are heavier than air and can
travel to ignition sources. All chemical containers must be in closed containers. This
is especially true with flammable liquids stored in refrigerators or freezers.

d. Fuming and volatile chemicals - Volatile or highly odorous chemicals should be

stored in a ventilated cabinet. Chemical fume hoods shall not be used for storage.
Chemicals should be dated upon receipt. This is especially important for peroxide-
forming chemicals such as ethers, dioxane, isopropanol, and tetrahydrofuran