LAB SAFETY

DR APARNA GOPINATH
REFERENCES
• Mackie and McCartney Practical Medical Microbiology 14th edition
• Konemans Color Atlas and Textbook of Medical Microbiology
• World Health Organization (WHO) Laboratory biosafety manual 2020
Infective and Non infective dangers
Cuts,Electric shock,Fire,Explosion of gases, burning by corrosive
chemical and chronic poisoning from exposure to toxic chemicals
• Biosafety programme management:
• The development, implementation and oversight of biosafety at the
organizational level using a variety of information that includes
institutional policies, guidance documents for practices and
procedures, planning documents (training, recruitment,
emergency/incident response) and record keeping (personnel,
inventories, incident management).
Good safety organization

Lab Manager Safety Officer Laboratory Director

• provide for a safe • Safety standards and • Overall responsibility
working environment guidelines are for safety
written and • Sets up Safety
published committee
• schedules laboratory • Local codes of
safety courses and practices.
meetings • Documentation of
lab procedures
General safety precautions
• 1. Personal protective equipment (surgical gloves, lab coats, etc.)
should be worn when indicated. Laboratory coats should be worn
(with buttons closed) at all times while in the laboratory, and removed
when leaving the laboratory.
• 3. Personal habits and grooming must be put in perspective.
• Long hair must be tied such that it will not interfere with equipment
or reagents.
• Application of cosmetics in the work area is prohibited.
• Sandals and open-style shoes do not afford proper foot protection
and are not acceptable.
• Fingers, pencils, and other implements should not be placed in the
mouth.
• 4.Contact lenses, especially the soft type, absorb certain solvents and
may be a hazard after splashes and spills. Employees are strongly
advised not to wear contact lenses in the laboratory, or to wear
safety glasses when working with caustic or infective materials.

• 5. Eating or storing food and beverages in the laboratory or in

refrigerators used for specimens or laboratory materials is not
permitted.

• 6. Pipetting by mouth of any material is absolutely prohibited.

• 7. Laboratory personnel with current skin infections, acute respiratory
infections, or other contagious diseases should avoid patient contact. If such
infections (e.g., influenza) place coworkers at risk, then the affected
employee should not come to work.

• 8. It is important that laboratory workers know the characteristics of all

materials in use, so appropriate precautions can be taken during use and
disposal. The manufacturer is required to provide this information in material
safety data sheets (MSDS). These sheets should be maintained in one
location in the laboratory and readily available to everyone in the laboratory.

• 9. Appropriate labels and signs must be placed on all specimens or

instruments and in all areas of the laboratory where they are necessary for
maintenance of a safe work environment.
COLLECTION AND TRANSPORT OF
SPECIMENS
• Avoid unnecessary contamination of the material / self infection by spillage,
aerosol or splashing to eye,contamination of broken skin,needle stick injury.

• Transfer specimen to robust container.

• Close tightly- avoid leakge

• Label containers
• Request forms – separate
• Container- upright
Reception of Specimens
• Specimens received in dedicated reception area.
• Gown and gloves

• If leakage;senior member of staff decides if it can be discarded or replaced.

• Take to BSC Transfer to fresh container

• Cover potentially infected spillage with cloth / tissue soaked in disinfectant

and leave for 10 minutes before mopping up and place in an infected waste
container.
CENTRIFUGE
• 1. Use only with sealable safety buckets and interlocking lids.

• 2. Before centrifuging any item, check tubes, vials, or bottles for cracks.
Periodically replace the rubber cushions in the bottoms of the trunnions
and remove any material that should not be present (e.g., broken glass).

• 3. properly balanced before use

• 4. Wait for the centrifuge to come to a complete stop before opening the
lid to remove samples.
• 5. If breakage of a tube occur in the centrifuge, first turn off the
instrument, wait at least 20 minutes before opening the lid, and, after
donning mask and gloves, thoroughly clean and disinfect the inside of
the centrifuge.
Syringes and Needles
• Sharps and needles – avoided
• Use disposable plastic syringes
• Ensure needle is firmly attached
• When expelling air bubbles, embed the needle in sterile swab to soak
escaping fluid.
• After use, empty residual contents slowly into disinfectant.
• Discard syringe with attached needle, as for sharps into a robust
container for incineration.
Glassware

1. Discard all chipped or cracked glassware in appropriate

containers.
2. Pick up broken glass with a brush and pan; do not use hands.

3. Glass articles should not be discarded in the sink or loosely

in a wastebasket where paper articles are being discarded..
Discarded Culture tubes and plates
• Collected in stainless steel pails or in autoclavable plastic bags
Spill Response
• Personnel must immediately vacate the affected area.

• Exposed persons should be referred immediately for medical evaluation.

• The room containing the spill should not be entered for a length of time that
allows aerosols to be carried away and heavier particles to settle.

• Signs must be posted indicating entry is forbidden.

• The laboratory supervisor and the biosafety officer must be informed as

soon as possible after the event has occurred
Blood spill
• SMALL SPILLS - <10ml
• Caution sign board
• Personal Protective Equipments
• Keep absorbent papers handy with PPE
• Gather absorbent papers in yellow bag
• Clean area with new absorbent papers
• Remove PPE and bag it appropriately
• Create and Fill the Incident form
• Caution sign board
• Personal Protective Equipments
• Keep absorbent papers handy with PPE
• Gather absorbent papers in yellow bag
• Clean area with new absorbent papers
• Pour Hypochlorite solution and let it rest x20 minutes
• Remove PPE and bag it appropriately
• Create and Fill the Incident form
Pipetting
• Use rubber teat or automatic suction device, never mouth.
• Donot draw fluids to the top or donot draw bubbles through tube.
• While transferring fluid place tip of pipette within the mouth of
container in contact with wall and gently run down the fluid.
• Donot let drops to fall
• Contaminted pipette kept submerged into a jar of disinfectant.
 Electrical Safety
1. All personnel should know the location of master switches and circuit breaker boards. Do
not attempt to repair any instrument while it is still plugged in.

2. Plugs or cords that are broken, frayed, or worn should not be used.
3. Outlets must not be overloaded.

4. All cord and plug-type electrical equipment should have grounded power cords and plugs.
All shocks, including small tingles, must be immediately investigated.
Corridor Cautions

1. Open doors into corridors with caution. Watch out for swinging doors. If there is a
window in the door, look out to be certain the way is clear before opening the doors.

2. Keep to the right when approaching corridor intersections and when using stairways.
Walk, never run, in halls, rooms, and stairwells. Appropriately placed mirrors provide
images of potential traffic on crossing corridors.

3. Watch for hall hazards such as beds, carts, or tables. Watch out for articles on the
floor, such as paper clips, electrical cords, loose tiles, and spilled liquids. Corridors
should not be used for the storage of equipment, as this represents a hazard,
particularly to egress in the event of a fire.
Fire safety

• Fire evacuation plan

• Fire drills – quarterly/ annually
• Trained to use fire extinguishers
• In case of fire  RACE
1. Rescue any injured individuals
2. Activate the fire alarm
3. Contain (smother) the fire, if feasible
4. Extinguish the fire, if possible
Post exposure control

• All laboratory accidents and potential exposures 

reported to the supervisor and safety officer  immediately
send the individual to employee health or an outside
occupational health physician

• Immediate medical care

• Discuss the potential for disease transmission to family

members
• Assess follow up treatment

• Safety committee, or at least the laboratory director and

safety officer – review the events of the accident –
determine if it could have been avoided and to delineate
measures to prevent future accidents

• Investigation & corrective action – documented in an

incident report
TYPE FACE VELOCITY AIR FLOW RADIONUCLIDES/ BIOSAFETY PRODUCT(SPECI
(LFPM) PATTERN TOXIC LEVELS MEN)
CHEMICALS PROTECTION

CLASS I 75 IN AT NO 2,3 NO
FRONT;REAR AND
TOP THROUGH
HEPA FILTER

CLASS II A1 75 70% NO 2,3 YES

RECIRCULATED
THROUGH HEPA
CLASS II A2 100 70% YES (LOW LEVELS) 2,3 YES
RECIRCULATED
THROUGH HEPA

CLASS II B1 100 30% YES 2,3 YES

RECIRCULATED
THROUGH HEPA

CLASS II B2 100 NO YES 2,3 YES

RECIRCULATION
CLASS III NA YES 3,4 YES
Spills on the table tops/ sinks This spill shall be covered with
filter papers or plain cloth and soaked with 1% hypochlorite
solution for at least 30 minutes and later swabbed.
Hypochlorite/ detergent solution 0.5 - 1.0 percent solution of
hypochlorite is the best general-purpose disinfectant if contact
is maintained for at least 30 minutes (except for metallic
equipment which could be autoclaved or put in 2%
glutaraldehyde).