laboratory management

Laboratory Management

HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACEOSHA PATHOGEN REGULATIONSMANAGEMENT OF LABORATORY SAFETY

Hazards in the Workplace

1. Biological Hazards2. Chemical Hazards3. Electrical Hazards4. Fire Hazards5. Glassware Hazards


Chemical Hazards

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): describes hazards, safety handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemicals.

designed to ensure that lab workers are fully aware of hazards associated w/ chemicals in workplace

United Nations Hazard ClassificationClosest to ideal classification system:Standard, universally recognized hazard classification system

Readily understood everywhere & minimizes ambiguities

Hazards in Workplace

U.N. Hazard Classification:

1. Explosives (ex. sodium azide)2. Compressed Gases (ex. ethelyn [cryogenic])3. Flammable liquids (ex. alcohol)4. Flammable solids (ex. magnesium)5. Oxidizing materials (ex. nitrites)6. Poisonous materials (ex. benzene)7. Radioactive materials (ex. iodine)8. Corrosive materials (ex. HCl)9. Other (ex. mercury)


NFPA 704. Identification of the Hazards of Materials

Designed to be: simple, easily understood
interpreted quickly in poor light
adequate for emergencies

Diamond identifies the chemical hazards under:
1. health (blue)
2. flammability (red)
3. reactivity (yellow)
4. other (white)

Indicate severity of each: 0-4 scale
0: lowest degree of hazard
4: highest degree of hazard


Corrosives: acids/bases causing 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burns 24 hours after contact

Toxic Substances (Poisons):

Should always be handled under a hood

Threshold Limit Values (TLV)Max allowable safe-exposure limits to toxic materials

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)level & duration of allowable exposures to OSHA-regulated toxic chemicals


Explosives: primarily defines a set of conditions, not a chemical type

All flammable chemicals must be kept away from oxidizing agents

Oxidizers: materials that contain Oxygen available to react w/ reducing materials to yield an overall net energy release

Should be handled under a hood w/ sash lowered


Electric Hazards

Do not handle electrical equipment and connections w/ wet hands

Electrical equipment should not be used after liquid has been spilled on it

Any equipment used in an area where organic solvents are present must have explosion-free fittings (e.g., outlets, plugs)

OSHA requires grounding electrical equipment


Fire Hazards:

Class A Ordinary CombustiblesClass B Flammable Liquids & GasesClass C Electrical EquipmentClass D Powdered metal (Combustible) MaterialClass E Cannot be extinguishedUse of fire extinguishers: PASS
Pull
Aim
Squeeze
Sweep


Glassware Hazards

Discard broken glassware in special container for broken glass

Common sense when storing glassware:Heavy pieces on lower shelves

Tall pieces behind shorter ones

Should not be stored out of reach

Shelves should be installed at reasonable heights

OSHA Pathogen Regulations

The OSHA-mandated program, Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens, became law in March 1992

This regulation requires that laboratories:

Develop, implement, and comply with a plan that ensure the protective safety of laboratory staff to potential infectious bloodborne pathogens

Manage and handle medical waste in a safe and effective manner


Government regulations require:

All employees handling hazardous material and waste to be trained to use and handle these materials

Chemical hazard education sessions must be presented to new employees and conducted annually for all employees

Each laboratory required to evaluate effectiveness of its plan at least annually to update it as necessary

Written plan must be available to employees


Written laboratory plan must include:

Purpose & Scope of plan

References

Definition of terms

Definition of Responsibilities

Detailed procedural steps to follow


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends safety precaution concerning the handling of all patient specimens, known as:

STANDARDS PRECAUTIONAll human blood and other body fluids are treated as potentially infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne microorganisms that can cause disease in humansFormerly: Universal Precaution/
Universal blood & body fluid precaution

Eliminates need for separate isolation procedures for patients known/suspected to be infectious

Eliminates need for warning labels on specimens


Purpose of standards for bloodborne pathogens & occupational exposure:

To provide a safe work environment

OSHA mandates that an employer:

1. Educate & train all health care workers in
Standard Precautions and preventing
bloodborne infections2. Provide proper equipment & supplies
(e.g., gloves)3. Monitor compliance w/ the protective
biosafety policies

Management of Laboratory Safety

The Safety Manual should:

be prepared by every laboratory & available to all employees be tailored to circumstance of respective clinical lab. include names, contact no.s, & responsibilities of relevant authorized persons specify an evacuation plan provide: vital safety & first-aid information, emergency plans, incident-/accident- reporting procedure, employee health requirements state safety policy


Management

Safety responsibility of Lab management incl. the ff:Establishing a safety policy

Providing a safe workplace

Providing facilities adequate for task required in the lab

Complying w/ established safety & health std's

Assessing progress of safety program

Reviewing & acting on reports of the ff:Safety committee

Safety officer

Accidents

Inspections


Safety Officer

Has clearly defined set of duties & resp. who answers directly to pathologist

Develop safety goals; Set up & maintain a safety program acceptable to lab & hospital inspection & accrediting agencies

Develop & maintain safe working conditions

Maintain health records

Remedy unsafe conditions

Provide safety education for new & old employees

Can & should enlist help of safety committee & lab staff in pursuing these objectives


Safety Officer

Act as a liaison b/w lab management & dept. heads & staff

Promote safety awareness, motivate personnel, review & inspect working conditions, uncover problems, involve all lab personnel in safety

Should attend relevant conferences & training programs & set up a safety library for staff

Should conduct informal safety inspections at regular intervals

Resp. for alerting security staff to what must be monitored when lab is unattended as well as to all other safety-related security matters


Safety Committee

Composed of 5-10 members sharing work & resp. Of safety officer

Should incl. representatives of all organizational levels & depts of lab

Regular meetings (monthly) w/ minutes recorded & agenda prepared; safety officer chairs meetings

Major goal: to maintain employee interest in safety program

Coverage of meeting: safety education; review accidents, inspections, & apparent problems

Reports should be supplied to management w/ written recommendations; problems discussed & suggestions should be transmitted to lab staff


Laboratory Supervisors

Responsible for training employees in general safety techniques (ex. wearing an apron, chaining compressed gas cylinders) and those specific safety matters unique to each procedure (ex. Transferring TB culture properly in a hood)

Training critical esp. w/ new employees to establish expected level of performance

When writing the standard-operating-procedures manual, safety tips must be included

Must eliminate hazardous conditions/behaviours; report on accidents; make daily effort to operate the dept. w/ a constant awareness of safe working procedures


Laboratory Supervisors

Responsible for training employees in general safety techniques (ex. wearing an apron, chaining compressed gas cylinders) and those specific safety matters unique to each procedure (ex. Transferring TB culture properly in a hood)

Training critical esp. w/ new employees to establish expected level of performance

When writing the standard-operating-procedures manual, safety tips must be included

Must eliminate hazardous conditions/behaviours; report on accidents; make daily effort to operate the dept. w/ a constant awareness of safe working procedures


Laboratory Staff

Employees share in responsibility for own safety & of their co-workers

All safety equipment provided must be used as appropriate to task/situation

Lab procedures must be followed w/o shortcuts/modifications

Injuries, hazards & accidents must all be reported immediately

Safety education must be an integral part of each job

Good lab management = provide & encourage training in safety


Day-to-day safety, safe work performance, & knowledge of stated lab requirements lies w/n each employee

Supervisor & chief technologist resp. for eliminating unsafe practices & conditions

Overall lab safety resp. is shared by staff w/ safety officer (authorized to correct & report safety hazards whenever seen)

Chief pathologist resp. for safety of ALL lab employees

- must rely on & provide support to safety officer & safety committee & follow their safety recommendations to make system work as it should- can appoint & authorize staff to make situation as safe and as compliant w/ legal guidelines as possible

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