Laboratory Safety

Dr. Shler Ghafour RaheemBSc., MSc., PhD Medical Microbiology

shler.ghafour@tis.edu.iq

Lab. No. 1

Laboratory safety

• Laboratory safety is of paramountimportance to Environmental Health& Safety, which manages andresponds to all issues

• Concerns surrounding chemical,biological, radiation, laser, chemicalfume hood, hazardous wastemanagement and other standardoperating procedures.

Guidelines

Always wear appropriate personal protectiveequipment. Change gloves when contaminated

Wash your hands after working with potentiallyhazardous materials

Do not eat, drink, smoke, handle contactlenses, apply cosmetics, in the laboratory.

Follow the institutional policies regarding safe handling ofsharps (i.e., needles, scalpels, pipettes, and brokenglassware).

Take care to minimize the creation of aerosolsand/or splashes.

Decontaminate all work surfaces before and after yourexperiments, and immediately after any spill of potentiallyinfectious material with an appropriate disinfectant. Clean

laboratory equipment routinely, even if it is not contaminated.

Report any incidents that may result in exposure toinfectious materials to appropriate personnel (e.g.,laboratory supervisor, safety officer).

Why does it matter?

•Safe working protects:• You

• Other lab workers

• Cleaners

• Visitors

• Your work

Protecting yourself

Wear the clothing and protectivewear identified in your riskassessment

Laboratory coats must be keptfastened

Don’t wear sandals or open shoes

Long hair must be tied back

Protecting yourself - gloves

There are many different types of protective glove

Use the correct ones for the job you will be doing

Remember that you need to select chemical protection gloves according to the materials and/or substances with which you will be working

Remove your gloves before using instruments, telephone, and leaving the laboratory

Laboratory hygiene

Never eat, drink or smoke in a laboratory

Never apply cosmetics

Never touch your face, mouth or eyes

Never suck pens or chew pencils

Always wash your hands before you leave and especially before eating

What are the general hazards in a laboratory?

• Fire

• Breakage of glassware

• Sharps

• Spillages

• Pressure equipment & gas cylinders

• Extremes of heat & cold

• Chemical hazards

• Biological hazards

• Radiation

General Tidiness

• Keep your workplace tidy

• Clear up waste, deal with washing up andput things away as you finish with them

• Make sure everything is safe before youleave things unattended

• A tidy laboratory avoids accidents toeveryone

X

Laboratory Equipment

• Never use any laboratoryequipment unless you are trained& have been authorised to do so

• As well as injuring yourself youmay cause very costly damage

First Aid

• All laboratory workers should undergosimple first aid training• For ALL chemical splashes, wash with

plenty of water for 10 minutes• Control bleeding with direct pressure,

avoiding any foreign bodies such asglass

• Report all accidents to yoursupervisor or departmental safetyofficer

Protecting your health

• If you have an allergy to lab materialsor suffer from a medical conditionwhich may affect you in the laboratory(eg diabetes or epilepsy), ensure thatyour supervisor knows

Waste Materials

• Part of your risk assessment will be todetermine how to dispose of waste labmaterials safely

• Solvents and oils must be segregated into thecorrect waste bottle or drum

• Your department will help you determine whatto do with chemical or biological materials

• Do not put materials down the drain or inwith normal waste unless authorised to doso

When in doubt – ASK!!!

• Do not carry out a new orunfamiliar procedure until youhave been fully trained &understand the precautionsnecessary for safe working

• DO NOT GUESS!!!!

References

• Luis M. de la Maza, Marie T. Pezzlo, Cassiana E. Bittencourt, EllenaM. Peterson. 2020. Color Atlas of Medical Bacteriology. (2020,Wiley) - libgen.lc.

• Warren E. Levinson, Peter Chin-Hong, Elizabeth Joyce, JesseNussbaum, Brian Schwart. 2018. Review of Medical Microbiology& Immunology, 15th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

• Gary W. Procop,Deirdre L. Church , et al. 2017. Koneman'sColor Atlas and Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology.7th Edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning