This document provides an introduction to laboratory safety principles including safety programs, policies, plans, hazards, and precautions. It discusses establishing a formal safety program with documented policies on chemical hygiene, exposure control, tuberculosis control and ergonomics. The major occupational hazards of biological agents, chemicals, fires, electricity and compressed gases are outlined. Precautions for working safely include use of personal protective equipment, proper chemical handling and labeling, and avoiding mouth pipetting.

1. Introduction to Principles of
Laboratory Analyses and Safety
Course: Clinical Laboratory Principle (SIMS-443)
ZA School of Medical Technology
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Dr. Ali Raza

2. Laboratory Safety
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Introduction to Laboratory Safety
A Safety Program
Documented Policies and Mandated Plans
Occupational Hazards
Biological hazards
Chemical hazards
Fire hazards
Electrical hazards
 Waste Management
chemical terrorism plans
Precautions: to avoid hazards

3. Laboratory Safety
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4. Laboratory Safety
 The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was the
beginning of the formal regulatory - oversight of employee safety.
 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have
published Safety Standards
 The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO) and the College of American Pathologists
(CAP) revise their guidelines, more attention is devoted to safety
 In May of 1988, OSHA expanded The Hazard Communication
Standard apply to hospital workers.
 Referred to as the "Lab Right to Know Standard."
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5. Safe Operation of a Clinical Laboratory
1. A formal Safety Program
2. Documented Policies and effective use of mandated Plans
and/or programs in the areas of
Chemical hygiene
Control of exposure to blood-borne pathogens
Tuberculosis Control
Ergonomics
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6. 3. Identification of significant occupational hazards.
 Biological hazards
 Chemical hazards
 Fire hazards
 Electrical hazards
4. Waste Management
Chemical terrorism response plans
Bioterrorism
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7. A Safety Program
 Comprehensive and effective Safety Program
 "Safety Officer" or "Chair of the Safety Committee
 OSHA mandates A chemical hygiene officer:
 to provide technical guidance in the development of the
chemical hygiene plan (CHP)
Safety is each employee's responsibility
 Responsibility (directors, administrative directors, supervisors)
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8. Safety Program
An integral part of the laboratory safety program is the
education and motivation of all laboratory employees in all
matters relating to safety.
 The continuing education program of the laboratory should
include
 Periodic talks on safety
 Audiovisual resources
All employees should have the general laboratory safety
manual
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9. Safety Program
 Ensures that the laboratory environment meets accepted safety
standards.
(1) Proper labeling of chemicals
(2)Types and location of fire extinguishers
(3)Hoods that are in good working order
(4)Proper grounding of electrical equipment
(5)Ergonomic issues (equipment, pipetting devices, lab furniture,
and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders)
(6) Proper handling and disposal of biohazardous materials
including all patient specimens.'
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10. Safety Equipment
OSHA requires that institutions provide employees with all
necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
(1) Clothing (laboratory coats, gowns, and/or scrubs)
(2) Gloves: Heat-resistant (nonasbestos) gloves should be
available for handling hot glassware and dry ice.
(3) Eye protection: Eye washers or face washers, safety
goggles, eye- glasses, and visors,
4) Safety showers, strategically located in the laboratory
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11. Safety Equipment
Tongs : Hot beakers should be handled with tongs.
Pumps: Polyethylene pumps are available to pump
acids from large bottles.
Spill kits: Acids, caustic materials, or flammable
solvents come in various sizes.
Such kits and the other appropriate safety materials
should be located in convenient and appropriate sites in
the laboratory.
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12. Safety Equipment
A chemical fume hood is a necessity for every clinical
chemistry laboratory.
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13. Safety Equipment:
The fume hood is the only safe place to
(1)Open container of a material that gives off harmful vapors
(2)Prepare reagents that produce fumes
(3)Heat flammable solvents.
(4) In the event of an explosion or fire in the hood, closing its
window contains the fire.
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14. Safety Inspections
Good laboratory practice to organize
 A safety inspection team from the laboratory staff.
 Responsible for conducting periodic/scheduled safety
inspections of the lab.
In the USA, there are several regulatory, private
accreditation, state, and federal organizations that may
conduct a safety inspection of the lab.
Safety inspections may occur unannounced.
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15. Mandated Plans
 In 1991, OSHA mandated that all clinical laboratories in the
United States must have a
CHP and an exposure control plan.
 OSHA has since updated their requirements for the exposure
control plan to provide new examples of engineering controls
 to place significantly greater responsibilities on employers
 to minimize and manage employee occupational exposure to
Blood-borne pathogen.
 CAP/other groups require an accredited lab must have a
documented tuberculosis exposure control plans by CDC
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16. Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP)
Listing of responsibilities for
• Employers
• Employees
• Chemical hygiene officer
A complete chemical inventory that is updated
annually.
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17. Chemical Hygiene Plan
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS):
defines each chemical as toxic, carcinogenic, or
dangerous, must be on file and readily accessible, and
available to all employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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18. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS):
• Give the product's identity as it appears on the container label
and the chemical/common names of its hazardous
components.
• Physical data (boiling point, vapor pressure)
• Easily recognized characteristics of the chemical
Appearance and odor.
• Information about hazardous properties is given includes
• Fire and explosion hazard data
• Health-related data, the threshold limit value (TLV),
• Exposure limits,
• Toxicity values.
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19. Threshold Limit Value (TLV)
• A chemical substance is believed to be a level to which
a worker can be exposed day after day for a working
lifetime without adverse effects.
• The TLV is the exposure allowable for an employee
during one 8-hour day.
• Effects of overexposure and provides first-aid
procedures.
• Provides information on spill and disposal procedures
and protective personal gear and equipment
requirements. 19

20. Exposure Control Plan
lab develop, implement, and adhere to a plan that ensures
the protection of laboratory workers against potential
exposure to blood borne pathogen and to ensure that the
medical wastes produced by the lab are managed and
handled in a safe and effective manner.
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21. Exposure Control Plan
Place responsibility on employers to implement new
developments in exposure control technology;
To solicit the input of employees directly involved in
patient care in the identification, evaluation, and
selection of these work practice controls;
Maintain a log for employee percutaneous injuries from
sharp devices, such as syringe needles
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22. Exposure Control Plan
When implementing the plan, each laboratory employee
must be placed into one of three groups.
Group I: A job classification in which all employees have
occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious
materials.
Group II: A job classification in which some employees have
occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious
materials.
Group III: A job classification in which employees do not have
any occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious
materials.
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23. Tuberculosis(TB) Control Plan
The purpose is to prevent the transmission of tuberculosis
which occurs by a droplet that contains Mycobacterium
tuberculosis.
TB is greatly diminished with
(1) Early identification and isolation of patients at risk,
(2) Environmental controls,
(3) Appropriate use of respiratory protection equipment,
(4) Education of laboratory employees,
(5) Early initiation of therapy.
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24. Ergonomic Program
• Occupational risk for development of musculoskeletal
disorders in the clinical laboratory.
• Include routine lab activity, functionality of the workspace
(lab floor matting, bright lighting, and noise generation), and
equipment design (computer keyboards and displays,
workstations, and chairs).
• One particular lab function, pipetting and related pipette
design, has received considerable attention.
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25. Ergonomic Program
• Pipettes are designed with a goal of reducing an
employee's risk of cumulative stress disorders caused by
awkward posture, repetitive motion, and the repeated
use of force.
• The CAP requires accredited laboratories to have a
comprehensive ergonomics program that is designed
to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders
through prevention and engineering controls.
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26. Laboratory Hazards
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27. Hazards in the Laboratory
A hazard is an agent that can cause harm or damage
to humans, property, or the environment.
An occupational hazard is something unpleasant
that a person experiences or suffers as a result of
doing their job.
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28. Hazards in the Laboratory
(1) Biological hazards
(2) Chemical hazards
(3) Electrical hazards
(4) Fire hazards.
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29. Identification of Hazards
Clinical laboratories deal with each of the nine classes of
hazardous materials.
(1) Explosives: Dynamite
(2) Compressed gases: Acetylene
(3) Flammable liquids: Ethanol
(4) Flammable solids: Calcium carbide.
(5) Oxidizer materials: Chlorine
(6) Toxic materials: Mercuric
(7) Radioactive materials: Uranium
(8) Corrosive materials: acid/base
(9) Miscellaneous materials: not elsewhere classified.
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Hazard Material Classification

31. Identification of Hazards
Warning labels aid: Identification of chemical hazards during shipment.
Labels: Diamond shaped
with a digit imprinted on the bottom corner that identifies
hazard class (1 to 9).
•Color coding hazard
•Pictorial art description
• Artwork appears in the top comer of the diamond
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32. Identification of Hazards
Appropriate hazard warnings include
•any words,
•pictures,
•symbols,
• or combinations that convey the health or
physical hazards of the container's contents
 Must be specific as to the effect of the chemical
and the specific target organs
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34. 34
Hazard Material Classification

35. Biological Hazards
Essential to minimize the exposure of laboratory workers
to infectious agents
 Hepatitis viruses
 HIV.
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36. Exposure to infectious agents results from
(1) Accidental needles puncture
(2) Spraying of infectious materials
(3) Centrifuge accidents
(4) Cuts or scratches from contaminated vessels.
(5) Any unfixed tissue : E.g: blood slides
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37. Biological Hazards
In general, it mandates that clinical laboratories treat
all human blood and other potentially infectious
materials as if they were known to contain infectious
agents.
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38. Biological Hazards
These requirements apply to all specimens of
(1) blood,
(2) serum,
(3) plasma,
(4) blood products,
(5) vaginal secretions,
(6) semen,
(7) cerebrospinal fluid,
(8) synovial fluid,
(9) concentrated HBV or HIV viruses
Any specimen contains
visible traces of blood should
be handled using these
Universal Precautions.
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39. Universal Precautions specify:
• Barrier protection must be used by laboratory workers to
• Prevent skin and mucous membrane contamination from specimens
These barriers, also known as PPE, include
(1)Gloves,
(2) Gowns,
(3) laboratory Coats,
(4) Face shields or mask and eye protection,
(5) Mouth pieces,
(6) Resuscitation bags,
(7) Pocket masks,
(8) Ventilator devices.
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40. Latex allergy: latex gloves for barrier protection.
Medical grade gloves made of materials
•Vinyl
•Nitrile
•Neoprene
•Thermoplastic Elastomer
 If latex gloves are to be used,
powder-free, low allergen latex.
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41. Needle Sticks
 Employee Protection against needle sticks include
an array of novel containers for sharps and biological
safety disposal
 Example:
 Needles
 Scalpels
 Glass
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42. Chemical Hazards
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43. Chemical Hazards
The proper storage and use of chemicals is necessary
to prevent dangers
• Explosions
• Fires
•Toxic fumes
Knowledge of the properties of the
chemicals in use and of proper
handling procedures greatly reduces
dangerous situations.
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44. Chemical Hazards
Bottles of chemicals and solutions:
Handled carefully
Cart: To transport heavy/multiple bottles
 Glass containers with chemicals should be transported
Rubber or Plastic containers to protect from
breakage and spill
 A bottle should never be held by its neck
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45. Chemical Hazards
Safety glasses :
Working with acid or alkali solutions,
• Acids must be diluted by slowly adding them to water while
mixing
Warning: Water should never be added to concentrated acid.
 Acids, caustic materials, and strong oxidizing agents should
be mixed in the sink.
This provides water for cooling and for confinement of
the reagent in the event the flask or bottle breaks.
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46. Chemical Hazards
All bottles containing reagents must be properly labeled.
The label should bear the
(1) Name of the reagent
(2) Concentration of the reagent,
(3) Initials of the person who made up the reagent,
(4) Date on which the reagent was prepared.
 Label the container before adding the reagent,
 Preventing the possibility of having an unlabeled
reagent.
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47. Chemical Hazards
Spill kits: Available in strategic locations.
Directions
Spattering from acids, caustic materials, and strong oxidizing
agents is a hazard to clothing and eyes and is a potential
source of chemical burns.
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48. Hazards from Volatiles
Organic solvents: represents a potential
Examples: ethylether, hexane, tetrachloroethane, toluene
Fire hazard
Health hazard (inhalation of toxic vapors)
 Skin contact.
These solvents should be used in a fume hood.
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49. Hazards from Volatiles
 Vaporization:
Major problem in the ignition and spread
of fires.
 Flammable Vapors and combustible liquids/solids form a
flammable mixture with air.
Flash Point: The lowest temperature at which a solvent gives off
flammable vapors in the close vicinity of its surface. The mixture at its
flash point ignites when exposed to a source of ignition.
Warning: Disposal of flammable solvents in storm sewers or sanitary
sewers is not allowed.
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50. Compressed Gases
The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
 Cover the labeling of cylinders of compressed gases that are
transported by interstate carriers.
Diamond-shaped labels are used on all large/small cylinders
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51. Compressed Gases
Rules for handling large cylinders of compressed gas
1. Hand truck : Transport cylinders
2. Leave the valve cap on a cylinder
until the cylinder is ready for use
3. Chain or secure cylinders at all times
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52. Hazards from Compressed Gases
3 Always check cylinders for the composition of their
contents before connection.
4. Never force threads; if a regulator does not thread
readily, something is wrong.
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53. Fire Hazards
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54. Fire Hazards
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55. Fire Hazards
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Fire Hazards

57. Electrical Hazards
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58. Electrical Hazards
Electrical wires/connections: Potential shock or fire
hazards.
Worn wires: All electrical equipment should be replaced
immediately
 All equipment should he grounded using three-prong
plugs.
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59. Electrical Hazards
Electrical equipment /connections should not be handled
• with wet hands
• liquid has been spilled on it.
The equipment must be turned off immediately and dried
thoroughly.
In case of a wet or malfunctioning electrical instrument that is
used by several people,
• Plug should be pulled
• a note cautioning co-workers against use should be left
on the instrument
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60. Precaution
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61. Laboratory Safety
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62. Precaution
1. Never perform Mouth Pipetting
Never blow out pipettes (Infectious materials)
2. Do not mix infectious material by bubbling air through
the liquid.
3. Barrier Protection: Gloves, Masks, Protective eye-
wear/gowns,
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63. Precaution
3- Gloves:
Disposable
latex, or of other material
Phlebotomists:
 Must change gloves
Must dispose between drawing mood from different
patients.
4. Wash hands whenever gloves are changed.
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64. 5. Facial barrier protection:
Potential for the spattering of blood or body fluids.
6. Syringes:
Dispose in rigid containers without handling them
Dispose of all sharps appropriately.
7. Wear protective clothing:
effective barrier against potentially infective materials.
• When leaving the laboratory,
• the protective clothing should be removed.
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65. 8. Strive to prevent accidental injuries.
9. Minimize spills and spatters.
10.Encourage frequent hand washing
keeping your hands away from your mouth, nose, eyes, and
any other mucous membranes.
11. Decontaminate all surfaces and reusable devices after
use with disinfectants.
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66. 12. No warning labels are to be used on patient specimens
(since all should be treated as potentially hazardous)
13. Bio-safety level 2 procedures should be used
Biosafety level covers laboratories that work with
agents associated with human diseases
Example:
Pathogenic or infections organisms that pose a
moderate health hazard.
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67. 14. Before centrifuging tubes,
inspect them for cracks.
15. Use biohazard disposal techniques
(e.g., "Red Bag").
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68. 16. Never leave a discarded tube or infected material
unattended or unlabeled.
17. Clean out freezer and dry-ice chests
To remove broken ampoules
and tubes of biological specimens.
Use rubber gloves and respiratory protection.
18. Hepatitis B vaccine be offered to all employees
at risk of potential exposure as a regular
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Thank You