Book:The Comprehensive Guide to Physician Office Laboratory Setup and Operation/The clinical environment/Laboratory safety
1.3 Laboratory safety
Like any other laboratory, safety in the clinical laboratory is of vital importance. Good safety practices ensure the specimen being tested does not get contaminated, and they also protect the person doing the testing from infection or other issues resulting from exposure.
Quality control guidelines and standards ensure procedures are followed and equipment is checked, lowering specimen contamination risk and improving the accuracy of test results. Laboratory safety guidelines assist professionals with managing risk from biohazards, chemical hazards, or physical hazards that may be present in the laboratory. The two U.S government agencies that primarily set safety guidelines are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). CDC training involves learning about the chain of infection and standard precautions for infection control, while OSHA biohazard training involves the blood borne pathogen standard (BBPS) as well as the exposure control plans and guidelines that promote staff health and safety. OSHA also requires training to deal with chemical hazards in the laboratory.[1][2]
Laboratories of any size must also deal with physical hazards such as obstructions, electrical equipment, fires, floods, and earthquakes. Preparing for these possible hazards in some cases can be as simple as ensuring a box is not placed where someone walking could trip over it. OSHA has numerous guidelines related to the physical hazard training, including how to conduct a fire drill. Other beneficial preparatory activities include organizing and documenting clearly labeled chemical inventories, providing clear access to material safety data sheets (MSDS), enacting a hazard communication program, and providing training on OSHA adherence protocols.[1][2]
The POL is not exempt from these quality control and safety considerations simply because it's smaller and less sophisticated, however. It may not have the chemical stocks and testing hazards of a large diagnostic lab, but specimens must still be kept uncontaminated, and procedures for using even the simplest of CLIA-waived test devices must be followed. Biohazards are still generated and must be treated appropriately using work-practice controls, personal protective equipment, and engineering controls. This includes handling bleach (sodium hypochlorite), one of the most prevalent chemicals in labs[3], which must still be handled properly to ensure human safety and equipment longevity.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cox, Phyllis; Wilken, Danielle (2010). "Chapter 1: Safety in the Laboratory". Palko's Medical Laboratory Procedures (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 1–23. ISBN 9780073401959. https://books.google.com/books?id=6uWWPQAACAAJ. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Garrels, Marti; Oatis, Carol S. (2014). Laboratory and Diagnostic Testing in Ambulatory Care: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals (3rd ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 368. ISBN 9780323292368. https://books.google.com/books?id=LM9sBQAAQBAJ. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ↑ "Examples of Common Laboratory Chemicals and their Hazard Class". National Institutes of Health, Office of Management. 27 November 2012. https://orf.od.nih.gov/EnvironmentalProtection/WasteDisposal/Pages/Examples+of+Common+Laboratory+ChemicalsandtheirHazardClass.aspx. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
