Revenue Cycle Insider

Make sure your lab is free of hazards in these four critical areas.

If you are one of the half-million workers employed in a lab in the U. S., and you’re not fully aware of the lab safety guidance established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), you need to be. The standards were established to help you avoid serious accidents, either to yourself or to your colleagues.

But even if you are familiar with OSHA’s standards for lab safety, it’s always worthwhile getting a refresher, as safety should aways be paramount in your work environment. So, here are four key areas you should be concerned about, and some practical tips for you to work safely in your lab.

Know the Areas of Safety Concern in Your Lab

OSHA divides it safety guidance into four areas, according to its OSHA Laboratory Safety Guidance booklet: chemical hazards, biological hazards, physical hazards, and safety hazards. And while the standards outlined in the booklet only affect the states under OSHA jurisdiction (“twenty-five states and two U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands)… have their own OSHA-approved occupational safety and health standards,” according to the booklet), and your lab may be subject to state rather than federal standards, the standards OSHA has established since its inception in 1970 are well worth reviewing.

Understand Chemical Handling and Hazards

OSHA standards require your employer to maintain, and make accessible, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), sometimes referred to as Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for all chemicals used in your laboratory. These sheets, which are created or supplied by chemical manufacturers or their importers or distributors, must contain the following information:

1. Name of the chemical
2. Manufacturer’s information
3. Hazardous ingredients/identity information
4. Physical/chemical characteristics
5. Fire and explosion hazard data
6. Reactivity data
7. Health hazard data
8. Precautions for safe handling and use
9. Control measures

Also, laboratories must have a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for each chemical they store, which must include the following:

• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Criteria for exposure control measures
• Adequacy and proper functioning of fume hoods and other protective equipment
• Information and training
• Employer approval of laboratory procedures
• Provisions for medical consultations and examinations
• Designation of a chemical hygiene officer
• Additional protections for carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and substances that have a high degree of acute toxicity

In addition to these general chemical hazard guidelines, the OSHA Laboratory Safety Guidance booklet outlines hazards for specific laboratory chemicals, including: toluene and xylene, solvents used to fix tissue specimens and rinse stains; acrylamide, a chemical that helps separate macromolecules for DNA and protein analysis; and formaldehyde, a fixative agent.

Be Aware of Biological Hazards

Your lab also houses bloodborne pathogens (BBPs) and other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs), such as “semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva”  and “any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead)” which, according to OSHA, can be the source of “more than 200 different diseases,” most notably human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV).

To mitigate the risks of contracting a disease from BBP and OPIM, OSHA recommends laboratory employees refrain from mouth pipetting or suctioning blood; “eating, drinking, smoking, applying cosmetics or lip balm, or handling contact lenses in work areas where there is a reasonable likelihood of occupational exposure to blood”; and storing food or drink in refrigerators or other areas where BBP or OPIM are stored.

Additionally, OSHA standards require employers to:

• Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as respirators and special protective clothing, to employees;
• Provide “engineering and work practice controls” in areas where employees may be exposed to BBP and OPIM: These include biological safety cabinets (BSCs), sinks for hand washing, and an eyewash facility;
• Provide HBV vaccinations to all employees;
• Provide incineration and decontamination capabilities or other safe handling procedures for all biological materials, and a secure work area for labs involved in HIV and HBV research.

Get Familiar With These Physical Hazards

The OSHA Laboratory Safety Guidance booklet identifies a number of physical hazards lab workers can face. They include:

• Ergonomic hazards, which can cause problems such as repetitive motion injuries and musculoskeletal injuries caused by awkwardly designed workspaces, are not directly addressed by OSHA standards. Instead, OSHA recommends employees and employers review the OSHA Laboratory Safety Ergonomics for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders Fact Sheet.
• Ionizing radiation hazards, which can be mitigated by proper signage and “personnel monitoring devices (film badges, thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD), pocket dosimeters, etc.),” which must be “provided, processed and reported through a commercial service company that meets current requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NIST NVLAP),” according to OSHA.
• Non-ionizing radiation hazards, which include radiation caused by ultraviolet (UV), visible light, infrared (IR), microwave (MW), radio frequencies (RF), extremely low frequencies (ELF), and laser hazards. All can be avoided with proper PPE, including protective eyewear and special protective clothing.
• Noise hazards, which can be produced by such equipment as “large analyzers (e.g., chemistry analyzer), fume hoods, biological safety cabinets, incubators, centrifuges (especially ultracentrifuges), cell washers, sonicators, and stirrer motors,” OSHA cautions, creating a wide range of physical problems such as depression, decreased concentration and work errors, tinnitus, and even hearing loss. Solutions here include employer provision of hearing protection, installation of acoustic tiles on ceilings and walls, and placing noise-generating equipment in remote locations.

And Stay on Top of These Safety Standards

OSHA also recommends employers provide sufficient training for their employees on equipment used in the laboratory, including autoclaves and sterilizers, centrifuges, compressed gasses, and cryogens and dry ice. Employers should also provide additional training on fire safety, proper equipment shutdown, and other emergency procedures. And employers have a responsibility to ensure the electrical service and equipment is hazard-free and that the workplace is free of obstacles and wet floors.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, workplace safety is the result of cooperation between lab owners and their employees, and both are encouraged to take advantage of the many resources OSHA provides to consult with, train, educate, and ultimately create the safest possible work environment. And should those efforts fail, OSHA has established a mechanism for employees to “report an emergency, file a complaint, or seek OSHA advice [and] assistance” anonymously by using the contact information listed at the end of the OSHA Laboratory Safety Guidance booklet.

Bruce Pegg, BA, MA, CPC, CFPC, Managing Editor, AAPC