Page 47 - The Veterinary Laboratory and Field Manual 3rd Edition

16 Susan C. Cork, Roy Halliwell and Willy Schauwers

i disinfect immediately (wear gloves!) emollient creams, an eye bath and an assortment
ii cover with disposable tissue (to make of bandages and plasters. Many laboratory facili-
the spill visible) ties also provide an emergency shower in case
iii warn colleagues that there is a spill of skin contamination. The regulatory require-
iv keep the spill remains covered with the ments for occupational health and safety will
disinfectant for about 30 min vary from country to country and also depend on
v wipe up the spill using absorbent paper the designated biosafety level for each division of
and discard in the biological waste bin. the laboratory. Most diagnostic laboratories will
have sections with level 1 and level 2 biosafety
9 Soiled swabs, microbiology samples, cul- designations. Those with level 3 and higher are
tures and all potentially pathogenic material highly specialized and will have very clear health
should be discarded in the biologic waste and safety guidelines for handling specific patho-
bin (not in the waste paper basket). gens. WHO provides a good summary of what is
10 All glassware and containers used for poten- expected with respect to health and safety train-
tially pathogenic material must be placed in ing and best practice (see also the bibliography
a disinfectant before sterilization and wash- at the end of the chapter). In most countries, the
ing. national authorities responsible for public health
11 Benches should be wiped down every day will also have specific guidelines that must be
with disinfectant in the morning and before adhered to.
leaving the laboratory. As outlined earlier, potentially hazardous bio-
12 Used, contaminated sharps (needles, logical wastes and carcasses are usually disposed
Pasteur pipettes and so on) should be dis- of in a specially constructed pit in which biodeg-
carded in a safe ‘sharps container’. In many radation can occur (Figure 1.4). The pit should
countries, there are contractors who will have a sealed lockable lid and a lime-sealed con-
provide waste disposal for veterinary and crete surface, which can be washed down after
medical facilities, they usually supply sharps performing post-mortems. No disinfectant or
containers and other receptacles which are non-biodegradable material should be put in this
collected for disposal. These contractors pit as this will delay decomposition.
must abide by local and national byelaws. Potentially contaminated material from
microbiology and parasitology sections should
In addition to biological hazards, there are many be soaked in disinfectant (for example, phe-
potentially dangerous chemicals stored and nolics) before being disposed of (not in the
used in the laboratory, such as strong alkalis biological pit). Contaminated equipment, glass-
and acids, which can cause burns and damage ware and consumable materials for re-use (for
eyes. Many reagents, and their vapours, such as example, Petri dishes, microscope slides) should
alcohol and ether are flammable and only small be disinfected before being thoroughly washed
amounts should be kept in the laboratory in in detergent and several changes of distilled
order to reduce the associated fire hazard. water. Many laboratory chemicals and biologi-
A designated member of staff should be iden- cal wastes are hazardous to the environment
tified and trained to take responsibility for first and should be disposed of carefully to prevent
aid. However, all staff should know which chem- pollution of local water supplies.
icals are hazardous and what measures should
be taken to prevent accidents. Every labora-
tory should also have a first aid box containing

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