laboratory safety Flashcards
Type: Biological
Source: Infectious agents
Possible Injury:
Possible Injury: Bacterial, fungal, viral, or parasitic infections
Type: Sharps
Source: Needles, lancets, broken glass
Possible Injury:
Possible Injury: Cuts, punctures, or exposure to bloodborne pathogens
Type: Chemical
Source:
Possible Injury:
Source: Preservatives and reagents
Possible Injury: Exposure to toxic, carcinogenic, or caustic agents
Type: Radioactive
Source:
Possible Injury: Exposure to radiation
Source: Equipment and radioisotopes
Type: Electrical
Source:
Possible Injury: Burns or shock
Source: Ungrounded/wet equipment; frayed cords
Type: Fire/explosive
Source: Open flames, organic chemicals
Possible Injury:
Possible Injury: Burns or dismemberment
Type: Physical
Source:
Possible Injury:
Source: Wet floors, heavy boxes, patients
Possible Injury: Falls, sprains, or strains
location of potentially harmful microorganisms, such as a contaminated clinical specimen or an infected patient.
Reservoir
Equipment and other soiled inanimate objects, called _______ will serve as reservoirs, particularly if they contain blood, urine, or other body fluids.
fomites
Portal of Exit
mucous membranes of the reservoir’s nose, mouth, and eyes, as well as in blood or other body fluids.
the unprotected host touches the patient, specimen, or a contaminated object (reservoir)
Direct contact
the host inhales dried aerosol particles circulating on air currents or attached to dust particles
Airborne
the host inhales infected aerosol droplets from the reservoir (e.g., aerosol droplets from a patient or an uncapped centrifuge tube, or when specimens are aliquoted or spilled)
Droplet
the host ingests a contaminated substance (e.g., food, water, specimen)
Vehicle
from an animal or insect bite
Vector
Immunocompromised patients, newborns and infants, and the elderly
Susceptible Host
In the clinical laboratory, the most direct contact with a source of infection is through:
Contact with patient specimens
primary objective of biological safety?
Preventing completion of the chain of infection
Concern over exposure to bloodborne pathogens, such as:
- 2.
3.
- hepatitis B virus (HBV)
- hepatitis C virus (HCV)
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
the year when the CDC instituted Universal
Precautions (UP)?
1987
all patients are considered to be possible carriers of bloodborne pathogens.
Universal Precautions (UP)
guidelines are not limited to bloodborne pathogens; they consider all body fluids and moist body substances to be potentially infectious.
Body Substance Isolation (BSI)
A major disadvantage of BSI guidelines:
they do not recommend hand sanitizing after removing gloves unless visual contamination is present.
the year when the CDC and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) combined the major features of UP and BSI guidelines
In 1996
new guidelines from CDC and HICPAC
Standard Precautions
Standard Precaution:
- HH
- GL
- MNEP
- GO
- PCE
- EC
- LI
- OH&BP
- PP
- RH/CE
- Hand Hygiene
- Gloves
- Mouth, nose, and eye protection
- Gown
- Patient care equipment
- Environmental control
- Linen
- Occupational health & bloodborne pathogens
- Patient placement
- Respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette
a law monitored and enforced by OSHA.
Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
Specific requirements of this
OSHA standards include the following:
- E.C.
- W.P.C.
- P.P.E.
- M.
- D.
- Engineering Controls
- Work Practice Controls
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Medical
- Documentation
A confidential evaluation of the incident must begin right away to ensure appropriate _________ is initiated within 24 hours.
postexposure prophylaxis (PEP)
the primary method of infection transmission.
Hand contact
Disinfection of the sink using
1:5 or 1:10 dilution of sodium hypochlorite (bleach)
Sodium hypochlorite dilutions stored in
plastic bottles are effective for
1 month if protected from light after preparation
The biohazard sharp containers should not exceed _____________ and must always be replaced when the level of waste inside reaches the safe capacity mark.
three-fourths full (3/4 full)
Chemicals should never be ________ unless specific instructions are followed, and they must be added in the order specified.
mixed together
Acid should always be added to water to avoid the:
possibility of sudden splashing caused by the rapid generation of heat in some chemical reactions.
Pipetting by mouth
is unacceptable in the laboratory.
chemical hygiene plan (CHP)
OSHA also requires all facilities that use hazardous chemicals to have a written chemical hygiene plan (CHP) available to employees.
WRITTEN CHEMICAL HYGIENE PLAN (CHP) includes:
- Appropriate
- Standard
- PPE
- Engineering
- Employee
- Medical
- Appropriate work practices
- Standard operating procedures
- PPE
- Engineering controls, such as fume hoods and flammable safety cabinets
- Employee training requirements
- Medical consultation guidelines
Hazardous chemicals should be labeled with a description of their particular hazard, such as
- poisonous
- corrosive
- flammable
- explosive
- teratogenic
- carcinogenic
agency that developed the Standard System for the Identification of the Fire Hazards of Materials,
“NFPA 704.”
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
the diamond-shaped, color-coded symbol
contains information relating to:
a.
b.
c.
d.
a. health (blue),
b. flammability (red),
c. reactivity (yellow),
d. specific hazards (white).
regulations that all chemicals are required to have the NFPA 704-M Hazard Identification System warnings on their shipping containers.
The federal Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
______ requires that all employees have a right to know about all chemical hazards present in their workplace.
OSHA Federal Hazard Communication Standard
(concentration) required by OSHA to have a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) on file in the workplace.
a concentration greater than 1%
Information contained in an SDS includes the following:
- Physical
- Fire
- Reactivity
- Health
- Methods
- Primary
- Exposure
- Physical and chemical characteristics
- Fire and explosion potential
- Reactivity potential
- Health hazards and emergency first aid procedures
- Methods for safe handling and disposal
- Primary routes of entry
- Exposure limits and carcinogenic potential
an international effort to standardize both the classification of hazardous chemicals and the symbols used to communicate these hazards on labels and in SDS documentation
Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
The amount of radiation exposure is related to a combination of:
time, distance, and shielding.
___________ requires that all healthcare facilities post evacuation routes and detailed plans to follow in the event of a fire.
The Joint Commission (TJC)
RACE:
R-
A-
C-
E-
Rescue—rescue anyone in immediate danger
Alarm—activate the institutional fire alarm system
Contain—close all doors to potentially affected areas
Extinguish/Evacuate—attempt to extinguish the fire, if possible, or evacuate, closing the door
The acronym PASS is about handling a fire extinguisher and can be used to remember the steps in the operation:
P-
A-
S-
S-
- Pull pin
- Aim at the base of the fire
- Squeeze handles
- Sweep nozzle side to side
used during patient care activities related to suspected Mycobacterium exposure.
A specially fitted respirator (N95)
