Importance of Safety and Hygiene in Laboratories

A clean and a safety laboratory comes with various advantages, such as contamination-free, work efficiency improvements and facilitates cost savings.

FREMONT, CA: Clinical laboratories are inherently dangerous environments. Biohazardous environments pose a variety of dangers to laboratory workers. Laboratorians' safety depends on following standard precautions and using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriately. Good disinfection practices are equally important as maintaining a clean and orderly environment. Employees and visitors are at risk of being infected by biohazards in a cluttered workspace. employees must adhere to the rules and regulations of the sector comprising

Some of the tips for disinfection are as follows:

Identification of safety hazards specific to the lab is extremely important; lab directors should also audit their department's physical environment. It is recommended that these audits should be conducted on a regular basis, minimally once a month, without interfering with day-to-day lab operations. Any number of changes can occur in a laboratory at any time, such as the movement of instruments, the placement of new equipment, or even the movement and stocking of lab supplies, and such changes should be recognized for their potential impact on safety.

When checking for physical environment safety, making sure that aisles are free of boxes or other obstructions is mandatory, especially if the pathway leads to an evacuation route. Computers and keyboards should have loose wires properly tucked away. Regularly lab floors should be cleaned; the CDC recommends wet-mopping lab floors in biohazard areas at least daily should be done once.Also, anti-fatigue mats should be replaced regularly to prevent slips and trips.

Keeping paraffin wax build-up off walkways in histology areas to prevent dangerous falls. As wax builds up, scrapers or other implements should be used to remove it.

Maintaining unobstructed access to laboratory safety equipment such as emergency eyewashes, showers, and fire extinguishers should be conducted. There should be easy availability of bloodborne pathogens and chemical spill response kits. In the department, electrical panels should have three feet of clearance in front of them. It is significant to make sure that all lab electric cords are free of fraying or other damage. The simple movement of equipment can damage a cord, and exposed wiring can cause laboratory fires. Tipping of compressed gas tanks should be prevented by securing them.

Protocols for disinfection: Lab benches should not only be cleaned and arranged properly because of the biohazardous materials used in laboratories, but they should also be disinfected after each work shift and after every spill. An intermediate-level chemical germicide should be used to disinfect the lab benches. The CDC recommends using a 10 percent bleach solution as the standard disinfectant in lab settings is there, but other products can also be used.

For disinfectant chemical products to be effective on laboratory surfaces, it is important to pay attention to the contact time required. When using sprays or wipes, disinfectant action does not occur immediately, and the product should be left on the counter or surface for the prescribed time. The pathogens that are designed to eliminate can take up to three to four minutes for some products to kill. Often, lab cleaners wipe a disinfectant-treated area down with water or even paper towels before the contact time required to complete disinfection has elapsed. A laboratory-acquired infection can result from this practice. The proper use of germicidal chemicals in the workplace requires staff education.