HOW TO BE SAFE IN THE LABORATORY

No job is so important and no service is so urgent that we cannot take time to perform our work safely. Being safe is a must in being a medical technologist. Safety saves us from different hazards and infections. There are a lot of safety reminders in the laboratory, some of them are as follows:

• The observance of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
• The MSDS is a document detailing the safety information about each hazardous substance must be available to employees at all times in an obvious and easily accessible location.
• The proper handling of biological specimens
• Tissues, organs, mucous secretions, saliva, semen, vaginal, urethral, cavity fluids, exudates, wounds, amniotic fluid and any materials acquired from the body are likely to be contaminated with blood and will invariably carry blood-borne pathogens.
• The practice of fire prevention
• Fire-fighting start firstly in the layout of the building plan. Materials used for the construction of the lab and actual construction require that fire-resistance should be at accepted available standards of safety. The devices that fight fires must be laid in plans.

The possible health and mechanical hazards that can be met inside the lab are:

• Compressed gases
• Electric shock
• Toxic vapors and irritants
• Flammable liquids
• Radioactive materials
• Corrosive substances
• Mechanical trauma
• Poisons
• Biologic materials
• Cryogenic materials
• Toxic and highly toxic agents
• Reproductive toxin
• Carcinogen
• Irritant
• Tissue corrosive
• Sensitizer
• Liver, kidney, and nervous system toxins
• Agents that act on or damage other body systems: hematopoietic, lungs, skin, eyes, mucous membranes

The Protective Methods and Procedures for the Laboratory

• Universal Precautions
• “Treat all human blood and certain human body fluids as if they were known to be infectious”
• Engineering and Work Practice Control
• “Engineering controls isolate or remove the blood-borne pathogen hazard from the workplace. Work practice controls reduce the likelihood of exposure by altering the manner in which a task is performed. Administrative controls include education, training, and application of Standard Operating Procedures for preventing occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious fluids.”
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Housekeeping Techniques
• Waste disposal system

Safety codes that help maintain the safety of the workplace

• Occupational Safety and Health Act
• RA 9003 (The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000)
• RA 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990)
• RA 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act)
• RA 9275 (The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004)

“Safety is not an intellectual exercise to keep us in work. It is a matter of life and death. It is the sum of our contributions to safety management that determines whether the people we work with live or die.”                              

- Sir Brian Appleton, Safety Assessor