|
Biological Hazards
The use of hazardous biological materials at CHESS is rare. If however, your experiment involves a biohazard, the CHESS Safety Committee will have outlined a set of necessary safety protocols that must be followed.
New hazards related to a proposal require a minimum of 4 weeks advance notice to provide sufficient time for a thorough review.
In addition to the specific safety measures you will be asked to implement, the following are important general laboratory guidelines for working with
biohazard materials at CHESS:
For your personal safety:
-
Be up-to-date on
any specialized training required to work with your particular
biohazard, e.g. OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Training.
-
Familiarize
yourself with the locations of emergency showers and eyewash
stations BEFORE starting work.
-
Wear appropriate
personal protective equipment - at least lab coat and gloves.
Remove gloves and wash hands thoroughly after handling hazardous
material.
-
No eating,
drinking, smoking, application of cosmetics, or pipetting by
mouth in the work area.
To keep biohazards
safely contained:
-
Check in all
hazardous materials with the Cognizant Safety Officer.
-
Store and use
biohazards in a restricted area (usually the F1 station).
Use the Biological Safety Cabinet in F1 if there is a potential
for creating aerosols containing infectious material.
-
Restrict access
to the biohazard storage and use area.
-
Use double-sealed
containers when transporting biohazards. This applies when
bringing material from one location to another within the
facility.
At the end of your
visit:
-
Dispose of
hazardous material properly. For sharps, place in the
appropriate container in F1 or the chem room. For
contaminated gloves, capillaries, etc., label and place in the
biohazard wasted container in F1.
-
Disinfect all
surfaces which may have been contaminated.
-
Check out with
the Safety Officer.
In case of
emergency:
-
Report the
problem to the CHESS Operator.
-
Clean up the
spill according to the
CHESS Virus Emergency Procedures (posted
outside the cold room or in the safety binder at the Operators
desk) or special procedures for your biohazard, if you can do
so safely. If not, the Safety Officer and Cornell
EH&S will help.
For more
information:
If working with BL-2
Viruses, please see the
BL-2 Virus
Page. For other biohazards, contact the CHESS Safety
Committee.
|
