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PREVENTION BASICS IN A LABORATORY
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Since all work in a laboratory generates certain risks, all those
working within that laboratory have both moral and legal
responsibilities towards the other people working there, including the
cleaning, animal housing and maintenance staff.
Any experiment necessitates proper waste disposal and cleaning of the working place.
You will find below a few gestures and types of behavior which can help to improving your security and that of your colleagues.
Before entering the experimentation room
- Carefully study your protocol to analyze the risks and choose the precautions to be taken
- Wear a lab coat and get other necessary EPI (“équipement de protection individuelle” - personal protection equipment)
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Check the presence of any risk or obligation signs and make sure that
you are authorized to go into that room (a possibly restricted-access
area)
- Ask about specific safety instructions
At the laboratory bench
- No smoking, drinking, eating or storing food or drinks in the experimentation room. Do no mouth-pipetting and never cap a syringe needle
- Use the necessary EPI
- Organize your working space without being in the way
- Read the labels on all chemical bottles
- Carefully label every bottle of new solution, mix or aliquot
After the experimentation
- Sort out the waste and place it in the appropriate bin(s)
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Clear out and clean work area (bench, PSM -“poste de sécurité
microbiologique”- biosafety cabinet, chemical hood...), put all
equipment back into its proper place
- Rinse used glassware (after possible decontamination) and place it in the washing circuit
In case of an accident or incident
Call for the ACMO, PCR (if radioactivity is involved) or professional master, then follow local emergency instructions.
Everybody makes mistakes, even sometimes those not manipulating.
But concealing an incident or accident is a fault that may have
significant consequences for your colleagues, cleaning or maintenance
staff.
