DAN’S BLOG
From Ant-Men to Giant-Men
In January of 1962, Tales to Astonish #27, a comic book, featured a scientist who had created a special chemical. This chemical, when put in contact with an object, would shrink it! When the scientist tried the concoction on himself, he shrunk to the size of an ant! In time this scientist became the Astonishing […]
Pandemic Fatigue: Feels Like Starting Over
In discussions with laboratory safety professionals across the country this year, some of the same safety issues seemed to crop up over and over. Lab staff are tired, they’re fatigued about dealing with COVID-19, and they just don’t seem to be focused on lab safety anymore. They aren’t following good safety practices, they aren’t wearing […]
The Power of the Pause
The majority of laboratory injuries and exposures are preventable, and most of them occur because people are not paying close attention to the situation. They lose their situational awareness or were never paying attention to it from the start. Unfortunately, safety professionals spend a great deal of time investigating such incidents rather than focusing on […]
A New Year in Lab Safety
As we prepare to say good-bye and good riddance to the year 2020, we hesitatingly welcome 2021. What will the new year bring? Can it be worse than last year? Are we prepared to deal with what else may be coming? Did we learn lessons in 2020 that will help us? These are valid questions […]
Becoming a “COVID Captain”
The year 2020 is roaring quickly to a close, and COVID-19 is (unfortunately) still around. We have made changes to our lives at home, in public, and at work. Healthcare workers, in particular, made several changes early on with PPE use and work practices that are still in effect today. A great deal of work […]
The Three Laws: Sharps Safety
In Isaac Asimov’s writings about science, he created “the three laws,” a set of rules designed by humans that robots must follow in that fictional society. Robots cannot harm human beings, they must obey humans (unless it conflicts with the first law), and they must protect themselves from harm (unless that conflicts with the first […]
Is it Worth the Risk Assessment?
As a safety professional, we know performing risk assessments is worth it- it is an integral piece of managing a safety program. Assessing risks and identifying hazards are considered the beginning steps that must be completed when approaching the management of any safety-related area. Risk assessments are the starting point for handling a bloodborne pathogens […]
Laboratory Chemical Hygiene: A Quick Guide
OSHA has once again published its list of its most-cited standards. This time, they discuss the 2019 heavy-hitters, and once again, chemical management issues top the list. Year after year organizations are fined for incomplete management of their chemical hygiene program. Labs have it even harder- they have to adhere to two sets of standards, […]
Foundational Facts of Lab Safety
Things have changed drastically over the past several months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Many adjustments to how we work and live have been made and it has become difficult to separate fact from fiction. Should masks and goggles be worn at work? What type? Can we eat together on breaks? Information about the pandemic […]
Three Signs Nobody is Paying Attention to Safety
The safety officer walked into the satellite laboratory and saw an employee scrolling through social media on her cell phone. Another employee was wearing mesh sneakers and chewing gum in the department. In the storeroom chemicals were stacked on high shelves and the aisles were blocked with empty boxes. The safety officer had come to […]
Lab Safety- A Return to “Normal”
The evolving COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world - the way we educate, the way we conduct business, and the way we socialize (or don’t). In the lab and clinic settings, there are many practices and procedures that have changed or are now being questioned. Sometimes the answer evolves quickly, sometimes there is national guidance […]
COVID-19 and The Pyramid – Protecting Laboratorians
In 1950 the United States National Safety Council began describing what became known as the “hierarchy of controls.” Often depicted as a pyramid, it lists (in order of importance and effectiveness) the methods required to separate employees from potential hazards on the job. Later, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) worked with […]
My PPE is Back-Ordered- Now What? COVID-19 Alternate Safe Practices
The COVID-19 pandemic is peaking in the United States, and many things are being affected in unprecedented ways. Schools are closing, business travel is banned, gatherings are canceled, and stores are out of…toilet paper. There are supply shortages that are peaking as well, and some of the items that have become hard to get include […]
The Psychiatry of Lab Safety
With the rapid spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), many lab folks have raised questions about the potential affects to their job, their safety and their health. A new pathogen has emerged, and like previous bugs, its virulence and infectivity start out unknown, and fears grow. It’s an interesting phenomenon from the perspective of one […]
Breathing Easy – What You Need to Know About Respiratory Protection
In the peak of the flu season you might see many people wearing masks. Do these protect the person wearing them? Do they protect you? Is that considered a respirator? These questions are important, but there are others you should ask about respiratory protection, especially if you work in a lab or clinic setting. OSHA’s […]
The SPILL Drill
Large biological and chemical spills are not a common occurrence in the laboratory. That’s a good thing, but when they do occur, they can create a very dangerous situation. It is vital that staff know how to handle such events even though they may not be commonplace. I was on site when a recent large […]
A Perspective on Lab Safety
I attended a work shop where different people were allowed to express their views on life from their generation’s perspective. One group representative said that members of the “Millennials” generation often acted as if entitled to things in life and don’t feel as if they have to work for it. A Millennial representative spoke up. […]
Lab Safety Leadership
The number of medical laboratory scientists is dwindling. Baby Boomers have been retiring, and even before that started, there were more laboratory job openings than people to fill them. That means more opportunities in the lab world, and in some cases leadership roles are being obtained by less experienced people than in years past. Whether […]
The PPE Compliance Conundrum
In a recent laboratory poll about Personal Protective Equipment, 85% of respondents said their biggest issues had nothing to do with selecting PPE, purchasing it, or training staff. The biggest issue they deal with on a day-to-day basis is PPE compliance – getting people to protect themselves when there is a potential for exposure to […]
The Lab and the Pharmaceutical Rule- Do They Go Together?
Many laboratorians may not have noticed, but in February of this year, the EPA published the Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine, better known as the “Pharmaceutical Rule.” The updates created by these new laws affect pharmacies and how they handle hazardous waste, but they do not […]
Flying the Lab
The airline attendant went through her safety routine as usual. As usual, very few people paid attention. Many had heard it all before, or they were reading, napping, or talking. It made me wonder- what would really happen if there was a problem with this fight? Would people really know what to do? Would they […]
The Physical Fix
The microbiology laboratory was newly remodeled, and the staff was excited to have windows in the department. But when summer came, it was unbearably hot in the department, and the building’s air handling systems could not keep the temperatures at a comfortable level. Eventually, staff began working without lab coats and someone brought portable fans […]
Changes in Hazardous Waste Management- The Generator Improvement Rule
If you haven’t heard by now, you should know that the EPA published its Generator Improvement Rule (GIR) in 2016. It is an update to the organization’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a set of regulations regarding chemical waste management, which was passed back in 1976. The original regulations were mainly aimed at large […]
The Cost of Living Dangerously
Alicia was working the night shift, and she tripped on the edge of a floor mat while holding a rack of specimens. She had complained about the old mats before because the edges had been peeling up and they created a trip hazard. When she fell, her shoulder hit the counter’s edge, and the injury […]
The Safety Reaction
The toddler’s father let her hand go so he could pay for their dinner at the busy airport. The little girl quickly wandered away and suddenly found herself at the top of a long escalator that was going down. No one was watching. Miss Anderson was walking home as she did every day from the […]
Accidents Happen – Now What?
Susan was getting ready to work in the microbiology lab. She sat down after donning her lab coat, but before she put on gloves, she picked up some reports that were on the counter. As she picked them up, she noticed she got a small paper cut on her finger. Thinking nothing of it, she […]
A Plan for Your Life
I read a written Laboratory Emergency Management Plan, and at the end of the document there was a short section called “Planning for Home and Family Safety.” The procedure mentioned making emergency plans with family and friends and making arrangements for any children, other family members, or pets. As a laboratory employee, making such plans […]
Doing What We’ve Always Done
The reference Cytology lab has always had limited storage space for supplies and specimens. They use tall wire racks to store the many liquid-based cytology specimen vials. The vials contain small amounts of flammable chemicals, and the shelves are seven feet high. They have followed this storage procedure for ten years. It took Jan four […]
Wasteful Questions
Understanding the proper separation and disposal of the various waste types generated in the lab setting is an important piece of managing the overall laboratory safety program. Educating staff about trash segregation, storage and packaging requirements, and providing required training can prevent unwanted exposures, environmental mishaps, and even fines. As a lab safety consultant, I […]
Fighting Fire…Again
Every October I try to write about fire safety in accordance with National Fire Protection Month. This year the saga continues into November since there is so much fire safety information to discuss! The basics of fire safety are important to review- fire extinguisher training, fire evacuation drills and more. But there is much more […]
Fighting Fire With Fire
In 1939 the first issue of Marvel Comics introduced the original Human Torch, an android named Jim Hammond who would burst into flames when exposed to oxygen. Fourteen years before that, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week to commemorate the Chicago fire of 1871 which killed over 300 people 54 years […]
The Safety Interpretation
When hospitals were placed on OSHA’s list of “high-risk” work places, no one had to ask why. OSHA adjusts that list based on the number of injuries that occur on the job each year in specific industries, and the rising number of hospital incidents over a couple of years made the regulatory agency take notice. […]
The Laboratory Safety Manual
Laboratory leadership should be committed to providing a safe working environment, and they should believe their employees have a right to know about health hazards associated with their work in the department. In order for employees to make knowledgeable decisions about the personal risks of work in the lab, a comprehensive Laboratory Safety Manual should […]
Ergonomics in the Laboratory Setting
Sometimes when I am talking about lab safety and the topic turns to ergonomics, I get an unusual reaction from the audience- laughter. It surprises me because while a great many lab leaders a have the ability to step back and look at the bigger picture, they often won’t see it when considering ergonomics safety. […]
When the Cat’s Away…
Two lab technologists were bored while working on a slow night shift in the lab. They decided to take the leftover dry ice and put it in the sink to make a fog in the laboratory. After running water on the dry ice for a few minutes, the lab was fogging up. Suddenly the two […]
The Path to Pathogens
In December of 1991, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) put forth a regulation that was designed to minimize healthcare workers’ exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material (OPIM). The regulation came about in large part as a response to a rising trend of cases of employee exposure to HIV and HBV in […]
Changes in Laboratory Waste Management
In the past, if a laboratory or a facility generated less than 220 pounds (or 100 kilograms) of hazardous (chemical) waste each month, it was designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Very Small Quantity Generator of waste (or VSQG). In order to remove the hazardous waste from such a site, a contracted […]
Lab Safety – The Letter of the Law
Jackie considered herself to be a great lab tech. She was proud that she followed the rules of the department, especially the safety regulations. Jackie just knew she would have an exciting career that would be free from any lab exposures or incidents, and her proper use of PPE would ensure that she didn’t bring […]
Staffing ABCs
When I was growing up near Buffalo, New York, experiencing two snow storms in three weeks was no big deal- in fact it was rather commonplace. When I joined the laboratory workforce, those storms really didn't affect day-to-day operations in the hospitals where I worked. That's not true in Virginia where I live today. Our […]
The Workaround
Laboratorians are resourceful, and if you follow them through their work day, you would be amazed at some of the processes they have put into place in order to perform the tasks they’ve been assigned to do. Not all of these processes follow the written lab procedures, though. Not all of them are acceptable by […]
Taking Controls
The well-established “Hierarchy of Controls” is a system used to eliminate or reduce hazards in the workplace. Whether or not you’ve heard this term, if you work in the laboratory, you’ve been an active participant in this system of safety. The purpose of the hierarchy is to protect employees who work in hazardous areas (like […]
The Range of Chemical Risk
The first time you pick up a bottle of hydrochloric acid, if you’ve been properly educated about the dangers, it can be scary. You handle the bottle carefully, and you’re sure not to spill at all. The next few times, nothing has happened, and you’re confidence is high. You handle the chemical with less care. […]
Fanning the Flames
The fire started in the university chemistry laboratory when a research student use a flammable chemical too close to the open flame. It started as a relatively small fire, and if the student had been given fire safety training, he may have known how to handle it safely. Feeling that is was a better idea […]
Back in Time
Flying back to my home state of Virginia from the West Coast is never fun for me. Recently, I spent a week at a conference in San Diego, and on the last day I was able to sleep in until 5 a.m. local time! I knew, though, that I would lose time flying back home, […]
Spoilers
In my youth, going to see a movie was a big deal. There were snapshot advertisements in the newspapers, and you might catch a trailer for the movie on the television, but it was rare since we only had three or four channels. Often there was not much information about the movie ahead of time. […]