There was a time when laboratorians smoked cigarettes while reviewing microscope slides at their bench. That’s true - some even kept ashtrays next to their analyzers. Mouth pipetting was a skill taught and expected. Using gloves? Optional. That was simply the way things were done. The culture of the lab allowed, even encouraged, those behaviors because the dangers were not fully recognized—or worse, they were accepted.
Fast forward to today. You won’t find cigarettes in the lab anymore, and no one is mouth pipetting (I hope!). Gloves are standard. But even now, a different culture of unsafe practices is creeping in—one that may not seem as obvious or hazardous but is just as risky. Today’s world has brought cell phones, earbuds, and other distractions in the lab that slowly chip away at our focus, our cleanliness, and ultimately, our safety.
Let’s be clear; lab safety practices did not change simply because someone made a new rule. They changed because something forced labs to see the risks differently. In the early 1980s, the rise of the HIV epidemic was one of those wake-up calls. Suddenly, the invisible dangers of blood and body fluids weren’t just theoretical; they were very real, very serious, and very fatal. The science world watched as healthcare workers and laboratorians began to get infected, and it became obvious that change was necessary.
In 1991, OSHA published the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. This was a defining moment in laboratory safety. The standard laid out strict rules around personal protective equipment (PPE), sharps safety, training, and engineering controls. One of its biggest precepts was to build a culture that plans for safety, no matter what novel pathogen arrived.
Today, we don’t mouth pipette. We wear gloves. We follow standard precautions. But what about those cell phones in your pocket? The earbuds tucked discreetly under your hair? The smartwatch you glance at while handling specimens? We’ve replaced one set of habits with another, and unfortunately, many of them are not safe.
Let’s think about why these are problematic. Cell phones and other personal electronics are not clean, studies have shown they carry more bacteria than a toilet seat. If you’re using your phone in the lab, and especially if you’re handling it with gloved hands, you’re potentially contaminating both your device and your environment. That cross-contamination doesn’t just stay with you. It spreads.
Earbuds are another issue. They block out the world (sometimes that’s the goal), but that means you might not hear an alarm going off, a spill alert, or a colleague calling for help. Communication is key in the lab, and anything that disrupts that can be a hazard. And it’s not just about hearing. Distractions reduce attention to detail. One mistyped label, one misread result, one unnoticed warning light is all it takes for an error to become a serious incident.
“But I’m careful,” you might say. “I only check my phone when I’m away from the bench.” That might be true, but a safety culture isn’t built on exceptions. It’s built on consistency. If some staff are allowed to bend the rules, others will follow. If leadership turns a blind eye to unsafe behavior, it becomes the norm. The next time someone brings their phone to the bench, others might not say anything, because now it’s “just what people do.”
So how do we change that? How do we make sure we don’t fall into the same cultural traps we escaped in the past? First, leadership must model the behavior they expect. If supervisors are using phones in the lab or allowing earbuds while processing specimens, it sends a clear message that safety is negotiable. It’s not.
Second, revisit your lab’s policies. Do they clearly prohibit personal electronics in active work areas? Do they explain why? People are more likely to follow rules when they understand the reasoning behind them. Education is essential; talk about contamination risks, distraction hazards, and the potential consequences of letting safety slip.
Next, empower your staff. Make it okay for anyone—regardless of position—to speak up when they see unsafe behaviors. That’s how cultures grow strong: not by top-down enforcement alone, but by shared accountability. If everyone understands that safety is a team effort, unsafe habits are less likely to take root.
Finally, recognize that culture isn’t static. Just like we have moved from ashtrays to autoclaves, from mouth pipettes to mechanical safety systems, our safety culture must keep evolving. The tools change. The risks shift. But the goal stays the same: everyone goes home safe.
Lab safety isn’t just about policies and procedures. It’s about mindset. What we allow becomes acceptable, and what we tolerate becomes culture. Let’s make sure that what we build—every glove worn, every phone put away, every voice that speaks up—points toward a safer tomorrow.