Ensuring staff safety in the laboratory means more than managing liability risks and preventing workers’ compensation claims. It should also extend beyond regulatory compliance, complex as that can be. In an age of staff shortages, investments in safety not only promote employee retention directly (by keeping workers off the injury list), but can make staff more likely to stay. When the laboratory takes its safety into account in its purchasing decisions, employees know that they are valued team members and that the facility considers it worthwhile to protect them.

That protection may take the form of immediate hazard control, such as the barriers to bloodborne pathogens or caustic agents provided by gloves, clothing, face shields, and eyewear. Protection also can consist of accident prevention, sometimes in the form of biohazard reduction (such as containment of sharps or contaminated waste), or protection may be the rapid accident response made possible by eyewash stations and fire extinguishers. Another safety category that was once overlooked, but is now the focus of much product development, is the prevention of long-term injury risks through ergonomic design and reduced repetitive motion. Fortunately, new and established products in all safety categories are plentiful.

Providing a Barrier

Surgipath, Richmond, Ill, makes Surgipath™ cutresistant gloves, which can be worn between two gloves made of nitrile, latex, or vinyl for enhanced protection against body-fluid contamination when handling sharp items. The gloves are made of what the company describes as one of the strongest fibers ever manufactured: polyethylene of ultrahigh molecular weight. Although they should be replaced when signs of wear become evident, the gloves can be reused many times. They are sterilized by autoclaving them, by soaking them in bleach, or by using other common sterilization methods. The gloves are light in weight and are soft, and they have no seams.

The Pluggo™

KleenGuard® A60 bloodborne pathogen and chemical splash-protection coveralls, manufactured by Kimberly-Clark Professional®, Roswell, Ga, are available in several configurations to suit many tasks, with or without storm flaps, hoods, boots, and elastic wrists and ankles. The patented design exceeds American National Standards Institute standards for rip resistance by 7.5 times and uses a three-layer fabric with a microporous film in the middle. This provides protection against particulates and liquids (even if they are pressurized) while keeping the wearer cool and dry. ASTM penetration testing for blood, body fluids, and bloodborne pathogens has been passed by the coveralls.

The Pluggo™ decapper from LGP Consulting Inc, Wood River, Ill, is designed to protect users from both aerosol exposure during decapping and the repetitive stress injury that can result from conventional decapping methods. The automated, benchtop unit has a small footprint and works at three times the speed of manual decapping, the company says. It can handle up to 3,000 original vacutainer tubes (in three sizes) per hour. The unit, which weighs only 9 kg, can use either 110-V or 220-V current.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Mass, offers the Forma 1400 series class II, A2 biosafety cabinet for use only in North America. In addition to meeting NSF standard 49 to keep the user safer in class II, A2 conditions, the cabinet also improves user comfort and laboratory efficiency. Compared with competing cabinets, the series uses 50% less power, greatly reducing its operating cost. The cabinet also decreases the fatigue associated with loud blowers by cutting sound levels in half (to 61 dBA). Visibility features such as transparent sidewalls reduce the chance of eyestrain by making the work area brighter, the company says. This feature also makes it easier to conduct demonstrations or training, since activities are more easily observed by those standing next to the cabinet. An easy-to-use programmable control package allows customization in several areas. Among these is a feature called Morning Wake-Up, which lets users preset a time when the cabinet will be sterile and ready to use. An ultraviolet light (optional) can be programmed, and it also shuts off automatically to save energy and bulb life.

From K-Medical Inc, Fort Lauderdale, Fla, Face-Saver face shields are available in an extra-long, extra-wide size (model FS 8500) for use in the laboratory. These plastic wraparound shields are optically clear and impervious to fluids, but they remain comfortable because their Cool Vent Air Flow system removes heat and moisture under the shield by allowing it to rise through vents at the top. A soft cushion allows space for eyeglasses or goggles to be worn under the shield and provides a custom fit. The Accommodator headband adjusts automatically to compensate for various hairstyles and head sizes. The disposable, economical shields weigh less than 28 g and are latex free. They meet or exceed US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

Terminal® Biohazard Keeper™ Bench-Top Keeper

Keeping It Clean

Whitney Products Inc, Niles, Ill, manufactures the Terminal® Biohazard Keeper™ Bench-Top Keeper. A hazard can be created when workers discard nonsharp waste in containers intended for sharps, but this often happens because sharps containers are at hand, while the central biohazard container may be many steps away from the workstation. The Bench- Top Keeper eliminates this risk by collecting contaminated waste (including pipettes, test tubes, swabs, sticks, and petri dishes) where they are used. The containers, available in two sizes, have plastic linings to hold liquids and have self-locking tops. They can be stored flat (requiring less space than rigid containers) and folded into shape before use. The filled containers can be autoclaved before disposal, if necessary.

Eyewash/facewash stations offered by Encon® Safety Products, Houston, can be added to the laboratory with minimal disturbance because they are available in multiple types to suit the available space. The Swing Away™ eyewash, available in two sizes and for right- or left-handed use, is mounted 10.2 cm above the countertop. It swivels into position over a sink, where its self-adjusting regulator provides water at a flow rate of 9.1 L per minute. It has acetal heads with hinged covers and a stay-open valve for rapid use. It connects to the water supply through the countertop. Saf-T-Lok™ eyewash models have horizontal or vertical valves and stainless-steel push plates for use from the right or left; they swivel over the sink and lock into place. Models with facewash capabilities provide flows of 30.3 L per minute using self-adjusting regulators. All models include clear actuation graphics.

Thomas Scientific, Swedesboro, NJ, is the source for Opti-Cide™ spray cleaner. It is a premixed, ready-to-use surface cleaner and disinfectant that kills bacteria (including Salmonella choleraesuis and Mycoplasma tuberculosis), viruses (including HIV-1 and Poliovirus types 1 and 2), and fungi. In addition to controlling environmental cross-contamination of equipment surfaces, it can be used to decontaminate instruments (or any inanimate object) that will later be subjected to highlevel disinfection or terminal sterilization. Opti-Cide is noncaustic and can be used as a soak or spray. The company adheres to the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices in producing the disinfectant, and the product meets OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen requirements.

Oviation® BioNatural pipettes

The Protection Plus® line of protective clothing, made by DenLine Uniforms Inc, Quincy, Ill, includes a lab coat and lab jacket designed for use in blood collection, blood banking, anatomic pathology, and clinical laboratory settings. The garments have been tested for splash and spray resistance through 225 commercial hot-water launderings. Hot water can be used (without bleach) to disinfect this clothing, but it can also be autoclaved. The recommendations of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for processing and disinfection of medical linen are met by the Protection Plus line. An additional safety feature is the line’s use of tapered sleeves with spun woven polyester cuffs; compared with open sleeves or rolled cuffs, this design minimizes the chance that the sleeve will catch on objects. The possibility that liquid will reach the forearm also can be eliminated by wearing a glove over this tapered cuff. False instrument readings due to static are prevented by the carbon fibers distributed evenly across the fabric to provide controlled static discharge. Over the life of the garment, the company says, this clothing costs 25% to 50% less than polyester or cotton-polyester blend lab coats, yet the fabric is still breathable.

Attention to Ergonomic Design

VistaLab Technologies, Mount Kisco, NY, produces Ovation® BioNatural pipettes to reduce pain and fatigue associated with pipetting (as well as to reduce the incidence of repetitive stress injury). The design encourages the user to maintain postures that are ergonomically correct, including the neutral hand position that is important in preventing injury. Carpal-tunnel and median-nerve pressures are reduced because there is no need for excessive rotation of the wrist and hand, and the low-profile, nonaxial design reduces lifting and reaching, thus protecting the shoulder and elbow from tension. A click sound lets the user know that the tip is ready to use, so very little grip pressure is required. A keypad allows the user to select operating mode, volume, speed, and pipetting protocol. Multiple dispensing, reverse pipetting, mixing, serial diluting, and automatic sequential dispensing are possible, in addition to pipetting. Clearly, laboratories can expect no shortage of either innovative or tried-and-true products to promote safety. With experienced personnel as their most important assets, many facilities will find themselves relying ever more heavily on products that decrease injury risks, enhance comfort, improve peace of mind, and promote job satisfaction for their staffs.

Kris Kyes is technical editor of CLP.