SAFETY IN THE

LABORATORY and WASTE

DISPOSAL
Ms. Suzzeth M. Untalan
November 27, 2013
Health and Safety Committee
To emphasize on the safety guidelines in the
laboratory;
To know the proper waste disposal in a university
setting.

Objectives
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Hazards
Health Hazards
Biohazards
Irritants
Corrosive chemicals
Sensitizers
Carcinogens
Toxic materials

Physical Hazards
Combustible
Flammables
Explosive Oxidizers
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Biohazards

Anything that can cause
disease in humans
regardless if its source.
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Irritants
Cause reversible
inflammatory effects at
the site of contact with
living tissue esp. the skin,
eyes, and respiratory
passages.

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Corrosive Chemicals
Cause destruction or
irreversible alterations
when exposed to living
tissue, or destroy certain
inanimate surfaces;
Corrosive to tissue but
not to steel, few are to
both.
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Carcinogens
Induce tumors
Chloroform, chromic acid,
formaldehyde, nickel
chloride, and potassium
dichromate
Carcinogenic dyes :
auramine, basic fuschsin,
benzidine dyes

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Toxic Materials
Capable of causing death
by ingestion, skin contact
or inhalation at certain
specified cocentrations.
Methanol, chromic acid,
osmium tetroxide, uranyl
nitrate
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Combustibles
Substance that ignite at
or above a certain
temperature at which
vapors will ignite in the
presence of an ignition
source
Flash point: 100deg F
(OSHA) and 141 deg F
(DOT)

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Flammables
Have flash points below
the combustibles
Ignite even with electrical
devices that spark
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Explosive
Picric acid
Should never be stored
after use because it
explodes upon aging

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Oxidizer
Harmless but may initiate
or promote combustion
and may cause serious
fire
Sodium iodate, mercuric
oxide, chromic acid
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Personal Safety
1. Wear suitable clothing
preferably made of
chemically inert
materials.
2. Wear goggles, face
shields when the
experiment involves
corrosive materials.
3. Tie your long hair at the
back or wear a hair net.

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Personal Safety
4. Follow good
housekeeping practices.
5. Have a first aid kit always
ready for use.
6. Before performing the
experiment, study and
understand the objectives
of the experiment.
7. Familiarize yourself with
the location and proper use
of safety equipment.

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Personal Safety
8. Follow all safety
instructions carefully.
9. Do not wear contact
lenses even under safety
glasses.
10. Do not perform
unauthorized experiments.
11. Do not indulge in
horseplay or practical jokes

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Personal Safety
12. Do not work while under
the influence of drugs or
alcohols.
13. Do not work alone.
14. Do not wear jewelry to
prevent accidents or contacts
with chemicals.
15. Do not eat, drink, and
smoke in the lab.

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Personal Safety
16. While performing the
experiment:
a. do not hurry
unnecessarily;
b. do not compromise
on safety;
c. take time to do
things properly.
17. Be aware of what your
neighbors are doing.
18. Follow the procedure of
the experiment correctly;
19. Dry run procedures
before actually using the
dangerous materials.
20. Know what to do before
leaving the lab
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Wash hands, face, arms;
Turn off all services;
Check the cleanliness of the lab;
Leave a note if someone is expected to take over the
lab;
Lock the door.
Before leaving the lab
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Special Safety Practices
1. Do not use frayed cords of
switches of electrical
equipment.
2. Keep all equipment and
hands dry while handling.
3. Use grounded outlets
only.
4. Do not use electrical
equipment near
flammable chemicals.
5. Do not try to repair
equipment yourself.
6. Ask your superior before
using equipment designed for
pressure.
7. Each lab should be equipped
with an appropriate fire
extinguisher with at least one
fire blanket.
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Special Safety Practices
8. Each floor level of the lab
bldg should have self-
contained breathing mask
for emergency rescue
operations.
9. Maintenance check of
the apparatus and
equipment.


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1. Read carefully the labels before using the content
of the bottle.
2. Use carrying device for chemicals in transit.
3. Avoid prolonged contact with chemicals. You may
do the transferring in a fume hood.
4. If possible, substitute a non-toxic substance for a
dangerous chemical.
5. Close the containers after used and should be
returned to the storage.
Handling of Chemicals (General)
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6. Wipe or rinse the residual material from the external
surface of the container.
7. Use aspirator, not your mouth, in suctioning liquids
using pipette.
8. Use clean, dry spatulas for solid reagents.
9. Do not interchange the spatulas of different
reagents.
10. Stoppers should be positioned upside down to avoid
contamination.
Handling of Chemicals (General)
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11. Do not taste chemicals and even inhale organic
vapors.
12. Do not work with flammable reagents such as
methanol.
Handling of Chemicals (General)
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1. Acids should always be diluted by stirring slowly and
carefully the concentrated acid into the water. If
water is added into the acid, the heat generated
might cause the mixture to splatter.
2. When using either strong acids or strong base,
prepare suitable neutralizing agents for use in event
of spills.
Handling of Acids and Bases
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3. Do not inhale fumes of acids/bases. Keep the
containers covered.
4. When opening reagent bottles which may be under
pressure, cover the reagent bottle with a towel to
divert any chemical spray.
Handling of Acids and Bases
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Water
Acid
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1. All work involving ethers must be done behind
safety shields.
2. Do not stopper glass flasks containing hot,
condensable vapors.
3. All efforts to prevent mercury spills should be made
and such spills should be promptly cleaned up.
Handling of Other Reagents
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5. Mercury should never be heated in an open vessel.
6. Never hold solid reagents with bare hands. (arsenic
oxide, sodium metal)
Handling of Other Reagents
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1. Hold long tubing vertically when walking through the lab
room.
2. If you stumble or fall while carrying glassware or chemicals, do
your best to project them away from yourself and others.
3. Use a sharp triangular file when cutting glass tubings.
4. Protect your hands from possible cuts and burns by using a
piece of towel/cloth when holding manipulating glassware.
5. Check the condition of the glassware. Do not catch falling
glassware. Do not pick up broken glass with bare hands.
Handling of Glassware
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1. Shelves should be steady enough to bear the
weight of the containers and contents;
2. Should be high enough that it would be unlikely for
the materials to be knocked off during the normal
course of activities in the lab room;
3. Not be overcrowded;
4. Should not be low enough but not too high to be
reached.
Chemical Storage
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COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2
Acids
Alkali and alkaline earth metals
(carbides, hydrides, hydroxides,
oxides, peroxides)
Base
Water
Halogenated organic compounds
Oxidizing agents (chromates,
dichromates)
Halogens
Halogenating agents
H2O2 and peroxides
Nitric acid, nitrates
Perchlorates and chlorates
Permanganates
persulfates
Inorganic azides Heavy metals and their salts
Table of Incompatibilities
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COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2
Inorganic cyanides Acid, strong bases
Inorganic nitrates Acids, nitrites, metals, sulfur
Inorganic sulfides Acids
Organic compounds Oxidizing agents
Organic acyl halides Bases
Organic anhydrides Organic hydroxyl compounds
Organic halogen compounds Aluminum metal
Organic nitro compounds Strong bases
Powdered metals Acids, oxidizing agents
Table of Incompatibilities
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Name of the chemical
chemical formula
A signal word indicating the severity of hazard
Statement of hazards with most serious first
Precautionary measures to be taken to avoid injury or
damage from hazard stated
Instruction in case of contact or exposure if results
are severe and immediate action maybe necessary.
Labeling of chemicals
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C = Corrosive
E = Explosive
F+ = Extremely flammable
F = highly flammable
XH = Harmful
XI = Irritating
N = Dangerous for the Environment
O = Oxidizing
T = Toxic
T+ = Very Toxic
Chemical Signal indicating hazards
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Any waste that directly or indirectly
represents a threat to human health
or to the environment by
introducing one or more of the
following risks:
Explosion or fire
Infections, pathogens, parasites
or their vectors
Chemical instability, reactions or
corrosion
Acute or chronic toxicity
Cancer, mutations or birth
defects
Toxicity or damage to the
ecosystems or natural resources
Accumulation in the biological
food chain, persistence in the
environment or multiple effects

Hazardous Waste
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Responsibility of anyone discarding
any items to ensure that it:
It is stored and disposed of
responsibly;
It is only handled or dealt
with by authorised /
registered individuals or
businesses; and
A record is kept of all waste
received or transferred
through a system
Hazardous Waste
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General waste
Recyclable waste
Sharps/broken glass
Biological/medical waste
Chemical waste
Radioactive material waste
Electronic and computer waste
Types of Waste
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Biological, but no legal definition so:
Clinical
Animal By-Product
Special Waste
So, what exactly is Biological Waste?
Biological waste is often used to encompass clinical (or
Healthcare) waste, animal by-product waste and other
wastes arising from biological laboratories;
Biological Waste
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The term Animal By-Product is used to define waste
that is specifically composed of animal by-products
not intended for human consumption.
Biological Waste
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Clinical Waste is
any waste which consists wholly
or partly of:
human or animal tissue;
blood / body fluids,
excretions;
drugs or other
pharmaceutical
products;
swabs or dressings;
syringes, needles or
other sharp instruments;
which, unless rendered safe, may
prove hazardous;
Clinical Waste
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Waste arising from medical, nursing, dental,
veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice,
investigation, treatment, care, teaching or research or
the collection of blood for transfusion, which may
cause infection to any person coming into contact
with it is also defined as Clinical.

Clinical Waste
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Special Waste
Controlled waste that, because of its properties,
requires special treatment and control
Includes:
Infectious or potentially infectious material
Cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs (and clinical material treated
with them)
Many drugs / chemicals, otherwise hazardous
Special Waste
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Infectious is defined in the Hazardous Waste Directive
as: Substances containing viable micro-organisms or
their toxins which are known or reliably believed to
cause disease in man or other living organisms.
Normal practice should always be to ensure that
waste leaving the laboratory or practice has been
rendered NON-INFECTIOUS. If you cannot do this for
some reason, then it must be classified as Special
Waste.


Special Waste
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Any waste that could produce laceration or puncture
injuries must be disposed of as "SHARPS".
Sharps must be segregated from other waste.
Metal sharps and broken glass may be commingled with
each other, but not with non-sharp waste.
Waste that is to be incinerated should not be commingled
with glass or plastics.
Biological waste must not be commingled with chemical
waste or other laboratory trash.
Hazardous biological waste should be segregated from
other biological waste.

SEGREGATION OF BIOLOGICAL
WASTE IN THE LABORATORY
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Containers must: be appropriate for the contents; not
leak; be properly labeled; and maintain their integrity
if chemical or thermal treatment is used.
Containers of biohazardous material should be kept
closed.
CONTAINERS
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Place in a rigid, puncture resistant container (heavy
walled plastic is recommended). Label the container
"ENCAPSULATED SHARPS".
Container and encapsulated contents must withstand
an applied pressure of 40 psi without rupture.
Never attempt to retrieve items from a sharps
container.
Do not place sharps in plastic bags or other thin-
walled containers.
METAL SHARPS
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Place in a rigid, puncture resistant container
(plastic, heavy cardboard or metal), seal securely
and clearly label "BROKEN GLASS".

BROKEN GLASSWARE
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Use heavy duty plastic
"BIOHAZARD BAGS"
(autoclave bags) or containers
for solid biohazardous waste
(including contaminated
disposable plastic labware,
paper, bedding, etc [NOT
SHARPS].


SOLID BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE
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Heavy duty plastic bags or other appropriate
container without a Biohazard label are preferred.
NONHAZARDOUS BIOLOGICAL
WASTE
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should be placed in leak-proof containers able
to withstand thermal or chemical treatment.
DO NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS TO CONTAIN
LIQUIDS.

LIQUIDS
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ANIMAL CARCASSES AND BODY PARTS must be
incinerated or sent to a commercial rendering plant
for disposal. The Landfill should not accept
carcasses or recognizable body parts.
DISPOSAL METHODS
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SOLID ANIMAL WASTE: All animal waste,
including bedding, that is infectious or harmful to
animals, humans or the environment, should be
appropriately treated prior to disposal,
regardless of the origin of contamination. The
following disposal methods are acceptable:
1. Preferred Method: incineration followed by deposition of the
residual ash in the Landfill.
2. Thermal or chemical disinfection followed by deposition in the
Landfill.

DISPOSAL METHODS
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LIQUID WASTE including bulk blood and blood
products, cultures and stocks of etiologic agents and
viruses, cell culture material and products of
recombinant DNA technology should be disinfected
by thermal or chemical treatment then discharged
into the Sewer System.

DISPOSAL METHODS
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Discarded sharps (contaminated or not) that may
cause puncture or cuts, MUST be contained,
encapsulated and disposed of in a manner that
prevents injury to laboratory, custodial and Landfill
workers. Needles, blades, etc., are considered
BIOHAZARDOUS even if they are sterile, capped and
in the original container.
METAL SHARPS
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1. SOLID: Place in a properly labeled, leak proof
container; disinfect by thermal or chemical
treatment;
2. LIQUID waste should be disinfected by thermal or
chemical treatment then discharged into the Sewer
System.

MICROBIOLOGICAL WASTE
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1. Human cadavers, recognizable body parts: must be
cremated or buried
2. Other pathological waste from human and higher
primates must be incinerated
HUMAN PATHOLOGICAL WASTE
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Adapted from:
- Laboratory Management and Waste
Disposal Manual by Mallari, 2008
- Histopathological Techniques by Gregorios
2006
- Lecture notes in Microtechniques by Untalan
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