“Oh crap.” Dr. Ming looked down at his gloved hand. He saw a small slice in his left glove. He looked closer and saw a trickle of blood. He looked even closer and saw a small cut. Dr. Ming was a seasoned scientist working at a medical device company. He was conducting research involving human fecal occult blood. On this day, he was working in the tissue culture room.
Formaldehyde is very commonly used in research labs in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries often to fix tissues and cells. It’s typically used as an aqueous solution known as formalin, which contains 37% formaldehyde.
It’s not always straightforward to determine if the OSHA Lab Standard or the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard applies at a given facility. Often it’s either one standard or the other, but in some cases, both standards will apply.
September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)! NPM is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. The 2020 theme is Disasters Don’t Wait- Make your Plan Today.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) recently amended its April 8, 2020 Hazardous Waste Management Guidance During the State of Emergency for the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Safety Partners is thrilled to announce the publication of its 5th edition of "Incidents, Accidents, and Near Misses in Laboratory Research." This collection of real life safety lessons has just been mailed to clients and many friends. Look for it in your (actual) mailbox!
Safety Partners’ is about to release our 5th version of Incidents, Accidents, and Near Misses in Laboratory Research which includes a real-life story of a lab employee who developed a chemical sensitivity to a commonly used lab chemical.
The terms risk and hazard are used often in the safety world, many times interchangeably. They have very different meanings, however, and when using these terms, care should be taken to use them appropriately.