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The technician is properly wearing personal protective equipment in the lab to minimize the risk of skin contact with hazardous materials

Photo by Lillian Furlong To reduce his risk of exposure to any potentially hazardous materials, Jeffrey Stevens, a research technician in the Clinical Research Division, wears a lab coat, goggles and gloves. PPE is essential for tasks where engineering controls and procedures do not, alone, offer adequate protection.

Every year, in research facilities across the country, on-the-job lab injuries happen — injuries that are often preventable with the use of appropriate personal protective equipment.

PPE is an essential component of the Center's safety program to minimize exposure to hazardous materials. It is necessary for tasks where engineering controls and procedures do not, alone, offer adequate protection. In a general laboratory, setting where a fume hood or biosafety cabinet offers protection from vapors, particulates, and aerosols, and where quantities of hazardous materials are typically small, the main focus of PPE is to prevent skin contact with such materials.

At the Center, the minimum level of PPE for handling hazardous materials — be it blood, ethidium bromide or radioactive phosphorous-32 — is a lab coat, safety glasses and thin, disposable, non-powdered latex or nitrile gloves.

Basic protection

A lab coat helps protect your skin and clothing from splashes. They are provided by the Environmental Health & Safety Office and laundered by an outside service. Multiple pick up locations are available.(see the EH&S Web site).

Eye and face protection come in a number of styles. Safety glasses protect your eyes from flying particulates and small, low-risk splash hazards. Goggles also provide protection from flying particulates, but are suited for larger splash hazards. Both must meet the American National Standards Institute Z87.1 standard. Look for the marking Z87. Regular prescription glasses do not meet this standard, so an over-the-glasses style of safety glasses or goggles must be worn. A face shield protects the user's face from flying particulate and splashes. A face shield does not eliminate the need for safety glasses or goggles. They must be worn together.

Glove selection is based upon the types of materials in use, the quantity involved, and the potential contact time. Thin nitrile or powder-free latex gloves are adequate for most general lab tasks (i.e. small volume, low-splash risk). Latex gloves have some restrictions due to allergy issues. The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance prohibits the use of latex gloves, but powder-free latex may be worn at the Center. Some chemicals or tasks may require the use of a thicker glove, longer glove that offers forearm protection or one made of a better-suited material. Thermal gloves must be used around cryogenic liquids like liquid nitrogen. These gloves provide insulation for hands and forearms while reaching into a freezer or transferring liquid nitrogen to dewars (containers designed to store and dispense small quantities of the substance).

Most Center and SCCA faculty and staff members work in a safe manner, but accidents do happen — and risks increase during the performance of an unfamiliar, repetitive or routine tasks, or in the event a person is suddenly startled during deep concentration. The important thing is to always wear PPE, so that in case of accidental exposures, personal protection is in place.

Additional information on PPE is available in the Center's Hazard Awareness and Management Manual or by contacting EH&S at (206) 667-4866.

[Matt Lundgren is a safety specialist in the Environmental Health & Safety Office.]

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