Lab Findings: Avoid creating a biohazard risk for yourself, coworkers or other ancillary personnel

Early morning, during the month of May, EHSO was contacted by Building Residential Services (BRS) to notify us that one of the workers had found syringes with unshielded needles on the edge of a counter in a laboratory while they were collecting regular waste during the night shift.

BRS provided the following picture:

A close-up picture revealed that what had been reported as a syringe needle was in fact a blunt tip, stainless steel tube for perfusion with no sharp end.

As a reminder, ancillary personnel such as custodial, delivery, maintenance, contractors, among others, may access your research laboratory. Please ensure that all sharp hazards or other apparent hazards (stainless steel tubing) are maintained in containers when not in use to avoid exposures or concerns for potential exposure. Importantly, although the stainless-steel tube may not have a sharp end, it is still considered a sharp and could therefore puncture a bag or worker causing an injury to unsuspecting workers.