Safety Information Sheet for Recipients of Cultures/Microorganisms

European Biological Resource Centres Network Information Resource

Health and Safety Requirements

Introduction

A Culture Collection should assess the hazards and risks that staff may be exposed to during their work and assign specific responsibilities to individuals to ensure a safe working environment. The Culture Collection management holds the responsibility for the safety of all staff, visitors and hired contractors on the collection site. Staff managers are responsible for the health and safety of the staff they supervise and are required to assess the risk each individual is exposed to in carrying out the tasks assigned. They must also ensure that adequate facilities are available to carry out this work safely.

Information transfer to staff on hazards and risks should be provided via safety booklets, appropriate training, safety data sheets, codes of practice and risk assessments on all procedures and duties. Document issue records, risk assessment and training records should be kept for all members of staff and lodged in personnel files. Mechanisms should be in place to ensure that management and staff kept aware of new legislation.

Work place and workstations should be inspected regularly.

Emergency procedures for major accidents or incidents must be in place. These include fire evacuation procedures, contact procedures for first aiders, emergency procedures for out of hours working, emergency action with liquid nitrogen and chemical spillage.

Health and Safety Records

There are several health and safety records that are required by law and others that should be kept to facilitate health and safety management. The main records are:

• Accident book
• Chemicals in use
• Fire drill reports
• Inspection reports
• Maintenance records
• Minutes of First Aiders meetings
• Minutes of safety meetings
• Personal health records
• Personal risk assessments
• Procedural risk assessments
• Safety data sheets
• Staff training records

Contacts for Emergency Use

A Culture Collection should provide information to staff for contacts in case of an emergency such as internal first aid (list of First Aiders) and external provisions, e.g. medical doctor, hospital, other medical aid, emergency services. Additionally, information on building service utilities for cut off in an emergency should be provided, e.g. location of main electricity switches, location of water stop-valves, location of gas stop-valves. An employer should provide First aid boxes for emergency use.

Specific Hazards

A Culture Collection must have documented procedures for all its activities. An alphabetical list (not exhaustive) of areas to be covered related to biohazards, chemical and technical hazards is given below:

Accident reports

Allergic reactions

Autoclaves

Biological hazards

Carcinogens

Centrifuges

Chemicals

Sterile work cabinets

Cleaner’s safety guidelines

Disinfectants

Disposal of contaminated materials and wastes

Electrical safety

Fire

Glass

Hand tools

Hazard groups and containment levels

Infection

Laboratory practice

Laboratory coats and other personal protective equipment (PPE)

Ladders

Lifting and carrying

Liquid nitrogen

Microbial toxins

Office safety

Opening cultures and ampoules

Opening parcels

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Security

Solvents

Sterilisation

Tidiness

Transport of cultures within buildings

Visitor’s safety guidelines

Visual Display Units (VDU's)

Workplace maintenance and repair

Risk Assessment

A Culture Collection should carry out risk assessments on all its activities. The categories of risk assessment should include:

The management is responsible for the health and safety of staff whilst they are carrying out tasks on their behalf. Therefore it must ensure that a suitable and adequate risk assessment of the set task has been carried out and that the staff member has been made aware of the hazards and risks involved and that they have the relevant information and skills to carry it out. A risk assessment must identify the hazards, the potential to cause harm, the degree of harm (consequences of exposure) and the likelihood of exposure. There must be recommendations for safe procedures and actions needed for improving safety where necessary.

Hazards: National regulations governing the control of hazardous substances may require the containment of such substances or the reduction of possible exposure to as far below maximum exposure limits or occupational exposure standards as is reasonably practicable. More toxic materials should be replaced with less toxic ones where possible. Safety data sheets must be obtained and risk assessments carried out before chemicals are brought onto site. The risk assessment should include procedures for adequate handling, storage, use and disposal of the hazardous material.

Personal health: An individual member of staff may have a wide range of duties involving several hazardous materials. It is extremely important that all their tasks are considered taking into account any synergistic effects. A personal risk assessment form is completed as a written record on the safety aspects of the reportee's tasks. This is reviewed whenever there are major changes to the duties performed and during staff appraisal procedures. A list of all hazardous substances that could have cumulative effects that the reportee may be exposed to must be kept and updated. An assessment of the amount and frequency of exposure must be made and recorded.

Manual handling: A manual handling risk assessment form must be completed for every member of staff.

VDU operation: A VDU (Visual Display Unit) workstation assessment must be carried out for all staff who are categorised as VDU users (those who operate a VDU in excess of a defined exposure time, usually one or two hours per day). A trained VDU assessor should carry out this assessment.

Workplace: An annual safety inspection by experts outside the Culture Collection is advisable but the day to day assessment of workplace suitability and repair is an internal responsibility. The workplace and individual workstation must be suited to the tasks being carried out and must not place the operator at risk to their health and safety.

Equipment: All work equipment must be safe and suitable for the task for which it is being used. Equipment must be inspected regularly and any faults or concerns addressed immediately or before the equipment is next used.

Relevant Treaties, Directives and Legislation

USEFUL SAFETY REFERENCES

Anon (1995) Categorisation of pathogens according to hazard and categories of containment. Fourth edition. Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP). London: HMSO.

Anon (1996a). COSHH (General ACOP), Control of Carcinogenic substances, Biological Agents: Approved Codes of Practice (1996). London: HSE.

Anon (1997a). Safe Biotechnology, Classification of Biological Agents, Bacteria.Berufsgenossenschaft der chemischen Industrie. Merkblatt B 006e, 2/97, ZH 1/346. 69021 Heidelberg: Jedermann-Verlag.

Anon (1997b). Safe Biotechnology, Classification of Biological Agents, Fungi. Berufsgenossenschaft der chemischen Industrie. Merkblatt B 007e, 2/97, ZH 1/346. 69021 Heidelberg: Jedermann-Verlag.

Collier, L., Balows, A. & Sussman, M. (eds) (1998). Topley and Wilson’s Microbiology and Microbial Infections. 9th edition. London: Arnold.

Collins C H (1990). A review. COSHH and the microbiologist. Letters in Applied Microbiology10, 109-112.

Collins C H; Hartley E G; Pilworth R (1974). The prevention of laboratory acquired infection. PHLS Mongraph Series 6. London: HMSO.

de Hoog, G.S. (1996)Risk assessment of fungi reported from humans and animals. Mycoses39, 407-417.

Smith, D. (ed.) (1996). Committee on postal, quarantine and safety regulations report 1996, Postal, quarantine and safety regulations: status and concerns. Braunschweig, Germany: World Federation for Culture Collections. pp39.

Smith, J.E. & Moss, M.O. (1985). Mycotoxins: Formation, analysis and significance. Chichester, New York: John Wiley.

Smith, D., Rohde, C. & Holmes, B. (1999). Handling and distribution of microorganisms and the law. Microbiology Today 26, 14-16

Stricoff, R.S. & Walters, D.B. (1995) Handbook of Laboratory Health and Safety, second edition. pp 462. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

World Health Organization (1993) Laboratory Biosafety Manual, 2nd ed. (revised; interim guidelines). World Health Organization, Geneva, ISBN 92- 4-154450-3

Web sites

ICGEB - - biosafety -

AHIS -

CFSAN -

Belgian Biosafety Server

UK site on safety

Safety Standards the UK ACDP can be found at

WHO - - The Biosafety Manual is found at

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