The ORCBS - Biological Safety - Programs & Guidelines

Risk Assessment: Laboratory Procedure Hazards

Parenteral inoculations
Injection of potentially hazardous materials can occur by a needle, other contaminated sharp or by bites from infected animals or arthropod vectors.
Spills and splashes into skin and mucous membranes
Mucous membranes include the eyes, nose and mouth.
Ingestion through mouth pipetting
Animal bites and scratches
Inhalation exposures to infectious aerosols
Aerosols, or respirable sized particles, are extremely hazardous because they are generated in many lab procedures and are usually undetected. The creation of infectious aerosols places the person carrying out the procedure and others in the laboratory at risk. Any procedure that breaks the surface tension of a liquid will produce aerosols. Pipetting, blenders, non-self contained centrifuges, sonicators and vortex mixers all produce aerosols. Procedures and equipment that create aerosols also create larger droplets that rapidly settle out of the air. These droplets can settle on surfaces and therefore contaminate gloved hands, work spaces and mucous membranes.