Forensic Lab Safety

The best forensic lab safety programs are the ones that involve all employees, according to Forensic Magazine. Forensic laboratory safety coordinators should assign every staff member some duty in the safety program, including a specific responsibility.

Considerations

• Hazardous materials and equipment should be identified, labeled and shown to new staff members. safety lable image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com

  Forensic lab safety should focus on bottle gas cylinders, chemical inventory, toxic compounds, emergency response, availability of safety reference materials, alcohol inventory, fire control, the condition of refrigeration technology, flammables storage, showers and eye wash stations, specimen storage and potential electrical hazards.

Purpose

• The purpose of a forensic lab safety program is to minimize the risk of injury and illness to lab staff. Managers should make sure that employees have adequate training, information and safety equipment needed to work in the lab.

Sharps Safety

• Workers in the health care industry are at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens. syringe image by NatUlrich from Fotolia.com

  According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), needlestick injuries and related injuries which expose workers to bloodborne pathogens are important health concerns. These injuries can put a forensic lab worker at risk of diseases like hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. OSHA requires that employers keep a sharps injury log for the recording of injuries from contaminated sharps such as needles, syringes and scalpels.