March 2007

Conducting a Clinical Laboratory Risk Assessment

Risk Assessments are performed to develop effective strategies to guarantee a safe work environment for employees. Maintaining a safe laboratory is a shared responsibility between both managers and employees; likewise the risk assessments should be also. Definitions: Hazard: is the potential for something to cause harm. For example hazards can include an object, chemical, infectious agent or the way work is carried out. Risk: is the chance, high or low, that someone could be harmed (injury, damage or loss) by these or other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be. Risk Assessment is an action or series of actions taken to recognize or identify hazards and to measure the risk of probability that something will happen because of that hazard. The severities of the consequences are also taken into account. Thereafter, you can weigh up whether enough precautions have been taken to prevent harm or more should be done. Tools needed to perform an assessment: 1. Review of lab records a. Injury, illness and surveillance reports b. Equipment maintenance records c. Employee training records d. Environmental monitoring records 2. Inspect the laboratory a. Periodic walk-through b. Observing laboratory operations work flow, new equipment, new procedures, and employees Steps in the assessment process 1. Identify the hazards a. What are the sorts of circumstances that can be realistically expected to occur which are capable of leading to injury or ill health? b. When are the circumstances likely to arise? 2. Who are the people who might be at risk? a. Are some people likely to be at particular risk [e.g. pregnant workers]? b. Is the likely outcome a minor scratch or permanent disability? 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions a. What is the nature and extent of the risk(s)? b. Are the existing precautions appropriate and adequate? 4. Record and Review your assessment and update as necessary a. Are we fully complying with the law? b. If not, what action is required to control the risks? 5. Review your risk assessment and update as necessary
a. b. New equipment or procedures are brought in, new chemicals , new move, new infectious agent During the year if there is a significant change in the work place think about the risk assessment when you are planning your change

Step 1 Identify your hazards present (check on Risk Assessment Form) Hazards are categorized into three groups: Physical- things that may cause a trip, slip, cut, electrocution, blindness, falls of people and objects; Examples include cords, radiation, noise and vibration

Chemical- how easy can a chemical escape from their container and contaminate the environment Examples include toxicity, fire and explosions, and contamination. Biological- micro-organisms that include infectious and pathogenic agents may be airborne or absorbed through the skin
Examples include careless handling of sharps such as blades, Risk are sticking yourself (physical hazard) and infecting yourself (biological hazard).

a. b. c. d.

Walk around your laboratory and look for what could cause harm Ask your employees what they think may cause harm Check manufactures instructions on chemicals and equipment for hazard information Look back at accident records to identify less obvious hazards

Step 2 Evaluate the Risk a. b. c. d. After spotting the hazards decide what to do about them. First look to see what you are already doing; what controls are in place. Ask yourself is there is a way to remove the hazard altogether? If not, what can be done to control the risk so that harm is unlikely

Risk = Likelihood of an event X severity of outcome Consider the severity of a worse case scenario Cause permanent disability Long term illness or serious injury Medical attention and days off from work First aid needed Judge the likelihood of it happening High Moderate Minimal Virtually never Involve staff, so that you can be sure what is proposed will work in practice and will not introduce new hazards. Step 4 Record Your Assessment a. Write down the results or your assessment and share them with staff in the laboratory. b. Your assessment needs to show that you dealt with significant hazards and that the precautions taken are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low. c. Identify follow-up actions, if necessary:
Fix problem Refer staff to HSE training Create workgroup to solve issue Develop work unit specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Include in work unit specific training

Step 5 Review your risk assessment and update as necessary a. When a change occurs in the lab such as 1. New- employee, procedures, reagents, equipment
Written and Provided by JHH Pathology CQI Office, March 2007 Reference: Laboratory Risk Assessment, What, Why and How. www.cdc.gov/phppo/dls/pdf/lrawwh.pdf. October 1998 Risk Assessment at Work Royal Society of Chemistry, 6/02 www.rsc.org/lap/rsc com/ehsc/ehscnotes.htm Five Steps to Risk Assessment http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg163.pdf 06/06