THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE- SCHOOL of BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

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1 Page: 1 of 7 1. Purpose: 1.1. To describe the procedures to be used when dealing with chemical or microbiological spills. 2. Equipment: 2.1. Spill Kit 2.2. Miscellaneous items as listed 3. Materials: 3.1. Various materials as required for specific spills. 4. Set Up: 4.1. MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets, copies filed and readily available) must be consulted before working with any substance as they contain details on action to be taken in the event of a spill for that specific substance Spill kits can be found in various laboratories throughout the School. Familiarize yourself with the location of those nearest to your laboratory Ensure that you have read and understood the safety information in section 5 of this GLP before dealing with any spill. 5. Safety Precautions: 5.1. Always wear protective personal equipment (safety glasses, gloves, lab coats, mask) when dealing with any spill. The equipment required may differ depending on the nature and extent of the spill Be careful when dealing with spills that involve broken glass. All broken glass must be disposed of in a sharps bin. If the glass has chemical contamination, then a new sharps bin should be used and the method of disposal of the sharps bin will depend upon the nature of the chemical contamination. ie. If the chemical would be disposed of by collection by a licensed chemical waste WRITTEN BY CHECKED BY AUTHORISED BY NAME (signed) Sarah Cooper Melissa J Musicka Alistair Sim DATE 30th July th august th October 2001 Distributed To: GDP Master file / GDP Lab file

2 Page: 2 of 7 contractor, then the sharps bin should be isolated and then disposed of in the same manner Ensure that other staff are made aware of the spill and where required restrict physical access to the spill site (e.g. lock doors, display signs) to prevent anyone from slipping in or spreading the spill Encourage safety awareness when transporting / handling / storing chemical or infectious substances: Always carry chemical winchesters or other glass vessels in wire carry baskets or protective foam containers Containers of infectious material should be placed in an unbreakable secondary container for transport Always use the lift as opposed to the stairs for transporting chemicals, especially those in larger or breakable containers Always put chemicals including acids and flammables away in their respective cabinets as soon as they are delivered, and whenever they are not being used. NEVER leave flammables or acids unattended on benches To prevent accidents always store large, heavy or glass vessels on low shelves Store hazardous chemicals in bunds or driptrays to contain any spill should it occur. 6. Method: 6.1. The following steps are those to be followed in the event of a chemical spill. They are also the basic steps required when dealing with biological and mercury spills but additional procedures for these spills are mentioned later CONTROL Control the source of the spill (See Attachment 9.2 for complications arising due to the linked air-conditioning system in the LSB). If spilt material is flammable, remove all ignition sources; mobile phones, pagers; turn off bunsen burners ASSESS

3 Page: 3 of 7 Quickly assess the nature of the spill. You should be familiar with the MSDS s of the chemicals that are used in your laboratory, and the risk level of infectious materials you are working with. If safe to do so, move to Contain the spill. If required, evacuate the immediate area, and in some instances shutdown the air-conditioning system which may spread fumes throughout the building. (The action taken here depends on the specific building you are situated in. Life Sciences has an Emergency Air-conditioning Shutdown button, located on each floor. (see MHS LSB Emergency Air-conditioning Shutdown) If evacuation is required, sound the evacuation alarm in your specific area and all personnel should leave the building, moving toward the designated evacuation point. (Sounding the evacuation alarm will result in a response from the Fire Brigade) o Security must be notified of the nature of the emergency (15888). Seek/administer first aid (if required) to any personnel affected. Inform other staff to keep clear of the spill 6.4. CONTAIN (only if the spill is safe enough to deal with) Put on appropriate personal protective equipment; gloves, glasses (and mask if required) Retrieve spill kit Contain the spill, use booms, pillows or other appropriate absorbent materials to stop the spill spreading Do not let the spill enter the drains (sewerage systems) Refer to MSDS for the appropriate actions to clean-up the spilt material and to decontaminate the area DISPOSAL Place all contaminated absorbents in disposal bags or buckets and dispose of according to the MSDS. The Safety Officer may need to organize a chemical waste collection FOLLOW-UP

4 Page: 4 of All incidents must be reported to your supervisor and an incident/accident form must be completed Ensure that the contents of the spill kit are replaced (see the School Safety Officer) 6.7. Other methods for dealing with chemical spills include Neutralisation, Oxidation, and Reduction. Details can be found in the CCH Laboratory Safety Manual. Personnel must not attempt to use the methods listed in that Safety Manual unless they have had advanced chemical training and can prove themselves to be highly competent at such procedures. Even the slightest mistake may cause a greater problem than the spill itself by way of an adverse chemical reaction MERCURY SPILLS - most mercury spills involve broken thermometers and as such do not present a high risk. Evacuation following a mercury spill should only be considered if there is massive contamination or if laboratory ventilation is inadequate. To clean up small mercury spills, wear protective clothing, gloves and mask (mercury vapour is toxic) and collect droplets by way of a wet paper towel, adhesive tape, Pasteur pipette. Mercury waste must be treated as hazardous waste and dealt with accordingly. Put mercury waste into a sealed glass bottle, label and arrange with the Safety Officer for its collection BIOLOGICAL SPILLS - (also see GLP 007 Microbiological Safety) spills of viable microorganisms must be assessed as to the infectious risk level, concentration and where the spill has occurred. As a general rule, spills of 10mL or greater that occur outside a biological safety cabinet must be dealt with in the following way; Minimise aerosol inhalation risks - evacuate the lab. Shut the lab and display 'No Entry' signs. Remove any contaminated clothing and put them in an autoclavable biohazard bag. Wash hands and face with anti-microbial soap. Put on clean personal protective equipment; lab coat, nitrile gloves, safety glasses, mask. Allow the aerosols to settle - do not enter the lab until 30 mins has elapsed. Pour 70% alcohol around the spill to facilitate gentle mixing. Do not pour it directly onto the spill as this will generate more aerosols. Carefully absorb the spill material into clean paper towel and place all contaminated material (including gloves) into biohazard waste bags.

5 Page: 5 of 7 DO NOT autoclave any waste that includes sodium hypochlorite due to the risks of toxic gas production. NB : 70% Alcohol must not be relied upon to kill all microorganisms. Treat all spill surfaces as potentially infectious and beware of drips etc. Wipe down any possibly contaminated surfaces (including the spill site) with disinfectant e.g. bleach. Remove and autoclave protective clothing in an autoclavable biohazard bag before washing Spills that occur inside a biological safety cabinet should be dealt with immediately. Keep the cabinet ON during the following procedures: Spills up to 1mL should be treated by wiping with paper towel and 70% alcohol. Dispose of the contaminated paper towel in an autoclavable waste bag together with the gloves. Wipe the spill surface with a sodium hypochlorite solution but do not include this paper towel in the waste to be autoclaved. Wipe over the site again with soapy water. NB Hypochlorite solutions must be freshly prepared to be effective. For spills greater than 1mL, remove contaminated gloves and leave them inside the cabinet. Remove protective clothing (if contaminated) and place in an autoclavable waste bag. Wash hands and arms with an anti-microbial soap, then put on a clean set of nitrile gloves and fresh gown. Flood the spill area with 70% alcohol and leave it for 10 minutes. Remove excess fluid with paper towel and discard into a biohazard bag. Discard all disposables, petri dishes and solid material associated with the spill into the same bag. Remember to put all contaminated sharps into a sharps bin. Decontaminate all equipment, walls and work surface by swabbing them with a hypochlorite solution. Disinfect both sides of the front grille and if the spill has reached the sump floor, collect the spill with paper towel and 70% alcohol, then wipe the surface with a hypochlorite solution, then with soapy water. Do NOT autoclave waste containing hypochlorite solution as it produces toxic gases. Reassemble the cabinet, shut it down and irradiate with UV light for at least half an hour. In the event of a massive spill, formaldehyde gas

6 Page: 6 of 7 decontamination may be necessary before further use. Discuss this with the Laboratory and Research Safety Officer Any spill that occurs of a Genetically Modified Organism outside the PC2 Facility must be reported to the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) who will then pass on this information to the OGTR For the Radioactive refer to GDP 008 Radiation Safety. NB For further information on Spills refer to the Emergency Procedures Section of the CCH Laboratory Safety Manual (located in LS3-26). 7. Maintenance: N/A 8. Shutdown: 8.1. Fill in an Accident/Incident form and send the yellow copy to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Resource Manager.d 8.2. Inform the Safety Officer that replacement components of the spill kit are required (if used). 9. Attachments: 9.1. 'Chemical Spills' procedure sheet LSB Safety Notice Spill Kit Emergency Procedure. 10. Check List: If you were required to read this GDP sign the Requested Reading Record Sheet (Illustration 5.2) in GDP 001 Induction Procedure. 11. References: CCH Laboratory Safety Manual Australian/New Zealand Standard. Safety in Laboratories Part 3: Microbiology (AS/NZS :1995) 12. Change History: Issue Number: 1st Issue Date Issued:

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