Many researchers and health care professionals use needles daily. Surprisingly, data from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 385,000 US healthcare workers accidently stick themselves with a needle every year.
Needle stick injuries can occur from unsafe handling of needles during laboratory activities and from improper handling of sharps waste. These injuries can be prevented by implementing safe practices:
- Avoid recapping needles.
- OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard recommends the use of safety-engineered sharps. Safety sharps have been found to significantly reduce percutaneous injuries.
- If needles must be recapped, please utilize the one-handed recapping technique.
- Always properly dispose of needles and sharps.
- Medical sharps, which are instruments intended to cut or penetrate skin, should be placed in a closable, puncture-resistant, leak-proof, and appropriately labelled container for MERI (Madison Environmental Resourcing Inc) disposal.
- Proper handling of sharps waste can prevent injury to others, including custodial staff.
- More information on sharps disposal can be found on the Office of Biological Safety website. A printable sharps disposal poster can be found here.
Remember, in the event that a needlestick injury occurs, after immediate care, your laboratory supervisor must be notified and the incident must be reported to the Office of Biological Safety via First Report of Biological Exposure or Release Event Form. For more information on incident reporting, please click here.
by Megan Dixon & Dave Dyer
Megan Dixon is a Biosafety Specialist in the IBC and Laboratory Operations team. She joined EH&S in 2024 and supports the research community by reviewing biosafety protocols and doing laboratory visits.
Dave Dyer is a Biosafety Specialist in the IBC and Laboratory Operations team. He joined EH&S in 2021 and supports the research community by reviewing biosafety protocols and doing laboratory visits.
It’s Biosafety and Biosecurity Month 2024! Look out for more biosafety topics each week in October.
This year’s Biosafety Month theme is Innovative Science is Built on a Foundation of Safety.
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