Dealing with sharps
Dealing with sharps
- Needles and scapel blades, syringes and lances (and nothing else) must always be disposed of in CinBins located in each laboratory.
- Note that no glass of any kind should be disposed of in CinBins.
- Broken glass must be cleared away at once and disposed in the container for broken glass provided in each laboratory. Provided there is no additional chemical or biological hazard, a dustpan and brush should be used for this purpose (forceps, or for smaller pieces of glass, a piece of blu-tak or wad of wet tissue roll can be useful for collecting awkward slivers which do not brush up easily). If a chemical is involved proceed as for chemical spillages, then sweep up the glass.
- Pasteur pipettes which are not contaminated with hazardous material can be disposed of in the broken glass container.
- Contaminated glassware should always be autoclaved before disposal.
- Sharp objects or broken glass which are contaminated with radioactivity should be placed in a plastic CinBin labelled with radioactive warning tape and with the name/number of the lab from which it comes. When full, the Cinbin containing radioactive sharps should be sent to the University Radiation Protection Service for disposal.
See also:
The Avoidance of 'Needlestick' and Similar Sharp Induced Injuries, Health and Safety Note 98/017, SEPS, University of Glasgow.