Welcome to an on-line

1. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Welcome to an on-line health and safety awareness package intended for staff and students working within UofE buildings on the Little France campus. Information contained within these pages is intended for use by University of Edinburgh staff and students only.

2. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY This on-line awareness package is intended for laboratory workers anticipating commencement of work using microtomes. Last updated: February, 2018

3. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Please take time to view the following material, and direct any urgent questions to your H&S Advisor, Senior Laboratory Manager, or the Little France Buildings H&S Manager (the contact details for whom are shown towards the end of this presentation). Thank you

4. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Completion of this awareness package is no substitute for the substantially more in-depth and practical training that will be provided within lab areas where microtomes are being used, and which you must attend before commencing work using any microtome equipment.

5. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Risk (1) • It has been estimated that something like one out of every seven healthcare and medical research workers is accidentally injured by a sharp implement every year. • However, studies suggest that only one third of these injuries are reported!

6. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Risk (2) A substantial proportion of all injuries experienced within University buildings on the Little France campus (albeit the total number of occurrences is relatively small) are related to handling of sharp objects, including microtome blades.

7. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Risk (3) Though broken glass and hypodermic needles are a common cause of injury too, especially to hands.

8. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Risk (4) Many of these risks apply equally to cryostats, but they may be compounded in such cases since it is fresh tissue that is being prepared, and it is possible that there’ll exist some potential for infection as well as traumatic injury.

9. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Risk (5) • Most sharps-related injuries are not too serious, but some may dictate treatment in Hospital. • But microtome blades may cause severe injuries. • In some cases, there may also be some risk of infection. • An appropriate first aid response is described towards the end of this presentation.

10. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Causes • Poorly developed technique • Momentary carelessness • Inattention • Using the wrong tool for the job • Inadequate training and supervision • Complacency is one of the biggest problems - most (but far from all) injuries seem to be associated with experienced users SCIENTIST

11. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Prevention is always … always… better than cure!

12. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (1) • Conform to manufacturer’s instructions, and ensure that safety guards are properly in place. • Operators should receive safety training, prior to commencement of work, related to each variation in microtome equipment, since there may well be significant differences between machines. • Microtomes must always be clearly labelled to show the presence (or absence) of their blades.

13. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (2) • Avoid unnecessary force in the use of microtome machinery etc. • The knife-holder should never be removed with a blade in situ. • If the knife holder is dropped, do not attempt to catch it, and get your feet out of the way! • Know (before starting work with a microtome) precisely what action to take in the event of injury. • Be aware of the importance of reporting all sharps-related injuries.

14. X √ √ HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (3) • Do not dispose of sharps together with other laboratory waste. A special disposal policy exists for these: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/medicine-vet-medicine/staff-students/staff/health-and-safety/manual (See Section 18: Waste Management) • Minimise handling, and potential for injury, by discarding sharps promptly and properly using the special disposal containers, which must be made available in all laboratories where sharps are being used.

15. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (4) • Sharps disposal containers must be puncture and leak-resistant, and properly labelled. • Use proprietary containers, and not something that has been cobbled together for the sake of economy or expediency. • Never dispose of sharps into plastic bags (even when you intend later to transfer this into a proper sharps container). • Do not allow sharps containers to overfill. • Transport sharps waste with care.

16. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (5) • Do not allow yourself to be rushed when carrying out work involving microtome equipment. Allocate sufficient time to complete the work safely. • Clear sufficient space around yourself to allow unrestricted movement and easy access to samples, apparatus etc, in order to minimise double-handling, and ensure that you are not sitting or standing or sat in a place where you might be jostled by co-workers. • Work strictly within the scheme described in a Safe System of Work linked to a formal Risk Assessment, and do not improvise.

17. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (6) • Use microtomes only for the purpose intended. • Do not leave microtome blades lying around where they might be forgotten and later come into contact with another person (e.g. cleaners). • Comply with all relevant risk assessments, local rules, etc.

18. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (7) • Never place a microtome blade (or any other sharp object) into a lab coat pocket, as injuries are occasionally sustained by workers thrusting their hands into their pockets and encountering sharp objects.

19. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (8) • Take special care when usingunguarded blades. • Use the correct instrument for the job to be done, and do not improvise with what may be more readily available. • Make full and proper use of safety guards, blade cleaners and removers etc. • Consider using cut-resistant gloves and other items of PPE that might be appropriate.

20. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Precautions (9) • Regrettably it may be the safest to assume that waste bags might just contain something sharp (even though we should all know never to commit sharps to plastic waste bags). • So, handle these with care, as though there is the potential for something sharp to protrude through the bag and stick into your hand. • And never, in any event, fill bags (or sharps bins) more than two-thirds full.

21. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY First Aid (1) • Summon a trained First Aider if necessary • Wash open wounds with soap and water. • Encourage gentle bleeding. • Do not suck or scrub at the wound. • Dry the area, and apply a sterile waterproof dressing. • Thoroughly irrigate contaminated skin, conjunctiva or mucous membrane, using sterile water. • Inform your Supervisor/Lab Manager.

22. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY First Aid (2) • Retain a sample of any material that may have been introduced into the body during a sharps-related injury. • Attend Accident & Emergency or a Minor Injuries Unit, making reference to the work that you had been doing when the injury was sustained. • If there is any risk of infection, you must contact the University’s Occupational Health Unit as soon as possible after the occurrence.

23. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Accident Reporting Report all accidents and near- miss occurrences using the on- line form at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-safety/accident-reporting in order to ensure that the circumstances are investigated. If biological materials were involved, you also inform UofE’s Occupational Heath Unit.

24. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Other Sharps Information regarding the more general concern of sharps injuries in biomedical laboratories is available at: http://docstore.mvm.ed.ac.uk/HealthAndSafety/presentations/SharpsInjuries.ppt

25. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Spill Management Information regarding the safe management of spills within biomedical laboratories is available at: http://docstore.mvm.ed.ac.uk/HealthAndSafety/presentations/SpillManagement.ppt

26. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Occupational Health Unit UofE’s Occupational Heath Unit can be contacted on a confidential basis for further information and advice by telephoning 650 8190 or by emailing Occupational.Health@ed.ac.uk

27. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY In Summary …. • Prevention is always better than cure. • Take extra care when using microtomes. • Minimise handling. • Dispose of sharps promptly and correctly. • Use only approved waste containers. • Report all accidents.

28. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Problems and Questions Refer all other enquiries to your H&S Advisor, Laboratory Manager or the Little France Buildings H&S Manageras soon as possible.

29. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY Lindsay Murray Health & Safety Manager, The University of Edinburgh, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine (Little France/Bioquarter Campus) Room SU225, Chancellor’s Building Ext: 26390 lgm@staffmail.ed.ac.uk

30. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE MICROTOME SAFETY You have now completed the on-line awareness package summarising key aspects of safety related to microtome operations. Thank you