Newcastle University
General Risk Assessment
Guidance on completing this form is provided on the Risk Assessment page of the Safety Office website www.safety.ncl.ac.uk.
Title of project or activity
Manager / Responsible person
School
Date of assessment
Location of work
Sharp Material
Principal Investigators
Faculty of Medical Sciences
06.13
Various locations across the Faculty including laboratories
1.1: Brief description of project or activity
Using sharp tools and materials within FMS
2.1:
Details of hazards, risks and implemented controls
Sharps such as:
Hazard 1
Needles, scalpels, razor blades, glass pasteur pipettes, plastic pipette tips, plastic pots ,
disposable loops non contaminated glassware, microscope slides and cover slips
 Risk to employees, students and visitors
Risks
 Needle stick and Injury from potentially contaminated sharp materials as above
 Risk of lacerations and puncture wounds
 Sharps used only where essential.
 Training provided in respect to the safe use of sharps
 Syringes with retractable needles and scalpels with retractable blades should be used
where appropriate
 Dispose sharps safely in appropriate sharps bins. The lid onto the sharps bin must be
locked in place before use and the sharps bins must not exceed the fill line.
 Never re-sheath needles and dispose of used sharps immediately after use.
 Always take sharps bin to sharps (not the other way around)
 Don’t pick up broken glass with hands and use appropriate equipment.
 Core borers will be used instead of scalpels where feasible
Controls
 Use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) - lab coat and gloves. Double gloves will be
used where required. Kevlar or chain mail gloves will be used for all activities involving
manual dissection of tissues – under nitrile gloves.
 The distance of the hand without the sharp will be kept as far apart as possible from the
hand holding and using the sharps training on safety procedures is undertaken by all
laboratory users.
 Dispose of sharp box through the Medical School porters.
 Forceps used to hold tissues or materials rather than gloved fingers and hands
 The distance of the hand without the sharp will be kept as far apart as possible from the
hand holding and using the sharp.
 Sharps will be properly stored in purpose designed containers.
Hazard 2
Risks
Controls
Biological fluids or microbiological cultures contaminated glassware, broken should be
placed in a 7 litre sharps bin
 Risk to employees, student and visitors
 Risk of infection from chemicals or biological fluids containing potential pathogens
 Wear PPE (nitrile gloves)
 Place broken glassware in a suitable container; please refer to ESS waste procedures and
Autoclave.
 Glassware that is biologically contaminated and broken should be placed in a sharp bin
and then autoclaved.
Sharps Risk Assessment - v5
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 Please refer to manufacturer instructions and BIOCOSH risk assessment.
Hazard 3
Risks
Controls
Broken Non-Contaminated Glassware
 Risk to employees, student and visitors
 Lacerations and puncture wounds to individual
 Wear PPE (nitrile gloves) and collect using a dust pan and sweep.
 Pick up large pieces of glass with forceps.
 All non-contaminated glassware must be disposed of via the green glass bin which should
be taken to the sharp not sharps to the bin.
 This is emptied by request by the Medical School porters for disposal.
2.2:
Additional controls to be implemented
 Any excess liquids, which is hazardous to health, e.g. chemical and
Controls
biological, to be removed prior to disposal of the sharps container. Any
excess liquid must be stored in a suitable container for inactivation.
dd/mm/yyyy
2.3: Emergency procedures for Needle Stick Injuries
 In the event of an accident the first priority is to ensure that any treatment required is given promptly.
 Inform the First Aid person and the Biological Safety Supervisor.
 Report all accidents immediately and seek medical advice where required.
Refer to University Occupational Health Service, while on University premises
Refer to Trust Occupational Health Service while on Trust premises
3.1:
Assessor
Name
Risk Assessment Working Group
3.2:
Signature
Date
27th June 2013
Manager / Responsible person
Name
Barry Argent, FMS Health and Safety
Committee Chair
Sharps Risk Assessment - v5
Signature
Date
27th June 2013
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