Standard Operating Procedure
Use and disposal of sharps
SOP No: 8.2
Prepared by:
Department of Parks and Wildlife, Science and Conservation Division, Locked Bag 104,
Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983
Prepared for:
Department of Parks and Wildlife Animal Ethics Committee
Version 1.0 (May 2015)
SOP 8.2 Use and Disposal of Sharps
Revision History Log
Version #
Revision Date
Author
1.0
20150507
Hannah Anderson
Changes
Approvals
Version 1.0
Approved by:
Date: 1 June 2015
Dr Manda Page
Principal Zoologist, DPaW Species and Communities Branch
Chair, DPaW Animal Ethics Committee
Approved by:
Date: 4 June 2015
Mr Neil Thomas
Research Scientist, DPaW, Animal Science Program
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. S Trasti (Veterinary Pathologist,
Western Australian Animal Resource Centre) in improving the content of this standard operating
procedure. Dr. S Trasti provided advice on necropsy procedures. Necropsy training is also
available through the Animal Resource Centre (trasti@arc.wa.gov.au).
SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
Table of Contents
1 ........................................................................ Purpose
1
2 ........................................................................... Scope
1
3 .................................................................... Definitions
1
4 ........................................................ Procedure Outline
1
4.1 ............................... Tasks requiring the use of sharps
1
4.3 .................................................................. Equipment
2
4.4 .................................................................. Procedure
2
5 .................... Potential Hazards and Safety Precautions
3
6 .......................... Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
3
7 ........................................................ Disposal/Incidents
4
8 ..................................................... Relevant Experience
5
9 ......................................... References/ Other Readings
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SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
1
Purpose
This standard operating procedure (SOP) provides advice on the safe use and disposal of sharps in the field.
2
Scope
This SOP applies to all fauna survey and monitoring activities, involving the use of sharps, undertaken across the state by
the Department of Parks and Wildlife.
This SOP complements the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (The Code).
The Code contains an introduction to the ethical use of animals in wildlife studies and should be referred to for broader
issues. A copy of the code may be viewed by visiting the National Health and Medical Research Council website
(http://www.nhmrc.gov.au). In Western Australia any person using animals for scientific purposes must be covered by a
licence issued under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 (WA), which is administered by the Department of
Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.
Prior to the commencement of any fauna research, survey, monitoring or animal handling (involving living, non-human
vertebrate animals, excluding fish) all Parks and Wildlife staff must have Animal Ethics approval. Approval of projects is
through the completion of an application form by the projects Chief Investigator; forms are located on the department’s
intranet site (http://intranet/aec/default.aspx).
3
Definitions
“Sharps” means needles, syringes, scalpel blades, knives, or any other man-made objects capable of causing punctures or
cuts.
4
4.1
Procedure Outline
Tasks requiring the use of sharps
The following is a list of possible (but not an exhaustive list) of tasks that Parks and Wildlife staff may undertake and may
require the use of sharps.
PIT tagging (refer to Parks and Wildlife SOP 12.1)
Fur removal (refer Parks and Wildlife 12.9)
Chemical euthanasia (refer to Parks and Wildlife SOP 15.1)
Ear notching (DNA sampling) (refer to Parks and Wildlife SOP 12.2)
The following tasks do not have a Parks and Wildlife SOP in place. It is strongly advised that risk assessments and safety
procedures are formalised prior to undertaking any of these task.
Whisker removal
Sedation
Tranquilisation/Sedation
Blood sampling
Necropsy
Scute clipping
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SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
4.3
Equipment
The following equipment may be required when performing the tasks in 4.1:
Sharp/pointed forceps
Blunt-end forceps
Scalpel with detachable blades or disposal scalpel and blade as one unit
Scissors
Dissection scissors
Dissection knives
Dissection saws
Tissue clamps
Blunt-end and point-end dissection needles
Hypodermic needles
Hypodermic syringes
Sharps container
4.4
Procedure
•
Make sure your work space is a controlled environment. Keep both the sharps and sharps container close by
when performing task. Do not leave uncovered sharps lying around, take them out of the packaging immediately
before use and dispose into sharps container straight after use.
•
Where practical, undertake tasks in a controlled environment such as a field research station or a laboratory.
•
If undertaking tasks in the field, a kit must be created with all necessary PPE, adequate storage and disposal
materials as well as access to suitable first aid.
•
Make sure the sharps are stored in a safe approved kit, with either the sharp ends pointing down into the
compartments or being completely enclosed within the kit (e.g. zip up compartment); see Figure 1A and B for
examples.
A.
B.
Figure 1: Two examples of safe dissection kits
A: A roll up fabric kit with the sharp edges facing into compartments;
B: A zip up kit with the sharp edges being completely enclosed within the kit.
(Picture reference: A: CLEAPSS 2013; B: MET-APP PTY LTD 201-2015)
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SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
• Cutting tools: take extreme care when using scalpels, razor blades or other cutting tools.
Hold the instrument so that any sharp points or exposed sharp edges are pointing away from you.
Spare scalpel blades should have a protective covering over the sharp edges and/or stored into a
styrofoam block or shield tray.
If available and appropriate use disposable scalpels as a whole to prevent injuries when removing blades
from scalpels (the whole scalpel can be disposed into the sharps bin).
For necropsies, knives and saws should only be used if needed and only in the manner they are designed
for. When cutting with a knife, all cuts should be made away from one’s body (Dr S Trasti 2015 pers.
comm., 27 Feb.)
• Syringes/needles: refer to Parks and Wildlife SOP 12.1.
• When cutting on/in a necropsy carcass use forceps to grasp tissue and not your hands. DO NOT allow others to
“help” when cutting.
• Wear the correct PPE during the task (see section 6). Cut-resistant gloves are available, but they may not be
necessary depending on the task (Dr S Trasti pers. comm.).
5
6
Potential Hazards and Safety Precautions
•
Sharps can cause injury during use and disposal.
•
Training in the safe use of sharps for the specific task needs to be completed.
•
Appropriate equipment needs to be available, in particular a durable sharps container for disposal.
•
All injuries (even superficial ones) should be appropriately treated as soon as possible to prevent infection and
promote healing.
•
There are a number of diseases carried by animals that can be transmitted to humans (i.e. zoonoses such as
Toxoplasmosis, Leptospirosis, Salmonella etc). All personnel must take precautions to minimise the risk of
disease transmission. Advice on minimising disease risk is contained in Parks and Wildlife SOP 16.2 Managing
disease risk in wildlife management.
•
Some personnel develop allergies from coming in contact with animals; make sure the correct and appropriate
PPE is worn (e.g. gloves, long sleeved shirt and pants).
•
If appropriate, complete a JHA/Take Five for the task.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Wear the correct and appropriate PPE when using sharps:
Latex gloves: to reduce the risk of disease transmission from fauna;
Enclosed footwear;
Safety glasses and where practical a face mask;
Long sleeved shirt and pants;
Note: this is only specific when using sharps, consider other necessary PPE for the environment you are working in, i.e. hat
for outside work.
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SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
7
Disposal/Incidents
•
Dispose of sharps immediately after use into an approved sharps container. Do not dispose of sharps into other
waste bins (e.g. garbage bags).
•
For re-useable equipment, clean by soaking in a strong detergent solution, make sure the sharp edges are facing
downwards, use a brush with a handle to scrub the equipment, then rinse and air dry the equipment. If still
necessary, place instruments in ethanol to sterilise.
•
Do not overfill the sharps container. When the container is full, dispose of it into an appropriate larger disposal
container. These can be found in laboratories, a disposal area in town or at a mine site. If in the field store in a
secure area until returning.
•
If using a scalpel with detachable blades, make sure when removing/disposing the blades protective coverings,
forceps, or a hand held blade remover are used (Figure 2), and not removed with bare hands (see Figure 3a, b
and c).
•
All injuries or incidents must be recorded and/or reported to your supervisor as soon as practical.
Figure 2: An example of a hand held scalpel blade remover (Picture reference: UNSW, SoMS 2012)
A.
B.
C.
Figure 3: Method to insert and remove blades from scalpel handle, A: unwrap the blade; B: use the wrapping to protect
your hands and slide the blade onto the scalpel; C: ease the blade onto the scalpel handle, use forceps. The removal
process is the same but in the reverse order. (Picture reference: CLEAPSS 2013)
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SOP 16.3 Use and Disposal of Sharps
8
Relevant Experience
All Parks and Wildlife personnel proposing to undertake the above tasks must be suitably qualified and/or trained and
deemed competent by the Departments Animal Ethics Committee. Prior Animal Ethics approval is required to perform all
above task, except necropsies, before the commencement of any works program.
9
References/ Other Readings
Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Equipment (CLEAPSS). (2013). G268: Safe Practice
in Dissection. Brunel Science Park, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, viewed February 2015, http://www.cleapss.org.uk.
Herd, L. (2003). Standard Operating Procedure GEP 059: Scalpel and Scalpel Blades. Discipline of Medical Biochemistry,
Issue 1 September 2003. Prepared for The University of Newcastle.
Lim, L. S., Coleman, N. (2012). Standard Operation Procedure: Working with Animals Tissues. Version DMB002.2, June
2014. Prepared for The University of Sydney.
Nikolic, A., Coleman, N. (2012). Standard Operation Procedure: Use and Disposal of Sharps. Version SMB046.2, March
2014. Prepared for The University of Sydney.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW). (2012). SoMS_HS-012 Protocol – Sharps. School of Medical Sciences
(SoMS), Faculty of Medicine, version 3 May 2012. Prepared for The University of Newcastle.
Veterinary Infection Control Committee. (2010). NASPHV Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions for Zoonotic
Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel. JAVMA, Vol. 237, No. 12.
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