Health and Safety Risk management form
Faculty/Division: Science
School/Unit: School
Initial Issue date: 21/08/2013
Document number
Risk Assessment name
Current version: 1
of Biological Sciences
Current Version
Issue date
Next review date:
21/08/2013
21/08/2016
Sharps disposal
Form completed by
Anne-Laure Markovina
Signature
Responsible supervisor/ authorising officer
Michael Joseph
Signature
Identify the activity and the location of the activity
Description of
activity
Sharps include razor blades, needles, slides and coverslips and plastic
pipette tips.
Students use razor blades to cut plant and animal specimens; needles to
collect toad blood, slides and coverslips when mounting biological
specimens; plastic pipette tips to dispense chemicals and/or bacteriological
cultures
Description of
location
Sharps are used in 2nd and 3rd year teaching laboratories in Old Geology
(A11), rooms 204 & 205a; Macleay (A12), rooms 204 & 207; Badham (A16), rooms
222a, 222b, 227 and in First Year Biology in Carslaw (F07), rooms 301; 302, 307;
308
Identify who may be at risk from the activity:
This may include fellow workers, visitors, contractors and the public. The types of people may
affect the risk controls needed and the location may affect the number of people at risk
Persons at risk
Undergraduate and postgraduate students, research
and staff
How they were
consulted on the risk
Technical staff is responsible for assessing risk and
updating risk assessments before a task is undertaken.
Technical staff advises supervising and academic staff
of potential risk before practical class. Academics in
charge inform demonstrators and students about the
risks. Up to date risk assessments are posted on the
School’s website and are displayed in the class on the
day of the practical
List legislation, standards, codes of practice, manufacturer’s guidance etc used to determine control measures necessary
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011
Laboratory Safety Guidelines http://sydney.edu.au/whs/guidelines/others/laboratory_safety.shtml
Technical instruction in Laboratory Manuals and BlackBoard on-line system – updated annually
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Consider the hierarchy of hazard control and record what controls will be used in the short term and longer term
Elimination
Not possible Eliminate the hazard or task if the risk outweighs the potential benefits.
Substitution
Not possible Substitute the hazard with something less hazardous e.g. less toxic substance.
Isolation
Possible Isolate the hazard by using barriers or distance – When working with dangerous chemicals or bacterial cultures, work in fumehood or laminar flow cabinet
Engineering
Not possible Look for physical design solutions, controls, safety lockouts or automation to reduce or eliminate risks.
Minimise
Not possible Minimise the size or volume of the hazard or time of exposure to the hazard.
Rearrange Workflow
Not possible Rearrange activities to minimise lifting/handling/overuse injuries
Administrative
Possible
Establish Safe Work Practices e.g. restrict access, have Safe Work Practice documentation and procedures for hazardous tasks.
Training and Supervision
Possible
Provide training and supervision appropriate to level of expertise of the person(s) involved. Record training in SWP.
Personal Protective Equipment Possible
Use only as a secondary measure to supplement other risk controls e.g. gloves, lab coats, safety glasses.
Identify hazards and control the risks.
1. An activity may be divided into tasks. For each task identify the hazards and associated risks. Also list the possible scenarios which could sooner or later cause harm.
2. Determine controls necessary based on legislation, codes of practice, Australian standards, manufacturer’s instructions etc.
3. List existing risk controls and any additional controls that need to be implemented
Task or
Hazard
Associated harm
Existing risk controls
Scenario
Hand sectioning
of fresh plant
material
Use of sharp,
single-sided
razor blades
Cut to fingers and/or
hands
Plant samples are placed within a
support material, e.g. a potato, which
provides extra hand protection for
very small samples
In addition, a set of instructions
(SOP) is provided in the students’
lab manual and on BlackBoard
Hand sectioning of
fresh animal
material
Use of sharp,
single-sided
razor blades
Cut to fingers and/or
hands
Students are provided with gloves and
goggles and dissect specimens in wax
dishes to stabilize specimens
Collecting blood
from cane toads
Use of syringes
and needles
Puncture wound to hands
and/or fingers
Students are provided with gloves and
goggles
A set of instruction for dissecting animals
(SOP) is provided before practical class
Current
risk
Any additional controls required?
Residual
risk
Medium
None
Low
Medium
None/PPE and risk assessments
for poisonous animals (cane toads)
Low
Medium
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Task or
Hazard
Associated harm
Existing risk controls
Scenario
Current
risk
Any additional controls required?
Residual
risk
List emergency procedures and controls
List emergency controls for how to deal with fires, spills or exposure to hazardous substances and/or emergency shutdown procedures
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011
Laboratory Safety Guidelines http://sydney.edu.au/whs/guidelines/others/laboratory_safety.shtml
Technical instruction in Laboratory Manuals and BlackBoard on-line system – updated annually
Implementation
Additional control measures needed:
REVIEW
Scheduled review date:
Are all control measures in place?
Resources required
Responsible person
12 months
2 years
Date of implementation
3 years
Are controls eliminating or minimising the risk?
Are there any new problems with the risk?
Review by: (name)
Review date:
Acknowledgement of Understanding
All persons performing these tasks must sign that they have read and understood the risk management.
Note: for activities which are low risk or include a large group of people (e.g. open days, BBQ’s, student classes etc), only the persons undertaking the key activities need to sign below. For all others involved in such
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activities, the information can be covered by other methods including for example a safety briefing, induction, and/or safety information sheet (ensure the method of communicating this information is specified here)
Risk management name and version number:
Name
V1
I have read and understand this risk management form
Signature
Date
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