Laboratory safety

Abstract

Assessment of risks in hospital laboratories is particularly dificult when one considers the range of possible hazards: fires; explosions; inhalation of toxic gases, aerosols, and vapors; splashes of corrosive chemicals on the skin or in the eyes; thermal burns; cryogenic burns; and accidental injections, falls, and cuts. Of these, the most dificult to assess are exposures to chemicals, radiation, or infectious agents. Exposures in the laboratory are typically short in duration, intermittent, and involve small quantities (relative to an industrial setting) of mixtures of agents. Little is known about the health effects of such an exposure profile.