Chemical splashes to face and eyes - hazard alert
May 2010
This hazard alert has been issued following several reports of chemical splashes to the face and eyes of staff and students while undertaking routine laboratory procedures. These incidents occurred while either not wearing safety glasses or where the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was not appropriate for the task. Fortunately none of the incidents resulted in a serious injury.
What happened
Incident 1: While undertaking a laboratory procedure in the fume cupboard, an unexpected but predictable violent reaction occurred which resulted in a chemical mixture erupting from a vessel and splashing up underneath the safety glasses being worn.
Incident 2: In the second incident a staff member performing a laboratory procedure without any personal protective equipment proceeded to open a microfuge tube that contained a small amount solvent. Upon opening the tube, some solvent splashed into their eye. In both incidents the quick response of the person involved and local first aiders in using the emergency eye wash station and thoroughly irrigating the eye resulted in only minimal irritation.
Lessons learned
- Investigation of these incidents found that the correct personal protective equipment for the task needs to be identified in the risk assessment prior to work commencing and be adhered to when conducting the activity. Safety glasses as well as secondary protection such as a face shield or lowering the sash of the fume cupboard will provide extra protection.
It should be noted that regular prescription spectacles are not safety glasses and if prescription safety glasses or a full face shield are needed, products that conform to AS/NZS 1337.6:2007 Personal eye protection - Prescription eye protectors against low and medium impact must be purchased and worn over prescription spectacles
- Where PPE was not worn, contributing factors were significant time constraints resulting in a lapse of judgement. It was also identified that complacency and the tendency to leave glasses around the laboratory due to varying tasks such as viewing samples under the microscope contributed to the incident
- The potential for reduced effectiveness in using personal protective equipment as the sole control measure was also highlighted, due to the reliance placed on the person and indirectly human behaviour to actually wear the PPE when entering or working in the laboratory. PPE is the last layer of protection within the hierarchy of control and is seen as the least effective and should be used in conjunction with other controls
Recommendations
- Risk assessments for experiments must include higher order (primary) controls. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) must be consulted during the risk assessment process
- Training in Risk Management should be offered to all staff and students
- Consider wearing safety glasses on a lanyard to ensure they are within reach and not easily displaced for varying laboratory tasks, so long as this does not pose an additional hazard
- Emergency procedures must be emphasised during induction & training and include directions to the closest medical centre (see Emergency Procedures (333) booklet)
- Eyewash facilities must be tested regularly and local records kept
Further information
Please contact OH&S on:
