Syringe Safety

Syringe or Sharps Injury

The majority of needlestick injuries occur in laboratory settings, related to research activities. The Laboratory Safety Guidelines offer an explanation of procedures to follow in the event on a needlestick injury or other exposure to a potential biological hazard. An excerpt from those guidelines is below:

Needle-Stick Injuries and Other exposures

In the event of exposure such as needle-stick or a cut, or a mucous membrane exposure to blood or other body fluids, the following procedures should be implemented:

Treat the puncture wound or cut by liberally washing with soap and water and/or diluted hypochlorite solution;
If the face is splashed with blood, rinse the eyes and mouth gently with water to minimise the risk of infection;
Ensure all incidents are reported to the laboratory supervisor, a Hazard and Incident Form is completed and medical attention is sought;
If possible, identify the source material and test for the presence of HIV or Hepatitis B;

If the source material tests positive or is unknown:

The employee or student should be counselled regarding the risk of infection and should be clinically evaluated.
For suspected HIV exposure, immediate treatment should be considered by the medical officer and the worker should be retested in three months. If negative, further retesting in six months time is required.
For suspected hepatitis B exposure vaccination should be administered immediately unless the person has already been vaccinated effectively within the past five years. If the person does not respond to the vaccine then treatment should be commenced.

If you find a syringe on campus

Follow the disposal procedure listed below.

Inform campus security or the local first aider .
Do not move the syringe yourself.
This should be done by either campus security, a first aid oficer or someone with syringe disposal training.
Work around the syringe or isolate the immediate area until it is removed. Syringe disposal procedure.

Syringe Disposal Procedure

The appropriate person to remove discarded syringes is preferably a campus security officer or first aid officer.
Wear gloves, they will protect you from infectious material, but will not protect you from being pricked by the needle.
Before doing anything, have an approved sharps container ready to put the syringe into. If an approved sharps container is not available, an impenetrable container with a lid is the next best thing.
Place the container on a flat, stable surface - don't hold the container with your hands. Gently place the syringe, needle end first into the container.
Pick up the syringe by using tongs. If you must pick it up by hand, make sure you are wearing gloves and hold it by the plastic barrel, with the needle end pointing away from you.
Never put the cap back on a needle used by someone else. Also never try to blunt the needle or break it off.
To arrange for collection of needles or if your syringe disposal bin is full and needs replacing, contact the OHS Unit on x3931.

Syringe Disposal Containers

To assist in the safe disposal of needles used for work related tasks, sharps containers should be purchased through supervisors or other appropriate management representatives.

To assist in the safe disposal of needles used for personal reasons, the request for a container can be made directly to the OH&S Unit. Additionally requests can be made through the SRC, EEO Unit, Student and/or Disability Services, or through any forum which an individual feels comfortable.

Need more information? Refer to Working with Blood, bodily fluids and sharps or Call the OHS Unit on x3931.