Guidelines
for Cleaning up a Spill of Biohazardous Agent
Overview:
All labs should be prepared to
deal with a spill of biohazardous material: they should
have the equipment on hand to effect a cleanup and disinfection
of the area. All workers should be familiar with the
procedures.
- take care
of people injuries first, then proceed
with cleanup of the spill
- alert
others in vicinity that a spill has occurred
- if a major
spill (large volume or high risk (Biohazard level 2 or
above); contact Communications Control Centre at the University
of Alberta (5555) for assistance
- if the
organism is infectious via the respiratory route, have
the air ventilation to the room shut down to reduce spread
of the organisms (call 5555 and tell them to shut off
fans to that area)
- get spill
cleanup protective equipment and supplies. Decontaminate
area and autoclave all absorbent from the spill
- report
incident to the Departmental Safety Officer for documentation
- replace
items consumed to clean up the spill
1.
Worker Preparedness:
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all workers should understand the nature of the biohazards
they work with:
- what risk
does it pose to humans and the environment,
- route
of entry if infects animals,
- what chemical
disinfectant is recommended,
- how to
dilute the disinfectant and apply it to a spill.
- how to
dispose of biohazardous waste according to the University
of Alberta Biohazard Waste Management guidelines,
- location
of equipment needed to clean up a biohazardous spill:
there should be a supply of fresh disinfectant, personal
protective equipment and spill cleanup supplies dedicated
specifically for that task and accessible at all times,
- post instructions
for spill cleanup; everyone knows where they are located,
- do a spill
drill; see if the system works as intended
2.
People Contamination or Injuries:
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check for cuts or splashes of biohazardous material
on the person.
2A.
Cuts:
Disinfect cut with 70% ethanol then wash with water and
soap. Cover wound with sterile dressing and seek
medical attention based on the severity of the cut or
possibility of entry of organism through the cut.
Go to the University Health Care Services (SUB) or the
University Hospital Emergency room. Call Campus security
(5050) for a ride if needed or for an ambulance, call
the Control Centre (5555). As soon as possible,
report any injury to the Department Safety Officer or
APO and complete Workers Compensation forms if there is
any chance that the injury may have a long term
effect or involves loss of work time.
2B.
Person Contamination:
Remove contaminated clothing immediately (place in an
autoclave bag for sterilization) and treat the skin with
disinfectant (70% ethanol). If you have contaminated
your eyes, wash with water and soap and flush with lots
of water. Get to a shower room and wash with soap/water.
Hopefully you have a towel and change of clothes handy.
Seek medical attention depending on the nature of the
biohazard and area of contamination: consider respiratory
route, mucous membrane contact, and whether you have any
cuts/abrasions on your body. As soon as practical,
report the incident to the Department Safety Officer or
APO.
3.
Spill Decontamination and Cleanup:
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3A.
Leave Room and Secure the Area
Leave the area. Hold your breath if there are spill
aerosols in the room. If a lot of aerosols were generated
in the spill, allow 30 minutes for the droplets to settle
before entering room to start cleanup.
Note: if staying out of the room for
a long time is likely to result in more serious damage,
then get protective equipment before reentering the area
Alert others
of the spill and restrict access to the area. Post
warning signs at all room entrances. Get help for
the cleanup. While waiting, you can summon help; notify
the Campus Biosafety office at 3142 or 0122 or 1810 or contact
the Control Centre-Operations Desk at 4855 and they will
page help. If the spilled organism may infect people
via the respiratory route or if there is significant aerosol
generation, get the air supply to the room shut off to avoid
spreading contamination throughout the building (call the
Control Center-Emergency at 5555 - they can have fans shut
down).
3B.
Assemble the equipment needed for the cleanup
Get personal
protective equipment and decontamination solution appropriate
to the hazard:
- lab
coat or coveralls
- rubber
apron
- rubber
gauntlets
- rubber
boots
- particle
mask
- HEPA
filter mask
- respirator
with appropriate filter cartridges
(depends on nature of the organism and disinfectant)
- eye
protection (goggles or full-face shield preferred over
safety glasses)
All
these items should be available in the lab ahead of time.
They should be part of a kit that is maintained in one location
and that all workers are aware of.
3C.
Apply decontamination solution to the spill
Various solutions may be used but they must be reasonably
fresh (check preparation date label) and appropriate to
the nature of the biohazardous spill __disinfectants do
not kill all organisms equally well (see Appendix for some
notes on the different chemical decontaminants).
N.B. the decision as to which disinfectant to use should
be made before work starts in that
area and materials should be kept on hand in the lab area.
All workers
should be aware of where decontamination solutions are stored
and what they are designed for. Many solutions do
not last very long after diluted so it is better to prepare
working concentrations from a stock solution as needed.
Make sure the proportions are posted and the equipment needed
to make the dilution is available (part of the emergency
response kit).
You do not
want to expand the area of contamination any more than necessary
and you want to avoid splashing the contaminated solution
and generating aerosols during the disinfection process.
First you want to cover the entire spill area with paper
towels: start from the perimeter and working toward the
center. Avoid stepping into the spill. After
the area is covered, start to apply an appropriate volume
of disinfectant over top of the towels. For a large
volume spill, the working concentration of disinfectant
may be too dilute to be effective so you may need to add
full strength stock solution over the area. Try to estimate
the volume of the spill to guide you in adding the stock
solution. Avoid splashing and try to cover the entire
area with the disinfectant __ you want to reach every part
of the spill volume. Make sure you allow sufficient
time for the disinfectant to diffuse and work (30 minutes)
before attempting the next step. Leave the spill area
while you wait for the disinfectant to act.
3D.
Recovery of adsorbent and liquid:
After the preliminary attempt at disinfecting the biohazard,
you want to pick up everything and get it into an autoclave
bag for sterilization.
Note:
It is recommended that bleach solutions NOT be
autoclaved as chlorine gas may be released. This would
be a problem when the autoclave was exhausting after the
run or especially when the door was opened. However,
if the disinfectant was not adequately mixed into the spill
or if there was a lot of protein in the spill that could
decrease the effectiveness of the disinfectant, there may
still be a biohazard associated with the material and further
treatment would be necessary.
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Hold all waste that has been treated with bleach solution
in a secure area and contact the Department Safety
Officer (2399) for further instructions.
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Be
careful if there is broken glass in the spill. Using
heavy rubber gloves and other implements (e.g. dustpan,
tongs), transfer the wet towels into the plastic autoclave
bag. Seal the bag and overbag it with a clean bag
before autoclaving for 30 minutes (or more depending on
the mass of material in the bag). Make sure the bags
are not tightly sealed during autoclaving; the steam must
reach the materials to ensure a complete killing.
Be careful if bleach was used to disinfect the spill as
chlorine gas may be released during the process. Don't
forget to autoclave the mop head or any other implements
that might be contaminated. Make sure that everything
is contained in a metal tray in case some of the plastics
melt in the autoclave.
3E.
Re-clean the Spill area:
To ensure complete disinfection of the area, repeat the
application of disinfectant to the area (you should be able
to use the working solution concentrations now if the area
is not excessively wetted). Apply disinfectant beyond
the area of the initial spill to ensure effective killing.
Allow at least 20 minutes contact time and then use paper
towels to absorb the solution and transfer all into another
autoclave bag. Autoclave this too before disposal.
Finally wash the entire area with soap and water.
Do not leave this for Building services personnel.
They are neither trained nor equipped to deal with these
kinds of problem.
4.
Post Cleanup:
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Replace all items used to cleanup the spill. If a bottle
of bleach was opened, get a new bottle. Report any
spills of biohazardous agents (other than trivial incidents:
small volumes of low risk (level-1) agents to the Departmental
Safety Officer (4206). A report for the Biosafety
Office may be required. If you have a large spill
or it is a level-2 or level-3 organism or if you are unsure
of how to handle the spill and no knowledgeable help is
at hand, contact the campus Control Centre (5555) and they
will get help from the Office of Environmental Health and
Safety.
B.G.
McCashin - July 06, 1999
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