Injury from Changing a Cracked Glass Pipette on a Vacuum Device

31. (2002)

Cuts / puncture wounds in laboratories are hazardous not only from the damage caused to the body, but also due to their potential to transfer toxic, infectious or genetically manipulated material through the broken skin into the body. Broken skin can carry a high risk of biological infection.

Hand manipulation of fragile glass objects, for example Pasteur pipettes, can exacerbate the risks from this issue, and where possible should be replaced by fracture resistant plastics.

A technician was injured while trying to disconnect a cracked glass pipette from a piece of rubber tubing. The glass of the cracked pipette crushed between the technicians fingers and caused cuts to the finger and thumb through a glove. This caused a potential exposure through the skin barrier to bacteria and other products that had been sucked through the glass pipette.

The use of glass and sharps in a PC2 / microbiological / GM laboratory should be avoided wherever possible. In this situation the glass pipette can be easily substituted with a plastic pipette that will perform the same function.

Laboratory managers should look at their laboratory procedures where glass pipettes are involved, and assess whether it is practical to change to plastic pipettes.

For further information contact:
OHS Officer, e-mail: OHS.Officer@anu.edu.au