Despite advances in laboratory automation and the overall decline in workplace injuries and illnesses in recent years, laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs) remain a concern among laboratory staff. To improve safety for thousands of lab workers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a panel in 2008 to develop guidelines especially for the medical diagnostic laboratory community. The panel's recommendations appear in the new "Guidelines for Safe Work Practices in Human and Animal Medical Diagnostic Laboratories (Guidelines)," published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) (January 6, 2012) as a supplement to its Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 5th edition.

The Guidelines are a treasure trove of laboratory safety information for all laboratories, not just those conducting diagnostic activities. Any organization could use the voluntary Guidelines to set a performance standard for an entire laboratory safety program, or provide a model for an individual program component, such as training. The Guidelines recommend the following practices:

• Risk assessment;
• Written safety protocols;
• Frequent handwashing;
• Annual inspections of Class II A biosafety cabinets;
• Use of appropriate disinfectants, including household bleach; and
• Use of gloves and other personal protective equipment.

The Guidelines discuss how to control biological, chemical and physical hazards, and cover lab machinery and instrumentation. There is guidance on basic work practices, emergency procedures, biosafety education, shipping infectious substances, and continuous improvement. The Guidelines specifically address various diagnostic lab types such as pathology, virology, chemistry, hematology, and veterinary. The publication contains over 200 references to scientific journal articles, other CDC publications, and laboratory safety standards and resources, most from within the last decade, along with numerous helpful charts and tables.

When assembling these Guidelines, the CDC panel recognizedsthat the laboratory director needs to assume responsibility for creating a culture of safety, in accordance with requirements of the College of American Pathologists and other accrediting bodies. The Guidelines state, "a culture of safety requires that laboratory safety become an integral and apparent priority to the organization, embraced first and foremost by top management and with the concomitant infrastructure support required to foster safe behaviors among its employees."  In a well-functioning lab safety program, strong leaders must manage the technical, cultural, and behavioral aspects of lab operations holistically at all levels. The new Guidelines provide a useful tool for this effort.

Whether a laboratory adopts the Guidelines because it conducts diagnostic work, or because the approach just makes good sense, lab workers are sure to benefit. A copy of the Guidelines is available through the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6101a1.htm?s_cid=su6101a1_w.

Kathryn Nobrega is an STC Senior Program Director located in Amherst, MA. She has over 20 years of consulting and management experience spanning the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. With a strong life sciences background, Kathryn specializes in lab safety, management systems, and auditing. STC provides numerous services in laboratory safety and biosafety management, including requirements analysis and risk assessment, program evaluation and auditing, committee facilitation, program development, and training.

For more information about STC's laboratory services, contact Kathryn Nobrega at (413) 325-4955 or email: knobrega@stcenv.com.