Laboratories are full of a range of hazards. For example, chemical hazards pose the risk of exposure to hazardous substances, chemical burns, and fire or explosions. Meanwhile, equipment with physical hazards may lead to incidents such as slips, trips, falls, crush points, and exposure to extreme temperatures, radiation, noise, electricity, and pressure.
Risk assessments serve as critical tools for evaluating hazards. In the laboratory setting, risk assessment is a systematic qualitative process aimed at identifying potential environmental aspects and health and safety hazards and assessing the adequacy of existing controls to mitigate these risks to a reasonably practicable level. The primary objective is to minimize harm to personnel and the environment within laboratory settings.
Fundamentals of Risk Assessment
Laboratory risk assessments are designed to evaluate activities that may impact the environment or pose risks to personnel. They should encompass both routine and non-routine laboratory activities. A risk matrix featuring severity and probability scales is essential for qualitative risk assessment. Severity and probability criteria should outline varying levels of likelihood and consequences. Each risk or impact is then assigned a score based on these scales to gauge its potential impact on the organization.
Phases of Laboratory Work and Risk Assessment
Laboratory work should be divided into a process map based on analytical activities throughout the lab’s process cycle. This could include operations and maintenance work. Each phase of the map entails specific activities with corresponding environmental aspects and health and safety hazards. For instance, analytic lab activities likely have more chemical handling hazards.
Environmental Aspects and Health & Safety Hazards
Environmental aspects in laboratory settings encompass factors like water and energy usage, air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and hazardous waste generation. Health and safety hazards may include chemical, biological, physical, and psychosocial risks. Evaluate each activity for these types of factors.
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment involves evaluating the environmental impacts and health and safety risks associated with laboratory activities. This entails assessing the severity and probability of potential impacts and risks. For example, chemical reactions with ventilation / exhausted vapors may lead to air quality degradation, posing environmental risks. The chemical vapors also present an exposure risk to personnel, which could cause respiratory issues. Qualitative and quantitative data, along with expert knowledge, are utilized to assess and score risks effectively.
Risk Determination
In the risk determination stage, high-risk activities are identified based on the impact or risk scores. Prioritizing actions to mitigate these risks is essential because they pose the biggest threat to your organization. Risks that aren’t scored high shouldn’t be ignored, but they should be lower on your priority list.
Action Plan
Following risk assessment and determination, an action plan is developed to address identified risks. This plan should outline specific steps, responsible parties, schedules, and deadlines for risk reduction measures. Involving relevant stakeholders ensures agreement and effective implementation of mitigation strategies. The plan should be regularly reviewed and updated based on periodic risk reassessments, changes in equipment or processes, and illness/injury trends.
Conclusion
Maintaining a process where your organization can focus energy on the issues that are commonly occurring or could have a severely damaging effect requires introspection and self-assessment. By proactively identifying top risks and working with stakeholders to implement CAPAs, you can organically strengthen your culture of EHS continuous improvement.
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