Infectious waste spills must be contained and cleaned up immediately.
I. A spill kit containing absorbent material, bleach or another USEPA registered tuberculocidal disinfectant,
biohazard bags, gloves, eye protection, and a biohazard sharps container must be accessible in the laboratory.
II. To use bleach as a disinfectant, a 1:10 dilution (minimum 10% sodium hypochlorite solution) of household bleach should be prepared immediately prior to use, with a minimum of 30 minutes contact time with the waste. If another USEPA registered tuberculocidal disinfectant is used, the manufacturer’s recommendations for concentration and contact time should be followed.
1. Limit access to area to authorized personnel.
2. Open the spill kit.
3. Put on appropriate PPE (i.e. gloves, eye protection, coveralls).
4. Contain liquid spills by covering with absorbent pads. Place contaminated absorbent pads and other contaminated solids into a biohazard bag. Seal the bag by tying in a knot and place into a second biohazard bag. Sharps (i.e. needles, blades or broken glassware) associated with the spillshould be placed in a biohazard sharps container.
5. Clean the spill and cover contaminated surfaces with absorbent pads and soak with appropriate disinfectant (See II above). Allow the disinfectant to stand on the contaminated material for the minimum recommended contact time.
6. Place all materials used during the clean up process in a biohazard bag. Seal the bag by tying in a knot and place into a second bag. Place all biohazard bags into a biohazard burn box.
7. Disinfect all re-usable materials from the spill kit (i.e. goggles, dustpan, etc.) and put back into the kit. Replenish disposable items from the spill kit.