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Lab Safety Q&A: Safety Audit

Lab Safety Advisor, June 7, 2005

Q: What is a safety audit and why do I need to do one?

A: The safety audit is a list of questions or statements to guide you through the laboratory to make sure that all safety requirements are being met.

Both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the College of American Pathologists require labs to conduct annual safety audits. The audit also helps with your facility's insurance rating.

You can make your own safety audit checklist. At a minimum, the annual inspection should check for

  • the status of procedures and material for hazardous spill cleanups
  • an inventory of chemicals and appropriate material safety data sheets
  • proper storage of materials
  • decontamination and disposal procedures
  • employee compliance with safety policies and procedures

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