Sharps Safety

Updated November 18, 2024

Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) is committed to working with University personnel to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries before, during, and after procedures involving sharps. The following resources will help you and your staff avoid needlesticks and sharps injuries.

Before the procedure

We recommend preparing to work with sharps by doing the following:

Eliminate sharps from procedures or substitute for safer sharps devices as appropriate.
Develop written procedures for safe handling and disposing of sharps.
Train all personnel working with sharps.
Prepare for exposure and spill response.

The best way to avoid needlestick and other sharps injuries is to avoid using a sharps device when it is not necessary. The next best way is to use tools to minimize the hazard, such as a safety-engineered device or a needle-syringe holder.

First, identify all sharps devices used in your procedures, then consider the following:

Eliminate sharps

Consider ways to perform the task without a sharps device. Can the same function be performed without a needle or sharp?

Examples:

Eliminate glass by choosing plastic when possible.
Use a pipet or similar device to homogenize or mix a solution (rather than using a needle for this purpose)

Additional suggestions for eliminating sharps are provided in the Recommendations sections below.

Substitute sharps

It is estimated that 62-88% of injuries can be avoided through the use of safer devices. Consider selecting a safer device that will accomplish the same result while also lowering your risk of injury.

Examples:

Use sharp tissue scissors to cut tissue rather than a razor blade for more control.
Use a plastic gel cutter instead of a razor blade to cut electrophoresis gels.
Use a blunt needle in place of a sharply pointed one.
Safety-engineered devices for needles, syringes, scalpels, blood-draw vacutainer devices, and more can be used in place of the same items without a safety feature. For example, the BD vacutainer blood collection device shown below.
Luer-lock syringes are highly recommended, to securely screw the needle onto the syringe (vs standard ‘slip tip’ that allows a needle to push onto the end of a syringe).

Additional suggestions for substituting sharps are provided in the Recommendations sections below.

Environmental Health & Safety can recommend safer sharps devices that align with your procedures and desired result.

Prior to beginning a new procedure, develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) that describes:

Steps to perform the procedure safely
Tools and instruments that are needed to perform the procedure safely
Personal protective equipment
Steps for responding to an accident, exposure or injury
Safe disposal of needles and other sharps

Resources for developing an SOP include:

Download an SOP template.
Refer to the Recommendations sections below.
Review the Sharps Safety Tools and Resources Presentation or Poster.
Contact us for recommendations on eliminating sharps and selecting safer devices.

Notes

If working with human blood or other potentially infectious materials, you must also follow the UW Bloodborne Pathogens Program requirements and have a site-specific exposure control plan. Safer sharps procedures can be incorporated into your Site-Specific Exposure Control Plan.
A Biological Use Authorization may be needed for use of human source materials in research.

During the procedure

During all procedures involving sharps, awareness of your surroundings and careful action is required to avoid accidents and injuries. Best practice is to announce that sharps are in use when others are present. Always wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow all written procedures.

In addition, keep in mind the following safe work practices.

Avoid recapping needles. Use a needle holder to recap a syringe only if necessary, for example when giving dental anesthetic with multiple injections.
Dispose of uncapped needles immediately after use. Never leave an uncapped needle laying loose on a work surface.
Use a tool such as a forceps to remove a needle from a syringe, if removal is necessary.
Point the needle away from yourself and others.
Keep visual contact with the needle at all times while uncapped.

EH&S recommends using an OSHA-compliant one-handed needle recapper, such as the NeedleSafe II® or NeRd® needle recapper.

Watch a video of the NeedleSafe II needle uncapper/recapper and syringe holder.

Picture of a hand holding forceps — *Forceps/hemostat*

Picture of razor blades stored on a magnetic strip — *Razor blades stored on magnetic strip*

Use disposable safety scalpels with a fixed blade and a retractable sheath when possible.
Don’t use excessive force or a sawing motion when using a scalpel.
Don’t use your fingers to hold a razor blade. Use blade with a handle, or use pliers to place the razor blade in a holder.
Don’t cut or trim an object you are holding with your other hand. Use forceps or another tool to hold an object while cutting.
Sharp tissue scissors provide more control than a razor blade for cutting tissue.
Purchase safety cutters to open boxes.
Don’t use a razor blade to cut smaller strips of tape from a larger roll. Order the appropriate sized tape.
Don’t get distracted and rush though the task.
Place reusable sharps in a reusable sharps container immediately after use.

Video: How to safely attach a scalpel blade to a handle.

After the procedure

Keep an appropriately sized sharps container near your work area and immediately dispose of sharps after the procedure.

Needles should never be laid uncapped on a workbench.
Sharps that retract after use should be disposed of like all other sharps.
Use caution when working near others, so that one person’s sharps do not enter the field where another person is working.

Refer to the Sharps and Lab Glass Waste page for more information about treating and disposing of sharps.

Sharps Safety

Before the procedure

We recommend preparing to work with sharps by doing the following:

Eliminate or substitute sharps

Develop written procedures

Training and practice

During the procedure

Needle-syringe holders

Safe handling of blades and scalpels

After the procedure

Sharps container