FROM THE BENCH
Most
Effective
HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
Elimination
Physically remove
the hazard
Substitution
Replace
the hazard
Engineering
Controls
Isolate people
from the hazard
Administrative
Controls
Change the way
people work
PPE
Protect the worker with
Personal Protection Equipment
Figure 2. NIOSH’s Hierarchy of Controls
Least
Effective
to voice additional ideas and concerns
as they begin following the new risk
mitigation strategy. Staff should be
empowered to further modify the strategy
with management’s involvement. Risk
assessments should be living, breathing
processes rather than static documents
that live on a shelf. A comprehensive
review of the risk assessment should be
performed any time the technical SOP is
reviewed, and whenever changes occur
with staff, specimen types, equipment
or facilities.
Follow CDC guidelines whenever possible
to help inform your risk assessment and
mitigation strategy. COVID-19 information
for both laboratories and healthcare
providers include:
• Interim Guidelines for Collecting,
Handling, and Testing Clinical
Specimens
• Interim Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines
• Laboratory Biosafety Frequently Asked
Questions
• Healthcare Infection Control
Guidance. n
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org
Spring 2020 LAB MATTERS 15