Laboratory Hazard Analysis
Laboratory Hazard Analysis (LHA) is used to assess risk for a particular laboratory procedure or process. Examples include but are not limited to laboratory experiments, level of supervision required for executing an operation, and risk reduction. The Laboratory Safety Program Manager recommends that a LHA accompanies the development of any standard operating procedure (SOP).
The OSU LHA process was designed to be user-friendly and addresses a wide range of laboratory tasks. The process is compliant with OSHA recommendations and provides the ability to quantify job-related hazards. If a department is using a similar LHA process, they may continue to utilize their established protocols. A standardized LHA template form (Table 1) is used by EHS and can be found in the Laboratory Safety Manual.
Using a Laboratory Hazard Analysis:
To use an LHA, the author will start by listing the steps used during a procedure on the LHA form. These steps will be either the same or similar to SOP procedures. Next, the author will identify potential hazards associated with each step. These hazards will be "scored" by assigning a priority ranking, which is discussed in more detail below. The author will then describe engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment that will be used to mitigate the hazard. Finally, safety mitigations will be included in the last column.
The priority ranking scores the potential hazards based on severity and probability of occurance. The scoring criteria for severity and probability are given in Table 1. The severity score is numeric, and the probability score is alphabetic. The priority ranking is effectively the sum of the severity and probability score (e.g. 3B). Once the priority ranking is determined, Table 2 provides the risk for the corresponding step. EHS suggests that PI approval is required for low risks, department head approval for medium risk, and dean approval for high risk. Unacceptable risk should never be taken.
Table 1 Severity and Probability Hazard Score
|
Severity Table |
||
|
Score |
Classification |
Description |
|
1 |
Catastrophic |
May cause death |
|
2 |
Critical |
May cause severe injury or illness |
|
3 |
Marginal |
May cause minor injury or illness |
|
4 |
Negligible |
Will not cause injury or illness |
|
Probability Table |
||
|
Score |
Classification |
Description |
|
A |
Very Likely |
Very likely to occur frequently |
|
B |
Probably |
Probably will occur at some time |
|
C |
Occasionally |
May occur infrequently |
|
D |
Remote |
Unlikely, but possible |
|
E |
Improbable |
Very unlikely, it is assumed to never occur |
Table 2 Hazard Priority Ranking Matrix
