Needles Should Never Be Recapped

Medical professional wearing gloves and recapping needle Recapping needles is extremely dangerous considering it can result in accidental punctures of the fingers or mitt, which can lead to potential exposure to hazardous chemicals, drugs, or infectious biological agents.

How is Recapping Dangerous?

The individual handling the needle may miss the plastic cap or pierce the cease of the cap, leading to a finger or hand puncture
The cap may not exist secure and could fall off, exposing the individual's finger or hand to the needle
An individual may be stuck when taking the needle apart from the syringe assembly

How To Protect Yourself

You can protect yourself by planning alee for safe handling and disposal of needles without recapping. Standard needles should NOT be left out in work areas; they should be used and so immediately disposed of in approved sharps containers without recapping.

If it is essential that a needle be recapped due to the nature of your work, the apply of a mechanical device (e.thousand., tongs, forceps, or the one-handed scoop method) must exist used. Additionally, written justification and instructions for whatsoever procedures that involve the recapping of needles are as well required. EHS offers a Needle Recapping and Handling Standard Operating Procedure that can be downloaded and posted in your lab for reference.

Proper Disposal

Delight call up the following:

Needles and sharps are never to be discarded directly into the general waste stream or biohazard trash bags
Approved sharps containers must be placed in areas where sharps may exist utilized
Containers must exist labeled with the engagement that waste accumulation begins
Sharps containers must exist properly closed and sealed prior to disposal, and are disposed of through EHS, or in areas with vendor-provided biohazard binswithin 60 days of the start accumulation date

Contact EHS at (734) 763-4568 with any questions or concerns pertaining to proper sharps disposal.