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Safety Notices
Instrument Safety Precautions
• The sample station has electronically controlled moving parts. Do not insert your hand in the
sample chamber when it is moving.
• Wear appropriately sized gloves providing good manual dexterity to reduce the likelihood of
skin pinches and abrasions.
• Use proper lifting techniques or seek assistance when handling the BioSafety Cabinet, or full
tanks. Take care to reduce the likelihood of back injury.
• Protect the skin and eyes whenever handling chemicals of any kind, regardless of how benign
they may appear.
• Check with the site safety officer for correct disposal of waste products and for spill clean-up
protocols.
• The user should rest appropriately to avoid strain due to repetitive use, awkward movements,
or sitting too long.
Biohazard Safety
Use universal precautions when working with pathogenic materials. Means must be available to
decontaminate the instrument and to dispose of biohazardous waste.
IMPORTANT If any hazardous organism, material, or agent is used in the instrument, the site operator or
Principal Investigator is responsible for informing Beckman Coulter in writing of those hazards before
receiving service or repair. This includes a list of all pathogenic cell lines, hazardous reagents, radioactive
material, or agents with a BSL Level II or higher. This information will be kept confidential and will be used
to inform Beckman Coulter Field Service Representatives of any hazards prior to visiting any instrument
site. Failure to report this information may delay service on an instrument. Safety of the user as well as
safety of Beckman Coulter employees is of overriding importance. Proper decontamination procedures
must be followed for all applicable returned parts.
• Gloves, a laboratory coat, and eye protection should be worn whenever handling samples
including insertion and removal of sample tubes from the sample station.
• If the system loses vacuum or the waste tube becomes clogged, waste fluid could spill into the
sort chamber. Immediately turn off sheath and sample flow, wear proper personal protective
equipment and attend to the spill.
• Waste fluid may contain hazardous levels of biological and chemical contamination. Gloves, a
laboratory coat and eye protection should be worn whenever exposure to waste fluid exists.
• To ensure inactivation of biological organisms in the waste container, an appropriate type and
quantity of an EPA registered disinfectant should be placed in the tank initially upon use, and
every time the waste container is emptied and reinstalled.
• The Aerosol Containment Shield, also known as the Sort Chamber door, is part of a passive
aerosol containment assembly that isolates the contents of a sort from the rest of the
instrument, the operator, and the laboratory. When closed, the door limits movement of air
into and out of the Sort Chamber. It is optional to purchase an Aerosol Evacuation system for
additional protection from aerosols. See Aerosol Evacuation System.
NOTE Use of the Aerosol Evacuation system precludes the use of Biosafety Cabinet, or vise versa.
• A BSL-2, Level A2 Biosafety Cabinet is available for purchase as an optional system accessory.
Refer to APPENDIX C, Biosafety Cabinet Accessory.