RE: A big thank you on biosafety

 
Hello everyone - John kindly corrected me on my use of the phrase "10%
bleach" (see below).  We just use household bleach, which is 3%.  So
what I mean is 0.3% sodium hypochlorite solution.  I think the point I
was trying to make was that undiluted bleach on a regular basis is not a
good idea, and a lower concentration is very adequate for cleaning
purposes, as long as it is fresh.
 
Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.  
 
Leslie
 

	-----Original Message-----
	From: Kaptein,John S [mailto:John.S.Kaptein@kp.org] 
	Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 12:10 PM
	To: Badore, Leslie C.
	Subject: RE: A big thank you on biosafety
	
	
	Please, please do not use notation of "10% bleach".  Some bleach
solutions are 3% sodium hypochlorite and some (usually listed as
concentrated bleach) are 6% sodium hypochlorite.  I assume you mean that
a 10% bleach solution is a 0.3% sodium hypochlorite solution.  There can
be a lot of confusion for lower concentrations.  [Is a 1% bleach
solution equivalent to a 1 to 100 dilution or a 1 to 3 dilution of a
stock bottle that is listed as 3% hypochlorite?]  Using actual
concentrations of sodium hypochlorite would be much more precise.  
	 
	John

		-----Original Message-----
		From: Badore, Leslie C.
[mailto:Leslie.Badore@vtmednet.org]
		Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 7:22 AM
		To: Cytometry Mailing List
		Subject: RE: A big thank you on biosafety
		
		
		Dear Petra and Joern -
		 
		Here in our clinical flow cytometry lab, we use 10%
bleach, followed by distilled water, for cleaning. We generally use one
tube with 10% bleach, followed by 3 tubes of distilled H2O  All are run
for 200 seconds each. We also use 10% bleach and DH2O for vaccuum
cleansing.  It is not necessary to use undiluted bleach.  We only use
undiluted bleach for a large clog or other troubleshooting - it will
affect your lines.  The most important point is that the 10% bleach
needs to be made fresh daily.
		 
		We run T cell subsets on a large population of HIV
positive patients.  We use a lysing system that inactivates or kills the
HIV virus.  We also always observe standard precautions.  You can also
get cleaning agents that are specifically made for cleaning in
potentially biohazardous areas (such as a laboratory).  
		 
		These were the instrument manufacturers' instructions.
They have worked very well for us for about 15 years now.  Indeed,
better safe than sorry, although bleach stronger than 10% will not be
any more effective.
		 
		Hope this helps. 
		 
		Best regards - Leslie	 
		 
		Leslie C. Badore, CLS(NCA)
		Immunology Charge Technologist
		Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, EP1-100
		Fletcher Allen Health Care
		111 Colchester Avenue
		Burlington, VT 05401
		email: Leslie.Ryan@vtmednet.org
		phone: (802)847-5373
		fax: (802)847-4103
		 

		

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