Safety Notice – Syringe Filter

On January 29, 2009, the Clean room experienced a minor accident whereby liquid from a syringe with a filter squirted onto the face of a student. The student had loaded a viscous liquid into a 1 ml syringe and attached a filter to the nozzle to apply the material to a sample. Since the fluid was viscous, the student had to apply a large force to the plunger to force the fluid through the filter. The problem was that the syringe and filter were held on by hand because of the design of the syringe. The applied pressure forced separation of the filter from the syringe and allowed a stream of fluid to erupt, hitting the student in the face.

Because of the possible serious consequences of this type of accident and the currently common use of this application method in the Clean Room, the Clean Room has decided to provide Luer Lock syringes to allow locked attachment between syringe and filter. The new syringes are 3 ml size and are located in a labeled tray on the top shelf of the Hot Plate table next to the resist transfer pipettes. Unlocked 1 ml syringes should not be used with a filter.

Figure 1. New Rule: No filters allowed on 1 ml syringes.
Figure 2. New 3 ml Luer Lock syringes with secure filter attachment provision are supplied by the Clean Room and are located in a labeled tray on the top shelf of the hot Plate table next to the resist transfer pipettes in Bay 2.