EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance CENTRIFUGE LID LOCKS

DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT THE LEGAL SITUATION IS WITH CENTRIFUGE LID INTERLOCK SYSTEMS. I SEEM TO RENEMBER IT DEPENDS APON THE MASS BEING SPUN

From a position of limited knowledge - I thought all centrifuges had to have interlocks which either prevented the lid from opening if the carousel was spinning, or applied severe brakes to the carousel if the lid was opened. Maybe it was only the older ones which applied the brakes - there was a danger that the sample tubes broke, I seem to remember !

Centrifuge interlocks are a health and safety requirement which requires the lid to remain locked for a period after the centrifuge has stopped spinning to allow any aerosol generated to settled down.

This was reinforced when labs started to get blood samples infected with HIV as people could get infected by aerosols via the eyes (although adequate eye protection should prevent this). I hope this is useful, speak to you haematology lab manager who should confirm this.