Table 6.

COSHH risk assessment - University of Oxford COSHH assessment form

Description of procedure	Substances used
Semi-quantitative culture of CSF for HIV and storage of isolates	Sabouraud’s agar
	CSF
	Cryptococcus sp.
Quantities used	Frequency of use
Up to 8 ml CSF	Daily
Hazards identified	Could a less hazardous substance be used instead?
1. Blood-borne viruses: CSF samples for this study will be from patients with HIV and possibly other blood-borne viruses.	No
2. Cryptococcus neoformans var grubii and Cryptococcus gattii are ACDP category 2 organisms. They pose a small risk of infection to workers, treatment is available, and there is no risk of person to person transmission.
What measures have you taken to control risk? A laboratory coat, gloves and goggles or glasses must be worn at all times when working on specimens. All patient samples and cultures should be handled within a Class II biological safety cabinet. All staff must be checked for hepatitis B virus immunity before commencing work as per local procedures, and vaccinated as appropriate. In the event of a splash or other injury, work will be stopped immediately, and local guidelines will; be followed.
Checks on control measures
Observation and supervision by senior staff.
Is health surveillance required?	Training requirements:
No	All staff to be trained in the above SOP prior to use.
Emergency procedures:	Waste disposal procedures:
Local guidelines for splashes and inoculation injuries.	All waste will be autoclaved prior to disposal.