With thanks to Dr. S. Collins / P.

Blennerhassett
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR
AUTOCLAVE OPERATION
Autoclave model:
Person responsible:
Located in Room
I. ASSOCIATED RISKS
Autoclaves are sterilizers using high pressure and high temperature steam. The potential
safety risks for the operators are:
Heat burns -from hot materials and autoclave chamber alls and door
Steam burns -from residual steam coming out from autoclave and materials on
completion of cycle
Hot fu!" s#a"s- from boiling li!uids and spillage in autoclave.
Han" an" arm in"uries hen closing the door.
$o"% in"ury if there is an e#plosion
II. RISK &ANAGE&ENT

Autoclaves are inspected every $ months and certified annually by spore strips.
The inspection% service and repair records are maintained in the lab. The name of
the person responsible for the autoclave shall be posted near the autoclave.
An authorized training session must be successfully completed by users prior to
use of autoclaves.
&t is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure employees are trained before
operating any autoclave unit.
Procedural and instructional documents must be folloed.
Personal protective clothing and e!uipment must be orn hen loading and
unloading the autoclave.
E'u!(ment to (rote#t a)a!nst s#a"s an" burns*
(eat-insulating gloves that provide complete coverage of hands and forearms.
)losed-toed footear.
III. OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS Tra!n!n)
All operators must have successfully completed an authorized training session on the safe
operating procedures of this autoclave. This re!uirement applies to both ne and
e#perienced personnel. A list of authorized users ill be kept ith the cycle records.
&ater!a Pre(arat!on
*nsure that the material is able to be autoclaved
samples containing solvents or substances that may emit to#ic fumes should
not be autoclaved.
+lassare must be inspected for cracks prior to autoclaving.
Prepare and package material suitably:
Loose dry materials must be rapped or bagged in steam-penetrable paper
or loosely covered ith aluminum foil. ,rapping too tightly ill impede
steam penetration% decreasing efficiency of the process.
All containers must be covered by a loosened lid or steam-penetrable
bung.
)ontainers of li!uid must be a ma#imum of -.$ full% ith lids loosened.
+lassare must be heat-resistant borosilicate.
Plastics must be heat-resistant eg: polycarbonate /P)0% PT1* /2Teflon20
and most polypropylene /PP0 items.
3harps must be in a designated '3harps' container.
&tems or baskets must be tagged ith autoclave tape to verify sterilization.
Loosen all lids to prevent pressure buildup.
Add ater to containers as appropriate.
Place items in containers to secure and contain spills:
&tems should be placed in a stainless steel or autoclavable plastic container
for their stability and ease of handling.
Place containers of li!uid% bags of agar plates% or other materials that may
boil over or leak% into a secondary pan in the autoclave.
The pan must be large enough to contain a total spill of the contents.
4ags must not be tightly sealed as steam cannot penetrate.
4iohazard materials must be labelled as such and secured in containment vessels
or autoclavable bags and processed as soon as possible according to re!uirements
for the handling of infectious or biohazard materials.
Loa"!n) Auto#a+e
,ear heat-insulating gloves% and closed toed shoes.
Place material in autoclave. 5o not mi# incompatible materials.
5o not overload6 leave sufficient room for steam circulation. &f necessary% place
the container on its side to ma#imize steam penetration and avoid entrapment of
air.
)lose and latch door firmly.
O(erat!n) Auto#a+e
)heck to be sure that the ater reservoir is filled /appro#imately 78 from top0%
and if not% fill ith distilled ater.
)hoose appropriate cycle / e.g. fluid% dry etc0 for the material.
3et appropriate temperature for the cycle.
Turn the autoclave to FILL and ait until the ater in the bottom of the
autoclave covers the fill plate.
Turn the autoclave to STERILI,E and load autoclave
)lose and lock door
A steam cycle is appro#imately 9: minutes if the autoclave is cold and
appro#imately -: minutes if it is already armed from a previous steam cycle.
,hen cycle is complete% turn autoclave to VENT and remain there until pressure
drops. The heat stays on during the venting and ithout the steam plastics ill
melt.
Turn the autoclave to PO-ER OFF.
5o not attempt to open the door hile autoclave is operating.
The manuals for operation of the autoclave are located on the all behind the
autoclave.
Unoa"!n) Auto#a+e
,ear heat-insulating gloves and closed toed shoes.
*nsure that the pressure of the chamber is ';' before opening the door.
,ear gloves and stand back from the door as a precaution% carefully crack door
open no more than 7 inch /-.< cm0 to release residual steam and allo pressure
ithin li!uids and containers to normalize.
Allo sterilized material to stand for 7: minutes in the chamber. This ill allo
steam to clear and trapped air to escape from hot li!uids% reducing risk to
operator.
5o not agitate containers of super-heated li!uids or remove caps before
unloading.
After removal from the autoclave% place hot items in an area hich clearly
indicates the items are 'hot' until the items cool to room temperature.
Push door closed.
Auto#a+e Lo)
*ntries must be placed in the log books each time the autoclave is used. These
records are used for maintenance.service schedules and reporting of incidents%
accidents and.or faults
The cycle records for the autoclaves ill be kept on top of the autoclave
*ntries should include: operator's name% date% time and duration.

&a!ntenan#e an" re(a!r
=o person shall operate the autoclave unless the autoclave is in good repair
>sers are not to make repairs
Report possible malfunctions to ???????????????????.
Repairs are performed by 4ert @isheau e#t ---7$.
IV. CONTINGENC. PLAN
E'u!(ment mafun#t!on
&f the autoclave does not operate e#actly as e#pected% do not attempt to fi# the
problem. A notice shall be placed on the autoclave indicating that it is not to be
used until the problem is diagnosed and corrected.
Record the problem in the autoclave log book. )ontact ??????????????or 4ert
/---7$0 to report the problem.
Repair of autoclaves shall be performed by !ualified persons only.
In#!"ent res(onse
All incidents are to be reported to ??????????????????
&f any in"ury occurs seek first aid or% if necessary% seek medical assistance by
dialing emergency number for your area.
&f clothing is soaked in hot ater.steam% remove clothing and cool the in"ured part
in cool ater.
Place a notice on the autoclave indicating that it is not to be used until the cause
of the incident is determined% procedures enacted to prevent future incidents% and
the autoclave is deemed safe for operation.
A list of people trained to provide first aid ill be posted in the lab.
S(! #ean/u(
3pills may occur from a boil over or breakage of containers.
=o operation of the autoclave is alloed until the spill is cleaned up.
The operator is responsible for cleanup of spills. )ontain the spilled material
using paper toel% to absorb or contain the spill. ,ait until the autoclave and
materials have cooled to room temperature. Revie the A353% if appropriate% to
determine the protective e!uipment% spill cleanup and disposal protocols that are
necessary. )lean the e!uipment and ork area in order to collect and remove all
spilled materials. 5ispose of the aste folloing the protocol appropriate for the
material. &f materials have been intermingled% follo the cleanup and disposal
protocol for the most hazardous component of the mi#ture.
)racked glassare must be disposed of properly in the 24roken +lass2 disposal
pail.
Record the spill and cleanup procedure in the autoclave log book.
1(3c. 3afety
Bffice
=ovember
-::C