We recently experienced a safety incident in one of our labs. The person involved was following a written SOP and was wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment, which included safety glasses, gloves and a lab coat. A researcher splashed a small amount of solution onto his face while he was placing the comb into the stacking gel of an acrylamide mini gel. When the incident occurred fellow lab personnel not only assisted the person to the eye wash station to help him rinse off his skin and eye (there was some concern that the contamination may have migrated from the splash site down into the eye), but also accompanied him for medical treatment/follow-up. The MSDS was reviewed and sent with the person to assist the physician when his eye was examined. There was no injury to the person.

To avoid this from happening again, the SOP will be modified to ensure that the comb is initially placed into the stacking gel at an angle (rather than parallel to the gel surface) to allow gradual displacement of solution.