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Mr_Saturn512's avatar

What's the best way to clean/dispose contaminated lab equipment?

Asked by Mr_Saturn512 (558points) July 23rd, 2013

I have this flask full of E.coli that nobody has used for a while in the fridge and should be thrown out, but I want to double check that it’s okay to just put it in the autoclave to kill the cells and then clean the flask itself. The flask has terrific broth with chloramphenicol. What stopped me is the chloramphenicol. When I made this broth a long time ago, the procedure told me to make sure to add the chloramphenicol AFTER autoclaving the flask full of terrific broth, which makes me wonder if for some reason chloramphenicol shouldn’t be in the autoclave.

I also have a bunch of stuff in the autoclave trash I’m not quite sure how to dispose. It’s all in this special biohazard trash bag. It’s nothing serious, just E.coli and possibly some fungi that grew on petri dishes. But do I just wrap everything up in the biohazard trash bag and put it in the autoclave?

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3 Answers

gondwanalon's avatar

Check the MSDS on chloramphenicol for proper disposal.

BhacSsylan's avatar

It’s fine to autoclave. The autoclave will also destroy the chloramphenocol, which is why you have to add it after autoclaving; it won’t do any good if you had it in the broth and then destroyed it before using. That’s standard procedure for antibiotic media.

As for the trash, ask someone at your work. That’s a Risk Management issue and you need to follow their instructions for waste disposal

Mr_Saturn512's avatar

@BhacSsylan Ah, that makes sense. Simple enough. Thanks.

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