Question: What are the risks of working at a lab or research facility?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 5. Cleaning the workplace
section_content: In this section

5.1 Before reopening
5.2 Keeping the workplace clean
5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
5.4 Changing rooms and showers
5.5 Handling goods, merchandise and other materials, and on-site vehicles

5.1 Before reopening
Objective: To make sure that any site or location that has been closed or
partially operated is clean and ready to restart, including:

an assessment for all sites, or parts of sites, that have been closed, before restarting work
cleaning procedures and providing hand sanitiser, before restarting work

Steps that will usually be needed:


Checking whether you need to service or adjust ventilation systems, for example, so that they do not automatically reduce ventilation levels due to lower than normal occupancy levels.


Most air conditioning systems do not need adjustment, however where systems serve multiple buildings or you are unsure, advice should be sought from your heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers or advisers.


Positive pressure systems and extractors can operate as normal.


Restarting and testing specialist equipment which may have been unused for a longer than usual period of time.


5.2 Keeping the workplace clean
Objective: To keep the workplace clean and prevent transmission by touching
contaminated surfaces.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses, using your usual cleaning products.


Determining the required cleaning process for expensive equipment that cannot be washed down, designing protection around machines and equipment.


Frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, such as door handles and testing surfaces and making sure there are adequate safe disposal arrangements.


Clearing workspaces and removing waste and belongings from the work area at the end of a shift.


If you are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then you refer to the guidance on cleaning in non-healthcare settings


5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
Objective: To help everyone keep good hygiene through the working day.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face and the need to cough or sneeze into your arm.


Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain hygiene standards.


Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.


Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social-distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Enhancing cleaning for busy areas.


Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.


Providing hand drying facilities – either paper towels or electrical driers.


5.4 Changing rooms and showers
Objective: To minimise the risk of transmission in changing rooms and showers.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Where shower and changing facilities are required, setting clear use and cleaning guidance for showers, lockers and changing rooms to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day.


5.5 Handling goods, merchandise and other materials, and on-site vehicles
Objective: To reduce transmission through contact with objects that come into
the workplace and vehicles at the worksite.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Cleaning procedures for material and equipment entering the site.


Cleaning procedures for the parts of shared equipment you touch after each use.


Cleaning procedures for vehicles.


Encouraging increased handwashing and introducing more handwashing facilities for workers handling deliveries or providing hand sanitiser where this is not practical.


Regular cleaning of vehicles that workers may take home.


Restricting non-business deliveries, for example, personal deliveries to workers.


[HVAC]: heating ventilation and air conditioning
  [COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer is excellent because it gives a detailed explanation as to how employees can reduce coronavirus risks at their workplace, which does include labs. By doing so, it brings to light the risks that working during the pandemic can pose on employees. This answers the question great.
This answers talks about cleaning steps to take. It does not address what the risks are when working in a lab or at a research facility.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Bad

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 1. Thinking about risk
1.1 Managing risk
section_content: Objective: To reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking
preventative measures, in order of priority.
Employers have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably
practicable level by taking preventative measures. Employers must work with
any other employers or contractors sharing the workplace so that everybody’s
health and safety is protected. In the context of COVID-19 this means working
through these steps in order:


In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning.


Businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to enable working from home as a first option. Where working from home is not possible, workplaces should make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government (keeping people 2m apart wherever possible).


Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.   


Further mitigating actions include:  
– increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning
– keeping the activity time involved as short as possible
– using screens or barriers to separate people from each other
– using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face)
whenever possible
– reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed
teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)

Finally, if people must work face-to-face for a sustained period with more than a small group of fixed partners, then you will need to assess whether the activity can safely go ahead. No one is obliged to work in an unsafe work environment.   

In your assessment you should have particular regard to whether the people
doing the work are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
The recommendations in the rest of this document are ones you should consider
as you go through this process. You could also consider any advice that has
been produced specifically for your sector, for example by trade associations
or trades unions.
If you have not already done so, you should carry out an assessment of the
risks posed by COVID-19 in your workplace as soon as possible. If you are
currently operating, you are likely to have gone through a lot of this
thinking already. We recommend that you use this document to identify any
further improvements you should make.
*[COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This does not give the answer to what risks there are in a lab or research facility when working. This answer address precautions to be taken.
This is an excellent answer because it describes how to prevent coronavirus risks in labs. By doing so, it also does help clarify the risks that exist inside of a lab during the pandemic. Therefore, this does answer the question.

Reviewer ratings:
Bad
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 1. Thinking about risk
1.2 Sharing your risk assessment
section_content: You should share the results of your risk assessment with your workforce. If
possible, you should consider publishing the results on your website (and we
would expect all businesses with over 50 workers to do so). Below you will
find a notice you should display in your workplace to show you have followed
this guidance.
Staying COVID-19 Secure in
2020
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Request an
accessible
format.
*[COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer is bad because it does not explain what the risks of working in a lab are. Instead, this answer only suggests sharing risk assessment results with others.
This answer is talking about results of COVID test results. This ignores the question of risks for working in research facility or lab.

Reviewer ratings:
Bad
Bad