Understanding Sharps Safety and Handling

June 25, 2025

What Are Sharps? 

Sharps are any items with pointed edges or projections capable of cutting, puncturing, or piercing the skin. Common examples include:

  • Hypodermic needles

  • Syringes with attached needles or tubing

  • Razor blades, scalpels, and X-Acto® knives

  • Glass Pasteur pipettes

  • Broken glass items

  • Glass microscope slides and coverslips

  • Sharp instruments such as tweezers, pins, knives, or scissors with fine edges

Sharps must be properly identified and segregated due to the risk they pose for injury and potential exposure to hazardous materials. Cal/OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (Title 8, Section 5193) requires that all sharps be managed to prevent employee exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

Safe Handling: 

Sharps may be contaminated with chemical, radiological, or biological agents, including recombinant nucleic acids. Any skin puncture from a contaminated sharp poses a serious risk of infection or toxic exposure.

To minimize this risk: 

  • Do not bend, recap, or remove contaminated needles or sharps unless no feasible alternative exists or if required by a specific protocol.

  • Use safer sharps alternatives where possible, such as retractable needles, blunt-tip needles, or Luer-lock syringes with safety features.

New Changes to Sharps Disposal: 

Proper disposal of sharps is essential to prevent injuries and ensure compliance with campus and regulatory safety standards. 

Only sharps should go into designated sharps containers. Do not dispose of paper towels, kimwipes, gloves, liquids, or other non-sharp waste into these containers. 

Needles & Biological Materials 

All needles, whether contaminated or uncontaminated, as well as any BSL-1 or BSL-2 materials, must now be disposed of as medical waste. These items should be placed in a Red Biohazard container that is FDA-approved, puncture-resistant, leak-proof, and clearly labeled for sharps disposal.

Below are examples of FDA-cleared sharps containers:

A close-up of a container

Chemical Contaminated Sharps 

Sharps contaminated with chemicals must be disposed of through the Hazardous Waste Program (HWP). 

  • Use a hard plastic, puncture-resistant container labeled clearly as “Chemical-Contaminated Sharps”.

  • If using a red sharps container, cover any biohazard symbols with an HWP label.

  • Submit a pickup request to HWP within six months of the accumulation start date.

  • For mixed waste containing chemical, biological, or radiological materials, contact hwp@berkeley.edu for proper segregation guidance.

Below is an example of a properly labeled Chemical Sharps Container:

hazardous waste label and sharp container

Topics

Biological Safety topic page, Chemical Safety topic page, Hazardous Materials topic page, Hazardous Waste topic page, Lab Safety topic page, Workplace Safety topic page