ABSTRACT
Microbes can incapacitate and kill other organisms, including humans, so safe procedures are required for handling them. Safe procedures bring rewards over and above their requirement to prevent microbes being a hazard. Safety is the responsibility of every scientific investigator. Micro-organisms can be classified according to the severity of the hazard. Microbiological waste should be autoclaved, even when it might seem that the waste does not present a significant hazard. Unwanted old cultures frequently pick up contaminants which might be more dangerous to health than the original culture. Autoclaving is carried out on the waste contained in autoclave-proof plastic bags. The processing time required to achieve necessary decontamination will depend on specific loading factors. Most accidents are caused by carelessness, through the failure to think about the safety implications of a chosen procedure. Often the lack of sufficient thought is due to misplaced confidence, based on ignorance.
