The Glassware Core and its 24 staff members employ over 100 pieces of equipment, throughout theRockefeller, Schwartz and Zuckerman Research Centers, to deliver more than 5,000 pieces of cleaned andsterilized labware to more than 110 investigators and their staff. Daily routines include decontamination andcollection of soiled labware; hand-scrubbing and visual inspection of each piece before further processing incommercial glasswashers; sorting, wrapping, and/or plugging followed by processing in high-temperatureovens and steam autoclaves before return to the laboratories. Specialized procedures also provide for acidwashingand RNase-free preparations.All processing follows standardized operating procedures specially adapted to meet the needs of each user,and is ascertained to meet the minimum standard of 'visually clean' or less than 4 ug/ml of debris, followingthe criteria for acceptance of LeBlanc and the FDA on the validation of cleaning processes. Over 90% of allwork is restocked in each laboratory within an 8-hour time frame, providing cost and space savings to thelaboratories. This core also provides dry ice stores throughout the research environment, assists with themonitoring of disposal of biohazardous waste and broken glass from laboratories, as well as provides for thedecontamination of radioactive and other forms of biohazardous waste. To minimize costs to thelaboratories, only 'hands-on' time is charged for all services.Changes are anticipated in operating procedures to allow increased standardization in washing with the useof acid and alkaline detergents in the glasswashing machines, further reducing the 'hands-on' time chargedto users. When demand dictates, services will be expanded to include standardized cleaning of specializedlaboratory equipment, such as cell and tissue incubators or freezers.
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