What Happened?

A researcher was preparing an experiment in which they planned to use a thin, sterile glass pipette to transfer samples. During handling, the pipette tip broke off; a fragment of the broken glass penetrated the researcher's glove and lacerated their hand.

What Was The Cause?

• Immediate cause: The tip of a thin glass pipette fractured during handling; a resulting glass fragment penetrated the researcher's glove and lacerated their hand.
• Underlying causes:
  • The tool in use (thin glass pipette) has a known fragility profile; tip fracture under handling force is a recognized failure mode.
  • The glove in use was a biological/chemical barrier only and offered no resistance to cuts or punctures from glass.
  • Hand position and grip technique (not specified) placed the hand within the fracture path of the tip.
  • Handling technique or force at the moment of breakage (not specified) exceeded the pipette's mechanical tolerance.
  • Tool selection — glass versus plastic alternatives — may not have been reassessed for this task.
• Root cause: Gap in the lab's tool selection, technique, and PPE program for thin-glass pipette work. Specifically: (a) no requirement to use plastic alternatives where they suffice, (b) no requirement for cut-resistant gloves on the hand manipulating fragile glass tools, and (c) no documented handling technique that keeps the hand outside the fracture path. 

How Can Incidents Like This Be Prevented?

• Use plastic when you can. Plastic Pasteur pipettes, transfer pipettes, and micropipettor tips replace glass in most sample-transfer tasks. Use glass only when a specific requirement demands it.
• Inspect before use. Check every glass pipette against good lighting for chips, cracks, or defects. Damaged pipettes go directly to the broken-glass container.
• Grip the shaft, not the tip. Keep the hand 5–10 cm behind the working end. No scraping, stirring, or forcing into tight openings.
• Cut-resistant inner glove for fragile-glass tasks. Under the nitrile glove. Nitrile alone is not cut-resistant.