When is forearm and hand jewelry prohibited in laboratories

The way people wear jewelry is very individual. For many, wearing a wristwatch or wedding ring is completely natural and not necessarily considered jewelry. But how should it actually be handled in the laboratory? It is obvious that hand disinfection can no longer be carried out properly if there are rings on the fingers and a watch on the wrist, as rubbing the respective disinfectant into the parts of the hand covered by the watch or ring is not sufficiently possible. If biological substances are worked with in the laboratory, appropriate care must be taken to ensure adequate hand disinfection. The Technical Rules for Biological Agents on "Protective Measures for Activities with Biological Agents in Laboratories" (TRBA 100) regulate when the wearing of forearm and hand jewelry is prohibited. For work under protection level 2, it is generally the case that hands must be disinfected accordingly, even after wearing protective gloves. In this context, it is further stated that no jewelry may be worn on the hands or forearms during activities that require hand disinfection or the wearing of protective gloves. Watches and wedding rings are also specifically mentioned here (TRBA 100, 5.3, paragraph 16f). It is also added that fingernails must also be kept short so that appropriate disinfection can be carried out and there is no possibility of fingernails damaging the protective gloves, thus rendering them ineffective. The organizational instructions for protection level 1 already include a reference to the prohibition of hand and forearm jewelry when performing activities that require hand disinfection (TRBA 100, 5.2.1, paragraph 10). The instructions from the Technical Rules for Biological Agents must be applied. Deviations from these instructions are only permitted if the risk assessment prepared comes to a different conclusion.