51³Ô¹ÏÍø

51³Ô¹ÏÍø POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Biological Safety Guide (August 2023)

This guide is intended as a laboratory supplement, or guide. The purpose of the guide is to assist 51³Ô¹ÏÍø investigators in developing sound biological safety practices in their laboratories and to help the university comply with applicable guidelines and regulations.  51³Ô¹ÏÍø investigators seeking to conduct research utilizing potentially infectious microorganisms, recombinant DNA, and other biologic material of human origin shall adopt this guide and the Exposure Control Plan as needed.

Biological Waste Management for Laboratories

This guide establishes the practices and procedures that shall be used at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø when inactivating, handling, and storing biological waste.

The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is responsible for the oversight of all research that involves biohazards. Biohazards include infectious agents and organisms, biological toxins, recombinant and synthetic DNA and genetically altered organisms.

The Animal Care and Use Program serves a vital function in the research and teaching conducted at Rutgers University by ensuring that all research programs and teaching meet the highest standards of science, safety, service, and humane care.  51³Ô¹ÏÍø operates as a remote facility under Rutgers University-Newark's Animal Care and Use Program. 

REGULATIONS

Applies to all occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials such as:

• Human body fluids;
• Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead);
• HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and
• Blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.

PEOSH has adopted the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030. Refer to the standard for a complete set of requirements.

Establishes a program for regulated medical waste pursuant to the New Jersey Comprehensive Regulated Medical Waste Management Act that is generated, stored, transported, collected, transferred, treated, destroyed, disposed of or otherwise managed in New Jersey.

The NIH Guidelines detail safety practices and containment procedures for basic and clinical research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules, including the creation and use of organisms and viruses containing recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules.

Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) quickly became the cornerstone of biosafety practice and policy in the United States upon first publication in 1984.  The information in this publication has been advisory is nature even though legislation and regulation, in some circumstances, have overtaken it and made compliance with the guidance provided mandatory.  This edition includes information on the following topics:

• Occupational health
• Decontamination and sterilization
• Laboratory biosecurity
• Risk assessment
• Biosafety levels for containment
• Agent summary statements 

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, Subtitle A of Public Law 107–188 requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and regulate a list of biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety.  (I.e. Botulinum neurotoxins and Tetrodotoxins)

To protect plant health, Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) implements APHIS regulations for certain organisms developed using genetic engineering that may pose a risk to plant health.  APHIS plays a vital role in ensuring the free flow of agricultural trade by keeping U.S. agricultural industries free from pests and diseases and certifying that the millions of U.S. agricultural and food products shipped to markets abroad meet the importing countries' entry requirements. APHIS makes sure that all imported agricultural products shipped to the United States from abroad meet the Agency's entry requirements to exclude pests and diseases of agriculture.

Dual use research of concern (DURC) is life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, materiel, or national security.​  The United States Government has published several policies relevant to dual use research of concern, with the intention of raising awareness and limiting the potential for misuse of scientific information derived from life sciences research.

The pamphlet prescribes the technical safety requirements for the use, handling, transportation, transfer, storage, and disposal of infectious agents and toxins rated at biosafety level 2 and above. This pamphlet requires the mandatory use of the latest edition of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, and applies to all U.S. Army activities and facilities in which infectious agents and toxins are used, produced, stored, handled, transported, transferred or disposed, to include all Army and contractors and consultants conducting microbiological and biomedical activities for the Army.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

In many countries, including the United States, infectious agents are categorized in risk groups based on their relative risk. Depending on the country and/or organization, this classification system might take the following factors into consideration:

• Pathogenicity of the organism
• Mode of transmission and host range
• Availability of effective preventive measures (e.g., vaccines)
• Availability of effective treatment (e.g., antibiotics)
• Other factors

The training materials available on this site were developed by  professionals to meet specific training needs at their place of business, and shared through ABSA as a resource to other professionals.  Please note, these resources may contain site specific information that is not universally applicable. 

Provides information on certain EPA-registered disinfectants, including links to lists of products registered against common pathogens like hepatitis or norovirus and a list of products registered against Candida auris.

This eTool will help employers in developing and implementing engineering and work practice controls which comply with OSHA requirements and could be incorporated into a facility's safety and health plan to reduce the hazards and improve worker safety.

TOXNET is among the world’s largest collection of toxicology databases, with all of its databases available online at no cost. 

The Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM) has provided veterinarians and other animal health professionals with concise and authoritative information on diseases and management of food-producing, companion, laboratory, and exotic animals.  The MVM covers all the basics, but it is also often relied on for areas not commonly encountered in the daily routine.

Pathogen Safety Data Sheets (PSDSs) are technical documents that describe the hazardous properties of a human pathogen and provide recommendations for work involving these agents in a laboratory setting.

Covers the basics of nanotechnology including the benefits and applications.

This document contains recommendations on engineering controls and safe practices for handling engineered nanomaterials in laboratories and some pilot scale operations. This guidance was designed to be used in tandem with well-established practices and the laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan.​