Biological Safety

Biosafety involves the safe use of biol ogical materials in research, such as infectious or disease containing organisms, recombinant DNA technologies, bloodborne pathogens, human tissues, vectors of disease, and zoonotic agents, among others. The Biosafety Officer at EHS works with the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), a group of faculty research experts and community representatives to help insure safe research protocols, labs, and equipment. Guidelines issued by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes o f Health are adhered to. OHIO maintains a Biosafety Program and Manual for researchers.

All persons intending to use the listed materials for research, teaching or related purposes on or off campus, must receive the approval of the IBC prior to beginning the work. A risk assessment will be conducted by the principal investigator, and information submitted to the IBC, in the form prescribed by the committee; dealing with the laboratory fac ilities, clinical or field protocols and procedures, containment methods, emergency procedures, waste disposal, occupational health and safety, regulatory compliance and other information as required. Approval of the IBC will be in writing for all experiments.

Recap of Key Biosafety Points:

• Projects must be reviewed and have received an IBC approval number.
• Biological l abs meet OHIO Biosafety Program and CDC/NIH guidelines.
• Labs working with blood or other potentially infectious materials have a written and implemented OSHA Blood Borne Pathogens (BBP) Plan.
• No organisms or toxins are permitted for use at OHIO that are regulated by the federal “Select Agent Transfer or Possession Laws” nor are BSL3 or BSL4 organisms. This is because OHIO lacks the proper facilities at this
time.
• Biosafety cabinets tested and recertifie d annually, when new, and when moved.

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