55.031:  Purchasing - Radioactive Materials, Narcotics, Hazardous Materials, Animals, and Tax-Free Alcohol

The following policies provide information on the control, storage, and use of animals and hazardous materials:

1. Policy and Procedure 19.049, "Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals."

2. Policy and Procedure 44.104, "Hazardous Materials Management."

I.  Alcohol Ordering and Control

To comply with U.S. Treasury Department regulations, these special procedures are in effect to govern the ordering, use, control, and reporting of tax-free ethyl alcohol required for University use: Departments having large and continuing use of this material are permitted to order full-drum lots of alcohol. Alcohol must be stored in secured storerooms, and may be inspected and approved by a representative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Complete and current inventory and disbursement records must be maintained on-site in strict accordance with government regulations.

II.  Radioactive Materials

Ohio University has an Ohio Department of Health ("ODH") broad scope license that allows the University to order, receive, transport, use, store, and dispose of radioactive materials (also referred to as "radioisotopes" or "radionuclides"). Individual researchers who wish to use radioactive materials must be authorized to do so by the Radiation Safety Committee (RSC), before receiving approval by the Environmental Health and Safety office (EHS) to order radioisotopes.

To order radioactive materials, a potential user must complete an Application to Possess and Use Radionuclides, and submit it to the RSC for review. Once the RSC has approved the application, the licensed user generates a Requisition, as specified in the Radiation Safety Handbook, which is available from EHS. The Requisition is sent to EHS. If EHS approves the Requisition they then send it on to the General Accounting and Financial Reporting Office (GAFR) for budgetary approval. GAFR sends it on to the Purchasing and Contracting Office for order placement. Purchasing will distribute a copy of the Purchase Order to the radioisotope user and to EHS. All Purchase Orders for radioactive materials must designate that the radioactive items will be shipped to EHS. Unauthorized personnel must not open packages containing radioactive materials.

If the user has a blanket order, he or she may order radioisotopes directly, by calling the supplier of the material and referencing the blanket order number. Before ordering, the user must access the new Online Radioactive Isotope Tracking System (ORITS), to report the order information. Access to this system is granted by Environmental Health and Safety only upon completion of specific training. Contact EHS for details at 593-1661.

III.  Narcotics

All narcotics, and any controlled items used in their delivery (e.g., needles, syringes, sterile saline) must be ordered only by the properly authorized and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) licensed persons, whose names are listed as the responsible persons on a Terminal Distributor of Dangerous Drugs License for the State of Ohio. Narcotics must be ordered through the Purchasing and Contracting Office. All narcotics must be ordered by filling out DEA form 222: US Official Form - Schedules I and II, according to all Federal and State of Ohio Law. Submit the completed form with your Requisition, to the General Accounting Office.

IV.  Hazardous Materials

Hazardous chemicals are defined in the Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 10th Edition, as any substance that, if improperly handled, can be damaging to the health and well-being of humans. Such materials cover a broad range of types that may be classified in the following general categories: poison or toxic agents, corrosive chemicals, flammable materials, explosives, and materials in which dangerous heat build-up occurs in storage.

The department requesting the purchase of any substance is responsible for evaluating the substance for physical and health hazards. The basic steps are to examine catalogs or advertisements from the supplier, and if necessary, request a current Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) from the supplier. Information about special conditions, and help with evaluating potential hazards, may be obtained from EHS.

If a substance is hazardous by the above criteria, then the user must establish safe handling procedures before ordering. If an MSDS has not yet been obtained, the user should request it when ordering. Any MSDSs received should be filed for easy access by those using the substance, and a copy should be sent to EHS.

V.  Animals

The purchase and use of vertebrate animals at educational institutions is subject to state and federal regulation. The Office of Research Compliance in the Vice President for Research planning unit manages animal purchase and use for Ohio University.

Anyone wishing to use live vertebrate animals at Ohio University for research, teaching, or testing must have that use reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to order or use. After IACUC approval, animals may be ordered by contacting the Laboratory Animal Resources ("LAR") office within Research Compliance. At that time, a University account number, on which to charge the cost of the animals, must be provided to the LAR. Whenever possible, LAR will place an order on behalf of the end-user using a university purchasing card. Only LAR personnel are authorized to purchase animals using a purchasing card. Where a purchasing card cannot be used, animals may be ordered by sending a Requisition, including the IACUC approval number, to LAR for approval. The Requisition must designate that the animals be delivered to LAR. LAR personnel will designate the appropriate delivery site when they sign the Requisition.

Unauthorized persons should not open packages containing animals. After the receipt of animals by LAR, the animals will be checked for general health and well-being prior to delivery to the user.

LAR is the only campus entity authorized to grant exceptions to this animal purchasing policy.

VI.  Purchasing Card

Radioactive substances, Narcotics, Animals, and any other controlled materials may not be purchased using a Purchasing Card, except for animal purchases by LAR staff, as described above. Exceptions for authorized users can be obtained from the Purchasing Card Administration Office (740-593-1960), for non-animal purchases.

1. President

2. Provost

3. Cabinet

4. Director of Environmental Health and Safety

5. Director of Research Compliance

6. Policy and Procedure Review Committee

1. The Application to Possess and Use Radionuclides is available from EHS.

2. The Requisition is available online, from http://www.ohio.edu/finance/procuretopay/forms.cfm, and then scroll down.

3. Order blanks for DEA form 222 can be obtained through https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/orderFormsRequest.jsp (please notice that this URL starts with "https://" not with "http://"), or by contacting the DEA:
   US Drug Enforcement Administration
   500 S. Front St.
   Columbus, OH 43215
   (614) 469-2595