Author: Beth Savoy
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Notice of National Biosafety Stewardship Month & Health and Safety Requirements for NIH Grantees
Notice Number: NOT-OD-15-163 Release Date: Sept. 29, 2015 Issued by: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Link: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-163.html This is the second year that NIH specifically reminds its grantees of: meeting applicable federal, state and local health and safety standards; and establishing and implementing necessary measures to minimize their employees’ risk of injury or illness in activities related to…
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Working Safely in Your Biosafety Cabinet
We have posted on our website a 15-min instructional video from Esco Biotech aimed to show standard operating procedures for working in Class II Biosafety Cabinets from start to shut down. EHSO encourages you to become familiar with the type of BSC in your laboratory be reviewing product specifications and recommended practices. An instructional poster…
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Are You Aware of DURC?
The United States Government (USG) issued in March 2012 the Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) Policy, and subsequently, the Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences DURC. The USG defines DURC as: …life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technology that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, plants, animals,…
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Do You Know How to Use a Fire Extinguisher?
ABC-rated, multipurpose, dry powder extinguishers are provided to the labs in the event that a small fire develops. A small fire can be defined as “trash can-sized” or an incipient stage fire. Extinguishers are usually red in color and have either a long narrow hose or no hose (just a short nozzle). There are also…
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September Reminders
Just a few reminders for the month of September from EHSO: When moving Biological Safety Cabinets to a different floor or a different building, the BSC must be decontaminated prior to the move and affixed with the equipment hazard tag. Be sure to visit the regulated waste schedule. Personnel working in your lab who are…
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Clean Up, Clean Up
Recently, an employee from building residential services was injured after entering a lab space to perform routine cleaning after hours. The employee received a chemical burn after a corrosives bottle on the benchtop caught onto her sleeve and spilled acid on her arm. The container was left near the edge of the benchtop instead of…
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Sharps Safety Tips
Sharps are medical devices that can cut or puncture the skin, which include needles, razor blades, exposed ends of dental wires, capillary tubes, etc. These sharp safety tips will help prevent accidental punctures and cuts. Before working with sharps: Consider safer medical devices (blunt tip needles, retractable scalpels and blades, etc.). The CDC estimates that…