New biological safety protocol
A new protocol on the risk management of biological safety has now been published by the Wellbeing, Safety and Health team.
The protocol is now live on the Health and Safety Services website. It covers hazardous biological agents and multicellular organisms which can harm - i.e. cause infection, allergy, toxicity - or otherwise create a hazard to, human or animal health or the environment, and any genetically modified organism
The protocol includes guidance for:
Staff in faculties whose work:
- involves 'incidental' contact with hazardous biological material, with no intention to isolate, concentrate or propagate the hazardous biological materials. Examples include environmental sampling, handling human materials for an art exhibition, chemical analysis of blood, saliva or sewage samples. Read more about incidental contact.
- involves the deliberate handling or manipulation of hazardous biological materials. Examples include growing microorganisms, tissue cultures, plant cell culture of GMOs in a research laboratory. Read more about deliberate contact.
Staff in services
- whose work might expose them, or the people they manage, to the risk of infection or disease (e.g. plumber working on a sewage pipe, ground staff collecting discarded needles, cleaner dealing with vomit, etc.). Read more about the risk of infection or disease.