- Biosafety Manual - Includes, but is not limited to, information concerning biohazard control, employee occupational health programs, facility requirements, bloodborne pathogen exposure control, and laboratory employee training requirements.
- Laboratory Safety Manual - Addresses general and chemical laboratory safety issues
- MyChem Registration - The University's chemical safety information and inventory database.
The risk assessment, biohazard containment, and biosafety practices at the University of Washington follow those
prescribed in the NIH Guidelines and the CDC/BMBL. Local regulations and facility constraints may necessitate some modifications.
Risk group classification is based on the infectivity, pathogenicity, and currently available treatment options
following an exposure (Risk Group 1 = low, Risk Group 4 = high: infectious, no standard prophylaxis nor treatment).
Risk may also be indirect, by damage to the environment. The Biological Safety Level classification scheme
refers to containment engineering and safety practices, and is correlated to the Risk Groups (i.e., BSL-1 for handling low risk
biological agents, through BSL-4 for handling extreme risk agents).
There are no Biological Safety Level 4 facilities available at the University of Washington.
For additional information regarding risk group and biosafety level definitions please visit the American Biological Safety Association web site.
Use the following links to access recent criteria and information that applies to your specific research activities:
A Research Project Hazard Assessment and instructions for all projects involving biohazards or
recombinant DNA must be submitted to the Biosafety Officer (Environmental Health & Safety, Box 354400).
This form is used to identify the potential biohazards, the regulations that apply, and the precautions to be implemented.
There are additional requirements for submitting clinical human gene transfer information to the Institutional Biosafety Committee.
The Institutional Biosafety Committee has approved an expedited review process
for BSL-1 and some BSL-2 work. Human gene transfer, environmental release of transgenic organisms (plant, animal, insects, aquaculture, etc.),
public projects, and more complex biosafety issues must be reviewed by the full committee and approved before the project is initiated.
Links to Regulations, Standards and Guidelines
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