WELCOME TO THE LBNL BIOLOGICAL SAFETY PROGRAM WEB SITE !

The Biosafety Program was developed as an information management system for researchers in life sciences, to provide a process and tools to assess the safety needs/ precautions in the planning, initiation, and termination of activity involving biological materials

There are two principle reasons for this approach:  first, the potential threat of occupational infection in the work environment has long been recognized and appreciated by biologists; and second, the number of non-biologists engaged in these activities is increasing. 

The goal of the Biosafety Program is to enhance biosafety knowledge and to provide training opportunities to investigators so that they will take the necessary precautions to protect themselves, their co-workers, and the environment

The information presented here is intended to protect personnel from exposure to infectious agents, to provide an environment for high quality research while maintaining a safe work place, and to comply with applicable federal, state and local requirements. These goals are no different than those of the other safety programs that are currently in place.

The current program consists of four major components.  The first and largest component, is the LBNL Biosafety Manual which provides guidelines, policies and procedures for the management of hazardous and potentially hazardous biological materials used at LBNL.

The second component is an "on-line" Exposure Control Plan development tool to assist Principal Investigators in the preparation of the Exposure Control Plan required by OSHA for research which involves human source material.

The third component is an "on line" Bloodborne training program for compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) initial training requirement for individuals that are at risk of occupational exposure to blood and other blood related materials.

The fourth component is an "on line" Biosafety training program which is designed to provide basic information on the safe procedures and practices for biological/biomedical research.

Clearly, to be effective this program needs your support and active participation.

If you have any questions or comments please contact Paul Blodgett via email or at ext. 6218.