About
BIO
Biosafety
The Biosafety Program works to ensure that any work associated with biohazards or recombinant/synthetic nucleic acids is done safely and in accordance with regulations.
Getting Started
- The Biosafety staff performs periodic biosafety inspections of all spaces that are approved by the IBC for work with biological materials. These inspections are specifically focused on Biosafety, as outline by the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules and the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL).
- The outcome of the inspections are reported to the IBC.
- Note that the Laboratory Safety Group at Tufts University and the Environmental Health and Safety Group at Tufts Medical Center will perform separate lab safety inspections. These inspections cover other safety topics, such as chemical, radiation, fire, and OSHA-related topics.
- To schedule a vendor to service your biosafety cabinet, contact labsafety@tufts.edu.
- Note that biosafety cabinets must be certified at least annually, and this is verified during biosafety inspections. Biosafety cabinets must also be recertified if moved or after major repairs.
- For more information, please consults these resources:
- Certification of Biosafety Cabinets
- Decontamination of Biosafety Cabinets
- Repair of Biosafety Cabinets
- Appendix A- Primary Containment of Biological Hazards: Selection, Installation and Use of Biological Safety Cabinets in the BMBL
- The Biosafety staff respond to reports of accidents or incidents involving biological materials. If reporting to an external agency is necessary, the Biosafety staff will assist in that process. For more information on how to handle accidents or incidents involving biological materials, please visit the Accidents and Incidents page.
- For biological waste pick-up requests, please select your Campus
- To request a sharps container, contact biosafety@tufts.edu.
- Biological and Regulated Medical Waste Plan for Tufts University
- Be Smart with Sharps Poster (Tufts)
- For queries about shipping biologicals, contact labsafety@tufts.edu.
- For more information about shipping and training, visit the Shipping Hazardous Materials page.
- Please visit the Training page for more information on the types of training provided by the Biosafety Program.
- Work with biological materials that fall under the scope of the IBC must be registered and approved. Please visit the IBC website for more information on the review and approval process.
- The Biosafety staff assists Principal Investigators in conducting risk assessments and preparing the forms to register their work with biological materials that falls under the scope of the IBC. The registration form and other associated forms can be found on the IBC Forms page.