National Biosafety Stewardship Month
Recent reports of lapses in biosafety practices involving federal laboratories have served to remind us of the importance of constant vigilance over our implementation of biosafety standards. These events potentially put individuals at risk, undermine public confidence in the research enterprise, and must be addressed to prevent their reoccurrence. Efforts to strengthen biosafety oversight and practice must be supported and carried out by organizational leadership, biosafety programs, and individual laboratories.
The purpose of this Notice is to announce a new biosafety stewardship initiative and to remind institutions of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requirement to meet all applicable federal, state, and local health and safety standards, as well as the specific terms and conditions of award outlined below.
As a measure toward preventing future lapses as well as promoting stewardship of the life sciences and biosafety awareness across federal entities, federal laboratories will reinforce their attention to safe practices in biomedical research and by instituting National Biosafety Stewardship Month, urging all NIH grantee institutions and/or contractors to do the same.
In September, NIH laboratories will, and grantee institutions, and/or contractors are encouraged to do the following:
- Re-examine current policies and procedures for biosafety practices and oversight to ascertain whether they require modification to optimize their effectiveness;
- Conduct inventories of infectious agents and toxins in all laboratories to ensure that the institution has a record of which infectious agents and toxins are being utilized, has documentation that those materials are properly stored under the appropriate containment conditions, and has documentation that cites the party responsible for appropriate stewardship of the materials; and
- Reinforce biosafety training of investigators, laboratory staff, and members of Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) to include the following: re-examining training materials and practices being utilized by the institution; updating materials as appropriate; and ascertaining the appropriate frequency of training and conduct training when the interval between training or other considerations warrant it.
NIH grantee institutions and/or contractors are expected to run rigorous programs of biosafety oversight that include attention to safe laboratory practices, training, appropriate policies and procedures. National Biosafety Stewardship Month is an opportunity for you to reinforce what you do in that regard, to optimize further biosafety oversight, and to strengthen your partnership with your investigator community to achieve shared biosafety goals. Your IBCs and Biological Safety Officers (BSOs) will have an important role to play in the success of this effort, and NIH will be sending them a letter to encourage their participation. Institutional leadership should do what it can to support IBCs and BSOs in this effort and in the conduct of their duties generally.
General Health and Safety Requirements
NIH continues to require its grantees and/or contractors to meet applicable federal, state, and local health and safety standards and for establishing and implementing necessary measures to minimize their employees' risk of injury or illness in activities related to NIH grants. In addition to applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, terms and conditions of all NIH grant awards require that grantees and/or contractors adhere to the following when developing and implementing health and safety operating procedures and practices for both personnel and facilities:
- Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, CDC and NIH, HHS. This publication is available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
- Prudent Practices for Safety in Laboratories (1995), National Research Council, National Academy Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055 (ISBN 0-309-05229-7). This publication can be obtained by telephoning 800.624.8373. It also is available at The National Academies Press website.
For additional information, please visit the NIH website.