Biosafety Permit Holder Responsibilities

The primary responsibility for the safety of the lab personnel (e.g. staff, students, volunteers) and the public lies with the Permit Holder in charge of the research. Permit Holders must be familiar with, follow, and ensure that all individuals working within their laboratories follow the procedures outlined in this manual. In particular, Permit Holder are responsible for the following:

• Following all legislative requirements and contractual agreements as applicable in addition to procedures and requirements in this manual;
• Reporting immediately to the Senior Biosafety Officer if there is:
  1. Any reason to believe that a biological material (e.g. toxins, genetically modified organism or microorganism) has been released inadvertently from the facility;
  2. Any inadvertent production of a human, animal, or plant pathogen or toxin in the course of an activity;
  3. Any reason to believe that an incident involving a human pathogen or toxin that is in their possession has, or may have, caused an exposure to an individual;
  4. Any reason to believe that an incident involving a human pathogen or toxin that is in their possession has, or may have, caused disease in an individual;
  5. Any reason to believe that a human, animal, or plant pathogen or toxin that was in their possession has been stolen or is otherwise missing;
• Applying for and renewing Biosafety Permits where required;
• Ensuring that all conditions of the Permit are followed;
• Ensuring the biological materials inventory is available and up-to-date;
• Ensuring that the personnel list and the location(s) (i.e. all room number(s)) are up-to-date;
• Ensuring that the appropriate biosafety cabinets are functioning properly and having them certified annually;
• Ensuring that all persons working under their supervision have had appropriate training and required annual refresher in working safely with potentially hazardous materials (e.g. biological materials, chemicals);
• Consulting with the Biosafety Officer and the EHS’ Occupational Health Nurse if working with agents that may require immunizations or a surveillance program;
• Providing appropriate personal protective equipment and standard operating procedures;
• Coordinating and monitoring decontamination, disinfection and disposal procedures for biological materials in the facility or laboratory;
• Coordinating the movement of biological materials within the facility according to the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS 2015);
• Coordinating the transfer/shipping of biological materials to a different facility with the senior biosafety officer and according to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) regulations and IATA as applicable;
• Ensuring that a record keeping and storage system are in place for all material entering the laboratory;
• Preparing an emergency response plan according to the laboratory activities;
• Participating in accident investigations and reporting incidents and accidents within the laboratory;
• Distributing new and relevant biosafety and biosecurity information to laboratory staff.