The Office of Biological Safety has many new resources you to check out:
Intro to Bio-ARROW video
This new tool helps get a biosafety protocol started. Check it out at ehs.wisc.edu/labs-research/biological-safety/biosafety-protocol-arrow/
New Biological Toxin Guidance
We have created new guidance documents for Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Mycotoxins, Staphylococcal Enterotoxins, Tetrodotoxin, Botulinum neurotoxin, Cholera toxin, Diphtheria toxin, Pertussis toxin, Saxitoxin, and Tetanus neurotoxin.
These documents include general safety considerations for handling the toxins and detailed information about listing toxin usage in biological safety protocols.
In addition to the toxins in the guidance documents, there are many other purified biological-source toxins that need to be listed in your biosafety protocol if they will be included in your research program. These include numerous acutely or chronically toxic, mutagenic, and/or carcinogenic substances.
Find the guidance at: ehs.wisc.edu/ehs-manual
Autoclave resources
We recently updated guidance for autoclave use which can be found on the EH&S Autoclaves webpage. The updates include clear and concise language regarding autoclave use, safety posters for autoclaves, and an efficacy testing log. Do you know:
- What your Bio-ARROW protocol states about how your lab sterilizes biohazardous waste?
- How to prepare items for autoclaving?
- How to operate your autoclave?
- Where to get training on how to operate an autoclave?
- How to verify your autoclave is operating correctly?
- What routine maintenance autoclaves require?
- What to do if your autoclave run fails?
Find the answers at: ehs.wisc.edu/labs-research/biological-safety/autoclaves/.
Campus transport of biologicals webpage
Laboratories frequently need to move materials within buildings, to another area or floor of a building, across campus, or on public roadways using a campus vehicle. At ehs.wisc.edu/labs-research/biological-safety/campus-transport-of-biologicals, you can find posters with information on transport using a vehicle, transport within a building as well as making a leakproof container.
It’s Biosafety and Biosecurity Month 2023! Look out for more biosafety topics each week in October.
Learn about the latest biological safety updates that impact labs like yours on the UW–Madison campus, and print the flyer to help spread the word.
Have a biosafety question? Need help? The UW-Madison Office of Biological Safety can assist you.
The UW-Madison Office of Biological Safety is a proud member of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA).