The CDC and NIH define laboratory biosecurity as “…measures designed to prevent loss, theft, or deliberate misuse of biological material, technology, or research-related information from laboratories or laboratory-associated facilities.” (1) Yale EHS has created lab biosecurity resources to help your lab improve your biosecurity measures. Basic pillars of biosecurity are provided below. For more extensive information on lab biosecurity, please review the new World Health Organization (WHO) Laboratory Biosecurity Manual (2).
Identify
- Identify high risk biological materials (HRBM) and valuable biological materials (VBM).
- Establish written inventories.
- Keep inventories updated.
- Share the Lessons Learned on Security Breach and Stolen Samples with your staff.
Protect
- Establish formal biosecurity policies for your lab.
- Lock doors, freezers and use lockboxes where needed.
- Use tamper tape to secure materials in long-term storage.
- Protect your information and data.
- Use Yale’s Cybersecurity resources.
- Limit knowledge of your VBM or HRBM to those outside of your lab.
Check
- Inspect your inventory periodically.
- Conduct exit interviews with departing staff, discard unwanted materials and update inventories.
- Use the Biosecurity Checklist to evaluate your lab’s biosecurity fitness.
Report
- Inventory discrepancies
- Losses, thefts, sabotage
- Disgruntled lab staff
- Significant unexplained staff absences
- Suspicious people, activities or packages
- Emergencies such as exposures, spills or other releases
Resources
- Lab Biosecurity Poster
- Lab Biosecurity Checklist
- Lessons Learned: Security Breach
- Lessons Learned: Stolen Samples
- Breaks in Skin poster (Lab Acquired Infections are escapes from the laboratory)
- Securing the Lab: The Hidden Side of Safety (Sway presentation)
- Yale 2022 Biosecurity information as part of ABSA International Biosafety & Biosecurity Month
- High Risk Biological Materials Tools & Resources (include sample inventory sheets, freezer maps and exit interview questionnaires) and campus policy
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. *Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories*. 6th ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/97733
- Laboratory biosafety manual, fourth edition. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020 (Laboratory biosafety manual, fourth edition and associated monographs). License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240011311