Chemical Hygiene Plan - Queensborough Community College ...

4) Teaching/demonstration of pesticide application(s), as well as recommendation of
pesticide application or use is exempted from the certification requirements.
However, the individual engaged in such activities is responsible for ensuring that
these activities are compliant with federal, state, and local pesticide laws and
regulations.
When using pesticides in a non-dispersive manner in a laboratory setting, an individual
must follow the safety rules outlined in the CUNY Laboratory Safety Manual.
For more information regarding pesticide use requirements and exemptions, please contact your
EHSO.
XVI. BIOHAZARDS
Work involving biological materials typically involves agent specific strategies designed to
manage the agent and agent associated risks. Researchers are often guided by pressures from
funding sources, standards of practice, guidelines, communal intellect, and their own knowledge
base with no specific regulatory or authoritative doctrine to govern practice. To complicate
matters further, biological research often involves the use of chemicals, radiological materials,
LASERs, animal model systems, and physical hazards which must also be managed safely.
There exists a need to position each individual scope of work within an overarching operational
framework that is capable of anticipating, evaluating, and managing the various aspects of the
work being performed.
For biosafety in particular, this means developing internal procedures coupled to effective
working practices that are aimed at managing work associated risks efficiently. This also means
developing a comprehensive understanding of each process, the inherent hazards, identifying
roles and responsibilities, use of appropriate controls, training, surveillance, monitoring, and
following up on new material reviews and equipment or operational changes. These concepts
serve as the basis for risk assessment and define the approach to biological safety at CUNY.
It is the responsibility of the directors and P.I.s of all microbiological and biomedical
laboratories found on each college to perform a biological risk assessment and develop a
separate plan suited for each of these laboratories.
The chief standard for laboratories working with infectious agents is the CDC-NIH publication
entitled Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL). Now in its 5 th
edition, the BMBL has become the code of practice for biosafety. Each director and/or P.I. is
strongly encouraged to use the BMBL as its chief reference in addressing the safe handling and
containment of infectious microorganisms and hazardous biological materials. As with all other
areas of lab safety, all federal, state, and local regulations regarding biohazards must be adhered
to.
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