10/03/2023
The Biosafety Office of WVU’s Environmental Health and Safety Department, in conjunction with ABSA International-The Association for Biosafety and Biosecurity, would like to announce that October is Biosafety and Biosecurity Month.
This year’s focus is to bring Biosafety and Biosecurity Month back to the core components of ethical research, transparency, training, engagement and stewardship of biosafety and biosecurity.
Some of the things we want to focus on are stewardship and engagement, fostering positive relationships with the research community, and supporting responsible and ethical research through our profession.
The Biosafety Office will be sharing information throughout the month with the research community. The main focus this year is on biological culture and sample storage in labs. We challenge all labs to review the inventory of their cold storage equipment for unneeded, unwanted, orphaned, abandoned or old/expired biohazards. Items to consider include: plasmids, viral vectors, pathogenic microorganisms, biological toxins, or human-derived materials such as blood, body fluids, tissue or cell lines. Please discard anything that you no longer need as biohazard waste.
A flyer will be shared through your CHO’s detailing what biohazards to look for as well as what to do once you identify them.
An event will be held at the Health Sciences Center to celebrate Biosafety Month. Join the Biosafety team for activities, prizes, and learning at the following time and location:
10/12/23- Health Sciences Center 1st Floor Commons Area – 1 pm to 3 pm
