National Biosafety Month 2020: Update SOPs and Work Safely During COVID-19

October is National Biosafety Month, a time to focus on your lab’s biosafety policies and procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected biological research labs in many ways, from potential difficulties obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) and disinfectants to limiting how many people can work at a given time in a space. For 2020's National Biosafety Month, EH&S would like labs to focus on creating or updating biosafety standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staying aware of how to work safely during COVID-19.

Laboratory Risk Assessment Tool

It is important to conduct a risk assessment whenever a new experiment, procedure or project is developed in your lab. A risk assessment focuses on hazard identification at each step or task level, and can provide essential information for enhancing safety practices, establishing proper procedures, and ensuring all lab members are properly trained. The Laboratory Risk Assessment Tool (Lab R.A.T.) can be used to help with gathering the information you need.